Jewelry can be a good investment as well as a welcome gift. It is easier to shop for diamond jewelry if you know something about carat, clarity, cut and color. These are what is called the four Cs of buying a diamond. To help make the best selection when buying any kind of jewelry – whether it has diamonds or not – it is good to know some of the following guidelines.
- Learn everything possible about the gem or jewelry type in which you are interested before you start to shop. Also, decide which factor is the most important, whether the design, value or quality. You can more easily narrow your choices if you know what your priorities are beforehand.
- Ask friends and family for referrals to their favorite jewelers. Those from whom they have purchased in the past and would buy from them again may be a good choice for you.
- When you visit a local jeweler, take notes and write whatever they tell you concerning the description and any other information, such as their guarantee. When you make a purchase either online or from a local shop, save all paperwork, such as receipts, warranties, guarantees and appraisals. Ask about return policies before making a purchase.
World’s Most Famous Diamonds
A ring known as the “Tsarevna Swan” has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most cut-diamonds. The 18k white gold ring, created by the Lobortas Classic Jewelry House of Kiev, Ukraine, is set with 2,525 diamonds. Lobortas has set the price of the ring at $1.3 million.
Here are some other world-famous diamonds:
- The Great Star of Africa – at 530.20 carats, the Cullinan I or Star Africa diamond is the largest cut diamond in the world.
- The Centenary Diamond – 273.85 carats, together with a small select team, master-cutter Gabi Tolkowsky took almost three years to complete its transformation into the world’s largest, most-modern-cut, top-color, flawless diamond.
- The Regent – 140.50 carats, the exceptional limpidity and perfect cut of this stone give it an incontestable reputation as the most beautiful diamond in the world.
