--- PAID ADVERTISEMENT HOW TO BUY DIAMONDS WITH CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE By John Tavlin President Nebraska Diamond For the average consumer buying a diamond can be one of the most confus ing and frustrating experiences imagin able. The consumer is often confronted with a barrage of conflicting claims from various jewelers intent on selling their product. If the consumer is not armed with adequate product knowledge he stands little chance for success in the jewelry marketplace. A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF DIAMOND GRADING Serious shopping for diamonds be gins with an understanding of the Gemo iogical Institute of America (GIA) and its diamond grading system. The GIA is a non-profit organization dedicated primar ily to the pursuit of gemoiogica) education trade laboratory tor the identification and classification of gem stones in this coun try . The Gl A is considered by the diamond industry to be the final and most authori tative word on diamond grading stan dards in the United States and its dia mond grading system is, by far, the domi nant grading system used by diamond cutting firms and jewelry manufacturers in this country today. Knowledge of the GIA diamond grad ing system is a pre-requisite for informed buying of diamonds, and knowledge of that system without an actual "hands on" demonstration is virtually impossible The accompanying chart shows a total of 240 separate and distinct combinations of GI A grades and there is a separate and distinct price list for each grade within each size category. At Nebraska Dia mond we give all customers a thorough explanation and demonstration of the GIA diamond grading system under labora tory conditions using actual examples, so that the customer can see with his or her numouoc tho r-hara/'tziric fire anH annoar ance of the various grades As a result, Nebraska Diamond customers can iden tify the various GIA grades by themselves and do not need to helplessly rely on the jeweler's representations The two princi pal reasons why customers need this special instruction and knowledge to sur vive in the jewelry marketplace are: . 1. Many jewelers invent their own personal grading system because by doing so they make it difficult or impos sible tor the oonsumer to comparison shop The GIA system is a uniform sys tem of diamond grading and gives the consumer a standard ofcomparison 2 Jewelers who do represent dia monds to customers in GIA terms often take liberties with the GIA system and just 'puff" the grade up to whatever level is necessary to make the sale, believing that the customer will not be able to iden tify the deception A diamond which is assigned a GIA grade by one of these jewelers may actually be significantly in ferior to a diamond offered, with a seem 3ly lower GIA grade, by a jeweler who >eres to the strict grading standards we use at Nebraska Diamond. Unless the consumer has adequate product know! edge, he risks being duped into purchas mg a low quality diamond Your only real protection as a consumer is to educate yourself about the product At Nebraska Diamond we provide our customers with an education that makes them the best informed diamond buyers in the market TUU UU I njl yoi U lO Iiouiaaha L/iamuuu consumer education program at any other jewelry store. THE RELATIONSHIP OF COLOR, CLARITY, CUT AND CARAT WEIGHT Color, darity. cut and carat weight all have an important impact on the ultimate value of your diamond In The Complete Guide to Buying Gems" (Copyright 1984, Crown Publishers, Inc New York), dia mond authorities Antoinette Leonard Matlins and Antonio C Bon an no, F.G.A., P G state. "If we were to identity the factors that determine the value of a dia mond in order of their importance, we would list them as follows: 1. Body Color (color grade) 2. Degree of (lawlessness (clarity grade) 3 Cut and proportion (often referred to as the make) 4. Carat weight" Color refers to the hue present in the body of the diamond Color is observed by placing the diamond upside down in a white color grading trough and viewing through the side of tne gem Among color, darity, cut and carat weight, color is the characteristic most easily noticed by the human eye and it has the most impact on the appearance of the gem, hence, color carries the most value Clarity refers to a measurement of the internal flaws and surface blemishes present in or on a diamond Sometimes internal flaws and surface blemishes can be seen only under magnification. To magnify a diamond a jeweler s loupe or a microscope is used. The microscope is often used more as a sales tool than as a gem instrument because its "laboratory" appearance can be impressive to con sumers The microscope, however, is a cumbersome piece of equipment and is less flexible than the loupe for examination of diamonds. For these reasons, among oth ers, the loupe is by far the dominant grading instrument used by diamond dealers. At Nebraska Diamond you may view your dia mond under both a jeweler’s loupe and under a microscope designed for professional dia mond examination. Among color, clarity, cut and carat weight, clarity is the second most observable characteristic and has the sec ond most impact on the appearance of the gem, hence, darity carries the second most value. Cut refers to the proportions of the dia mond. A diamond can be cut to any one of an infinite number of proportions depending on the angles of the facets. These angles can vary from diamond to diamond. As explained below, proportion analysis is extremely sub jective and the effect of differing proportions on the appearance and value offee diamond is often a matter of opinion. Generally, how ever, except for the proportion called the “heavy make’ discussed below, cut is a less observable characteristic than color or dar ity from a quantitative standpoint and, hence, cut generally carries less value. Carat weight refers to the weight of the diamond and not to its size. This is an impor tant distinction because two diamonds which weigh the same can appear drastically differ ent in size and this may result in drastically different values even if color and darity are the same in both gems. Sometimes custom ers forget feat size is a dimensional linear measurement expressed in millimeters The term “Carat" is only a weight measurement One carat is equal to 1/5 gram. If a diamond is cut wife its weight concentrated in its depth, a proportion called the ’heavy make’, it will appear much smaller than a diamond of the exact same carat weight cut wife its weight concentrated In its width The differ ence in value between these two diamonds can be substantial, often exceeding 40%. At Nebraska Diamond we avoid fee “heavy make", but we have observed feat fee "heavy ir won/ r\rowolont in tnHau'e HiamftftH market. Therefore, it is extremely important that the consumer know how to recognize the "heavy make". As discussed below, how ever, consumers who do not have the con sumer education we provide at Nebraska Diamond are at a tremendous disadvantage when it comes to recognizing the “heavy make" and they risk buying it unknowingly. CUT: THE MISUNDERSTOOD “C” Se4"C's" (Color, Clarity, Cut and t) the subject of diamond pro ut) is easily the most misunder stood. The GIA has subdivided proportion analysis into four Classes based on table diameter, crown angle, pavilion depth, girdle thickness, finish and symmetry. Each Class contains wide parameters for proper propor tioning and, therefore, provides an infinite variety of differing cutting proportions all of which are considered equally appropriate within each Class The GIA proportion analy sis format, thus, illustrates what every dia mond expert in this business knows: that there are literally hundreds of different dia mond proportions available which create beautiful and highly desirable gems. Because there are so many accepted types of proportioning in diamond cut, there is no agreement in the diamond industry on what constitutes the "best" cut This is be cause the main factors affected by cut (dis persion and brilliance) cannot all be maxi mized in the same gem. "Dispersion" is sometimes referred to as rti.AAM.Un (Ka aKilitu nf Mia diamond to break down tight into toe spectral colors (blues, reds, yellows, etc ). ‘‘Brilliance' refers to the ability of the diamond to return colorless or "white' light to the viewer As common sense will tell you, if you increase a diamond's ability to break light into the spectral colors you reduce its ability to return colorless or "white" light Con versely, if you increase a diamond's ability to return colorless or "white* light you reduce its ability to break light into the spectral colors. That is why there is no such thing as a diamond cut to maximum dispersion and maximum brillance both at the same time. By cutting to maximize one of these factors the other is compromised, and since both are of equal importance it is impossible to authori tatively classify one type of cut as the "best" In buying a diamond it has been our experience that the consumer desires toe most beautiful gem his or her budget can afford Precisely how dispersion and bril liance translate into beauty, however, is a matter of personal opinion. In their chapter on The Importance of Cut and Proportion" the authors of "The Complete Guide to Buy ing Gems' state, with reference to the per centage measurements of various diamond cutting proportions, "No one has come to an agreement, however, on what the percent ages should be, since some people prefer fire to brilliance and vice versa. This is why there are several accepted types of propor tioning found in diamond cut. and 'best' is a matter of personal preference." In actuality, the difference in dispersion and brilliance between some differing diamond propor tions is so slight that It is measurable only with sensitive laboratory instruments and Is impossible to see with the naked eye. As discussed above, one area In which cut makes a big difference in the value of a diamond concerns the "heavy make" The term "heavy make" refers to a diamond that has a disproportionate share of its total carat weight concentrated in the depth of the stone Visually, this means that a “heavy Nebraska Diamond I-▼ GIA GIA Color Clarity COLORLESS