HOW TO BUY A DIAMOND □MSMOOT RING
WITH CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
By John Tavlin, President
Nebraska Diamond
At Nebraska Diamond we have perfect
ed the Art of making thepurchase of
engagement and wedding rings easy, com
fortable and fun. Over the years our most
important business has been producing
tens of thousands of happy, satisfied cus
tomers, one at a time. A major reason for
our suocess is the heavy emphasis we give
to providing consumers with the informa
tion they need to buy a diamond engage
ment ring with confidence and knowledge.
UNDERSTANDING CLARITY, COLOR
& CARAT WEIGHT
Serious shopping for diamonds begins
with an understanding of the Gemoiogical
Institute of America (GIA) and its diamond
grading terminology.. The GIA is a non
profit organization dedicated primarily to
the pursuit of gemoiogical education. The
GIA is considered by the diamond industry
to be the final and most authoritative word
on diamond grading standards and its dia
mond grading terminology is, by far; the
dominant terminology used by diamond
cutting firms and jewelry manufacturers
throughout the world today.
GIA diamond grading terminology
describes the darity and color of diamonds.
The GIA clarity terminology classifies dia
monds based on the number; size, location
and description of markings which may be
present in or on the diamond. These mark
ings range in size from pinpoints so tiny tha
they can barely be seen under magnificatior
to markings which are large enough to be
seen with the naked eye. The GIA color term
nofogy classifies diamonds based on the
amount of color saturation present in the
body of the diamond.
' The accompanying chart shows G1A
diamond darity and color grading termi
nology. A diamond of a specific clarity can
occur in any of the colors. A diamond of a
specific color can oocur in any of the clari
ties. Accordingly, the chart shows 240 possi
Me darity/color combinations. Within any
specific budget there is an enormous range
of choice in size, darity and color combine
lions.
“Flawless” clarity and ‘TT color are th
only grades which represent a singular,
unwavering, exact and objective standard.
AD of the other darity and color grades rep
resent subjective classifications of qualify
ing gemological characteristics. This sub
jective nature of diamond grading results ii
the potential of somewhat differing degrees
of interpretation by two or more graders , b
other words, multiple graders can examine
the same diamond and disagree on the
darity and cMor grade of that diamond As
a result, a diamond which is assigned a GL
grade by a jeweler who grades on the basis
of lenient subjective criteria may actuaDy
be significantly inferior to a diamond, with
a seemingly kirer (HA grade, which has
been graded by a jeweler who adheres to
strict subjective criteria. This means that
although a diamond in one jewelry store
may “sound” like a better quality than a
diamond in a second jewelry store, the dia
mond in the second jewelry store may actu
aDy be better quality and substantially moi
valuable.
Furthermore, except for “Flawless”
darity and “D” color, all of the other clarit
and color grades represent ranges of quali
fying gemok^cal characteristics. Ihis
means that within aD of the other clarity
and color grades, there are many versions
of each grade, each different from aD othei
within the same grade, with some versions
being considered better; more desirable anc
more valuable than other versions. For
example, if internal markings consistent
with a specific darity grade are located on
the edge of a diamond where they can be
covered by prongs when the diamond is set
this verson of the clarity grade is consid
ered better; more desirable and more valu
able than a version with the saipe internal
markings located in the center of the dia
mond where they cannot be covered by
prongs. SimUarfy, a version of a specific
color grade which is almost the next higjhe
color grade is considered better, more desir
aMe and more valuable than a version
which is almost the next lower color .grade
This means that although two diamonds
may each be within the same darity and
’ color grade and, thus, “sound” like equal
quality diamonds, one of the diamonds
may, in fact, be substantially more valuable
than the other
Most consumers are aware of the fact
that “cant weight” is a standard of measure
ment in the diamond industry. Few con
sumers are aware of the fact that “carat
weight” and “size” are not the same thing.
“Carat weight” denotes the weight of the dia
mond as measured by a scale. One carat
equals 1/5 gram. “Size” denotes the millime
ter dimensions of a diamond as measured bj
a millimeter gauge.
TVso diamonds can have the exact same
carat weight yet have greatly differing mil
limeter dimensions. Whether two diamonds
of the same carat weight have the same mil
limeter dimensions depends on how the
weight of each diamond is distributed. For
example, if one round diamond weighing 1
carat has a great proportion of its carat
weight distributed in its depth, it will appear
to be much smaller in “face-up” appearance
than another round diamond, also weighing
carat, which has a great proportion of its
carat weight distributed in its diameter. This
difference can be very substantial Some 1
carat diamonds face up smaller than some
1/2 carat diamonds. So if two diamonds are
exactly the same carat weight, exactly the
same darity and exactly the same cola; the
two diamonds “sound” the same, yet one can
appear to be twice the size of die other So
even though the two diamonds are identical
in carat weight, identical in darity and ident
cal in color, the millimeter size difference car
make the larger appearing diamond worth as
much as 300% more than the smaller appeal
ingdiamond. *
When consumers fail to understand
that, except for “Flawless” darity and “D”
color, darity and color grades are based on
subjective, and not objective, criteria, and
constitute ranges of qualifying gemological
characteristics, and when they fail to under
stand that “carat weight” and “size” are no!
the same thing, they make cosdy buying
mistakes. As a result of these failures, these
uneducated consumers, in effect, make thel
buying derisions with their ears, based only
on what the diamond “sounds” like.
t Educated consumers do not purchase dia
monds with their ears. Educated consumers
understand that although one diamond ma
“sound” equal to or better than another, thi
truth may be otherwise. Educated consume
buy diamonds with their eyes, on the basis <
a visual examination.
At Nebraska Diamond our staff of
Certified Diamontologjsts* will show you
your diamond under laboratory grading
conditions so you can see your diamond
under the exact same conditions our
. Diamond Buyer used when he selected it fbi
our store. No other area store provides this
service. Accordingly, you do not have to tak*
. our word for the fact that our diamonds an
dearly superior. You will see it for yourself.
e Our incredible diamond inventory is one
important reason why Nebraska Diamond
will sell more diamond engagement rings
than all of the other area jewelry stores con
bined.
UNDERSTANDING CUT
i The “cut” of a diamond is divided into
two components: (1) “Shape” and (2)
i “Make”. “Shape” is a two dimensional con
cept consisting of length and width in whid
the outline of the outer edge of the diamon
in its “face-up” position is described. Typica
t shapes indude round, oval, pear, marquise,
heart, radiant, prinoess, emerald and trillio)
Each “Shape” is subdivided into various vei
aoas of that “Shape”. For example, some
marquise diamonds are long anl narrow;
others are short and fat, and others are in
between. Some versions of “Shape” are con
sidered in the diamond industry to be con
siderably better, more desirable and more
valuable than other versions.
“Make” is a much more complicated
e concept than “Shape”. “Make” involves the
entire geometry and all of the cutting propoi
tions of the diamond. The “Make” of a dia
f mond is defined in terms of how the physica
dimensions and angles of cutting interrelate
and how each and all of these factors affect
the physical appearance and optical light
handling capabilities nf the diamond
s Hie optical light handling capabilities i
a diamond produce two primary results: (1]
i Brilliance and (2) Fire. Brilliance is “reflect
ed” light and fire is “refracted” light In sin
'pie terms, brilliance is “white” light and fin
is light which has been broken down into
the primary and secondary spectral colors
, (red, blue, yellow and their secondary com
binations).
Reflected light (brilliance) phis refract*
light (fire) equals 100% of the light you see
As an increment of one type of light is
increased, the increment of the other type o
light must decrease, because the total of the
r two cannot exceed 100% of the light you se*
■ These are the laws of optics. Accordingly, if
the cutter fashions a diamond to increase il
brilliance, the co-result has to be a reductic
in fire. Conversely, if the cutter fashions a
diamond to increase its fire, the co-result
has to be a reduction in brilliance. This is
why there is no such thing as a diamond a
: to maximum brilliance and maximum fire
simultaneously. Accordingly, there is no sue
thing as a single “best” cut Any jeweler wh<
■ tdls you otherwise is giving you a sales
pitch.
Hie most important characteristic in
light handling capability that is affected by
“Make” is the improvement of the effidenc
with which die diamond handles light
When light enters a diamond three things
' happen: (1) Some of the light is reflected
back out from the diamond as brilliance, 0
some of the light is refracted back out from
the diamond as fire, and (3) the remainder
of the light leaks through the diamond and
is lost Hie more efficient a diamond, the
*
NEBRASKA DIAMOND
GIA Color GIA Clarity Carat Weight
rI. y— Flawless p *1 ct = 90 to 110 pts.
1 Colorless 1_-7/g ct = 80 to 89 pts.
-GZ Very Very WS1-1 3/4 ct = 70 to 79 pts.
Near h_ Slight 5/s ct = 56 to 69 pts.
Colorless 1_ ImperfectL VVSI-2 £ * = 45 55 i*
i_ Very Slight VSI-1 7/i6 ct = 40 to 44 pts.
Faint Yellow 1_ Imperfection 3/g ct = 36 to 39 pts.
-_ Vs1-2 1/3 ct = 29 to 35 pts.
VeryUght T . SM
Yellow -5— Imperfection */5 ct - 18 to 22 pts.
SI-2 1/6 ct = 15 to 17 pts.
' F Imperfect TT~ = “*“!4J*
i JL_ ^ ylOct = 9 to 11 pts.
JL_ I 7
' Light Yellow V_ 1_z
II 1-3
Y --
_Z
Fancy Yellow *1 Exact Carat = 100 Points
GIA Diamond Color and Clarity Terminology
less light it leaks. Hie less light a diamond
leaks, the brighter its overall appearance.
A superior “Make” increases the efficien
cy with which the diamond handles light
’ because a diamond of superior “Make” suf
fers a comparatively small amount of light
leakage/loss. An inferior “Make" decreases
the efficiency with which the diamond han
dles light because a diamond of inferior
? “Make” suffers a comparatively large
‘ amount of light leakagtyloss. Accordingly, '
* since a superior “Make” returns to the view
* er a larger total volume of light, it appears
brighter and shows correspondingly larger
volumes of reflected (brilliance) and refract
ed (fire) light
As noted above,in addition to affecting
the optical light handling capabilities of a
diamond the “Make” also affects die physi
cal appearance of the diamond. Diamonds
of superior “Make” face up the size expect
ed for their carat weight and show excep
tional brilliance and fire.
As you mow up the darity scale toward
h “Flawless” you move into darity qualities
that are increasingly rate. As you move up
the color scale toward “D” ydU move into
color qualities that are increasingly rare. It
is important to understand that an increase
in rarity does not inherently or automati
cally translateinto an increase in beauty,
lb the naked eye, there is no difference
| in beauty between a diamond graded
1 “Flawless” and the same diamond if it was
graded “SI-2”, because neither “Flawless”
L nor “SI-2” diamonds are considered to
show markings visible to the naked eye.
“Flawless” darity and “SI-2” darity are dif
ferent versions of beauty. Hie diamond will
cost more if it is “Flawless” darity than it
will if it is “SI-2” darity, but that higher
cost is primarily a function of rarity, not
beauty.
Similarly, one color is not inherently
and automatically more beautiful than
another. “D” color is icy in appearance
compared to “M” color. “M” color is warm
in appearance compared to “D” odor. “D”
‘ color and “M” color are different versions of
beauty Hie diamond will cost more if it is
“D” color than it will if it is “M" color, but
that higher cost is primarily a function of
rarity, not beauty.
* Rarity is a fact of nature. Beauty is in
1 the eye of the beholder. When consumers
assume that higher clarity diamonds are
automatically more beautiful than lower
‘ darity diamonds, or assume that higher
color diamonds are automatically more
beautiful than lower color diamonds, they
make cosdy buying mistakes. Paying extra
for rarity does not guarantee you a more
d beautiful diamond. It bears repeating that
educated consumers buy with their eyes, cm
the basis of a visual examination.
* Uneducated consumers buy with their ears,
on the basis of what the diamond “sounds”
like.
s UNDERSTANDING THE TKKKS OF THE
a ™“
Consumers should be aware of various
trade practices in the jewelry industry
which are used to unduly influence buying
I decisions. Hie three most prominent “tricks
of the trade” are (1) Deceptive showroom
[j lighting conditions, (2) fake sales, and (3)
, misdirection.
Promoting diamond jewelry by showing
it under special showroom display lighting is
considered normal practice in the jewelry
industry. Hiis lighting is recognizable by its
, “hot”, “bright” or “intense” appearance, and
includes spot lights, flood lamps, reflector
lamps, tubular display case bulbs, chande
liers and similar light sources. This type of
I) display lighting is unfair to consumers
because it artificially enhances the appear
ance of diamond brilliance and fire and, in
addition, such lighting makes it impossible
to reliably determine diamond clarity and
color grades. The effect is so extreme that
even very poor quality diamonds shown,
under such lighting will sparkle like they
belong in the Crown Jewels of England.
Professional diamond buyers never
purchase diamonds under such lights.
Professional diamond buyers purchase dia
monds only under laboratory grading
lights. Laboratory grading lights are
“Tbbular fluorescent color corrected day
light bulbs rated at 5000 KeMn”.
Laboratory grading lights neutralize bril
liance and fire and render colors accurate
ly. Only under laboratory grading lights do
you see exactly what you are buying, with
no surprises later.
At Nebraska Diamond our Diamond
Buyer insists on laboratory grading lights
and our customers deserve nothing less. We
use laboratory grading lights in every over
head fluorescent fixture in our store. Our
customers purchase their diamonds under
the exact same lighting used by our own
Diamond Buyer. No other area jewelry store
provides its customers with the strict 100%
laboratory lighting conditions we have at
Nebraska Diamond.
Fake sales have reached epidemic pro
portions in the jewelry industry. In the Fake
sale scheme the store places a fictitious and
exorbitant “regular” price on the merchan
dise and then advertises it at some seem
ingly giant “discount”. In reality the store
has never sold the item at the “regular”'
price and has simply marked it up to mark
it back down to give the consumer the illu
sion of a “bargain”.
At Nebraska Diamond our pricing poli
cy follows the no nonsense philosophy of
“lowest price every day". Ibis means that
you never have to wait for a “sale” at
Nebraska Diamond. We are very serious
about fulfilling our commitment to offer
our merchandise at the lowest prices in the
market every day. That commitment is an
important reason why Nebraska Diamond
« has grown to completely dominate
Lincoln’s diamond jewelry market
“Misdirection” is the Art of getting the
consumer to make a buying decision on
the basis of something other than the prod
uct itself. In the jewelry industry “misdirec
tion” takes two primary forms: (1) Using a
“gizmo” to “prove” that the diamond
meets a superior standard, and (2) using
third party “authentication” to “prove” one
diamond is better than another.
Analyzing brilliance and fire in a dia
mond is such a complicated subject that to
properly study diamond light handling
characteristics the GIA has utilized comput
er technology to create a computerized
“virtual diamond” with 20,122 different
proportion combinations. The GIA studied
the way light travels through these 20,122
combinations and measured the brilliance
of each through a numerical evaluation
the GIA calls “Weighted Light Return”
(WLR). Because thousands of these propor
tion combinations produce beautiful dia
monds, the GIA has never been able to
develop a scientifically proven cut grade
rating system and, in that regard, GIA
research is still in progress..
In spite of the foregoing, some jewelers
show consumers a gizmo, place a diamond
inside and, by virtue of some otherwise
invisible pattern in the diamond revealed by
die gizmo, announce that the diamond cut
is perfect and superior in every way. In fact,
the gizmo used to reveal the otherwise invis
ible pattern does not measure beauty or
brilliance. Hie gizmo is a misdirection tod.
Diamonds which are pushed on consumers
by misdirection tricks are called “Gimmick
Diamonds” by people in the diamond indus
try
Hie two most notorious Gimmick
Diamonds are the “Hearts and Arrows” dia
mond and the American “Ideal Cut” dia
mond, which are marketed at premium
prices under a variety of fancy sounding
brand names. Hie “Hearts and Arrows” dia
mood and the American “Ideal Cut” dia
mond are touted by their dealers as “the
most brilliant” diamonds. Tlie claim is pure
hype. The Arqerican Gem Society (AGS) “0”
cut grade is the basis of the “Hearts and
Arrows” diamond. When the GIA examined
the range of proportions of the AGS “0” cut
grade, examples generated a “Weighted Light
Return” (WLR) value in the “typical” catego
ry for brilliance, an unimpressive rating
which is well below GLVS highest WLR bril
liance category. In the same GIA tests the
American “Ideal Cut” proportions generated
WLR values in the “moderately low” category
for brilliance.
Similarly, some jewelers present “certifi
cates” containing third party descriptions of
the diamond to “prove” that their diamond
is better than the diamond at the other
store. The objective is to get the consumer to
choose a diamond on the basis of what a
piece of paper says about it, and not on the
basis of actually visually examining the dia
mond. After all, if these “certificates” are
prepared by independent third parties they
must be unbiased and correct, right7 Not
quite. What the consumer is not told is that
all these certificates contain accuracy dis
claimers and, further, that some third party
providers grade diamonds using lenient sub-.
jective grading standards so that their “cer
tificates” read better and the diamonds*
described in them “sound” better than If
they used strict subjective grading stan
dards. No “certificate” regardless of its
detail, tells you whether the diamond is
beautiful or brilliant “Certificates” are mis
direction tools.
M SEARCH OF BEAUTY; STYLE AND
YRLQF
Every year at Nebraska Diamond we
make thousands of engaged couples happy
they came to see us. The couples who have
the easiest, most comfortable and most fun
time purchasing thdr engagement ring all
share the same three objectives: (1) They
want a (jjamond they feel is beautiful, (2)
they want a ring style they both love and (3)
they want die diamond and ring to be with
in thdr budget
The most beautiful diamond to one per
son may not be the most beautiful diamond
to another. At Nebraska Diamond our
Certified Diamontologists* are educated and
trained to listen to you so that they can
show you a selection of diamonds having
the characteristics you find the most beauti
ful. Our tremendous diamond inventory
guarantees that we always have the correct
diamond (Ki hand to satisfy all of your
requirements for beauty.
When it comes to ring style selection,
Nebraska Diamond is Nebraska’s only
Engagement & Wedding Ring Superstore. All
the other area jewelry stores combined can
not show you the ring style selection you
will see simply by coming to Nebraska
Diamond. We guarantee that no matter
where you have been or what you have seen
you will be absolutely astonished by the
selection at Nebraska Diamond.
You, and only you, know what budget is
comfortable for you. Our advice to you
regarding the topic of budget is very simple:
(1) Set a budget (2) Stay within that bud
get At Nebraska Diamond we show respect
for our customers by honoring the budget
limitations they set One of the advantages
of being the Engagement & Wedding Ring
Superstore is that we have beautiful engage
ment and wedding rings to fit every budget
Any jewelry store can claim to be the
“best”, but the proof is in the performance.
Any jewelry store can claim to have the
“biggest and best selection”, but the proof is
in the performance. Any jewelry store can
claim to have the “most beautiful and bril
liant diamonds”, but the proof is in the per
formance. Any jewelry store can claim to
have the “lowest prices”, but the proof is in
the performance.
Our performance record speaks for
itself: Nebraska Diamond will sell more
engagement and wedding rings thap all of
the other area jewelry stores combined.
We look forward to serving you.
"The distinction of Certified Diamontologist is
awarded by die Diamond Council of America,
a non-profit educational organization, only
after a comprehensive course of study and >
proven proficiency by testing.
Copyright© 2001. Nebraska Diamond
Sales Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NEBRASKA
DIAMOND
8th Floor Wells Fargo Center
13th &0 Streets ‘
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
(402) 474-6400
USA 1-800-334-GEMS
The Engagement & Wedding
Ring Superstore91
