Buying Your Perfect Diamond

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Antique, Appraisal, Diamonds, Engagement, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Gemstones, insurance scheduling, jewelry, Jewelry Appraisal, personal property, Rarity, Value, worth

There is a lot to consider when purchasing a diamond. You want to make sure that you are getting the most beautiful, high quality gem that your money can buy, but what do you need to know? In the end you shouldn’t get too “hung up” on optics, angles and scientific details. You should remember the old expression “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The question is, ultimately, do you think it’s a beautiful diamond? Does it take your breath away? Understanding the quality factors will help, but don’t worry, you don’t need to become a diamond expert.

Particularly if it’s a larger diamond, it should be accompanied by a quality analysis report generated by a reputable gem lab, like the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). At the least, a qualified and experienced gemologist should analyze the diamond. Once we know the gem has been properly graded, the next question is, how do we look at the grading criteria and determine which stone is the best for us? Four criteria must be considered and need to be understood to buy intelligently. They are called the four C’s: Color, clarity, cut and carat weight.

Buying a diamond requires developing a personal opinion of what constitutes beauty and, with your budget in mind, deciding which of the criteria you’re willing to sacrifice and to what extent.

COLOR:  Although diamond occurs in every color of the spectrum, when we think about the first “C”, relatively color-less stones come to mind. The commonly accepted scale used to describe these colors starts with “D”, the most colorless, and ends with “Z”, the most yellow, brown or gray. The GIA developed this scale in 1953. Previously existing systems had used grades such as A, AA, AAA, B and C. It was a confusing array of letters that had questionable meaning.

GIA’s scale eliminated much of the confusion by starting with the letter “D” and established clearly defined grades, as follows:

• D through F               colorless
• G through J                near colorless
• K through M               faint yellow, brown or gray
• N through R               very light yellow, brown or gray
• S through Z               light yellow, brown or gray

Most people will be unable to see color in a diamond with a grade as low as “I” or “J”, particularly if it’s in a setting. If the setting is yellow gold, the diamond’s color will be even harder to detect.

Fluorescence is a characteristic often associated with color. It is generally mentioned on “certificates”, next to the color grade. If a diamond is fluorescent, it “glows” when exposed to ultraviolet light, a component of sunlight. The most common fluorescent color is blue but other colors occur as well. Blue fluorescence has the potential to lessen the appearance of yellow-ness in a diamond, making it look better. Faint or medium blue fluorescence will not detract from the beauty or value of a diamond and might actually be considered a distinctive identifying feature.  If blue fluorescence is strong or very strong, however, the diamond may, on rare occasions, appear “oily” or lose a bit of transparency, particularly when viewed outdoors.

Here are a few things to think about that relate to the color of the diamond you’re selecting:

1. What size diamond would you like?
2. What is the shape and facet arrangement of the gem?
3. If the stone is well cut, and therefore more brilliant, the color grade may not need to be as high.
4. If the stone is intended for an engagement ring, you may want to spend a little more and get a better color.
5. If the diamond is less than .25 carats, it doesn’t show its color to the same extent, so a top color grade may be unnecessary.

One needs to determine how colorless they would like their new diamond to be, relative to their budget. Some will opt for a colorless stone because of its great rarity and others will choose lower color grade diamonds because one or more of the other C’s is more important to them. There are many that will select a diamond with a color grade in the G to J range because they’re not the most expensive and yet, the average person will not see any color in the stone. There is no right or wrong answer. With a clear understanding of the nature of color in diamond, you simply need to decide what’s most important to you.

CLARITY: The clarity grade of a diamond is an expression of the visibility of features within the stone and on its surface, at 10 power magnification. Internal characteristics are called inclusions and surface features are called blemishes. The eleven possible grades are as follows:

• FL                                          Flawless
• IF                                          Internally Flawless
• VVS₁ &VVS₂                           Very, Very Slightly Included
• VS₁ & VS₂                              Very Slightly Included
• SI₁ & SI₂                               Slightly Included
• I₁, I₂ & I₃                               Included

As with color, top clarity grade diamonds are very rare and very expensive. However, the average person will not generally be able to see even an SI₂ inclusion with their untrained eye. Is rarity important to you? How much would you be willing to pay for it? There are a few things to consider when deciding on your preferred clarity grade. It’s harder to see inclusions in:

1. Small stones
2. Diamonds with points like marquise and pears
3. Gems with smaller facets
4. Bezel-set stones with metal covering the entire edge of the diamond.

With these things in mind, you might opt for a lower clarity grade stone than you would otherwise. Be aware, however, some inclusions are less desirable than others. Chips and surface-reaching fractures may actually undermine the durability of the gem.

CUT: The third “C” is the most complicated. The cut grade is assigned after considering the geometry of the finished diamond and the care that was taken in polishing the facets, regardless of the stone’s shape (i.e. round, oval, pear, cushion, etc.) and facet arrangement. A well cut diamond returns as much light to the viewer’s eye as possible. This light could be seen as brilliance (white light), fire (colored light) or sparkle; hopefully a pleasing combination of the three.

A complication arises when the following question is asked: “what combination of proportions and angles creates the ideal balance of brilliance, fire and sparkle?” There have been a variety of answers to that question. Many diamond cutters, scientists, gemologists and jewelers have offered their opinions and presented their evidence. As of yet, however, an “ideal” has not been universally agreed upon, particularly for shapes other than round. So where does that leave you?

The laboratories that assign a cut grade, use terms to describe ranges of cut quality. GIA’s cut grading scale, for example, is as follows: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor (it is assigned for round stones only). After seeing a number of diamonds, you’ll realize that not every “excellent” cut diamond looks the same but every one should look more brilliant, fiery and/or sparkling than a “very good” or “good” cut grade diamond and you’ll develop an opinion of what type and pattern of light return you prefer. If you’re shopping for a round diamond, use these grades as a guide, but regardless of whether the diamond is round or not, consider the type and quality of light return. Do you think it’s attractive?

CARAT WEIGHT: This is the only one of the 4-C’s that has nothing to do with quality. There are large, poor quality diamonds and small high quality diamonds. Carat weight, however, has everything to do with rarity. Big diamonds are harder to find than small ones, so they’re more expensive. What’s a carat, you ask? A carat is a unit of weight that equals a fifth of a gram. One carat is made up of 100 points.

There’s an interesting phenomenon that relates to carat weight. The price for certain significant weights is higher than one might expect. The cost of a half carat (50 point) diamond, for example, is higher than a 49 point stone, all other factors being equal. The difference is more than one point would justify, however. The reason for the jump in price is the psychological significance of a half carat. Other significant weights are one carat, a carat and a half and two carats. So, if you’re interested in buying a one carat diamond, you’ll save some money if you get a “98 pointer” instead. It will look like a one carat stone but no one will know it’s a couple of points shy.

As you’re shopping around, decide which of the 4-C’s is most important to you. Although you may not consider yourself a diamond expert, you now know what makes one diamond more or less desirable than another and you know what you’re willing to spend. Make sure that you allow your own personal sense of beauty to guide you in selecting your perfect diamond.

This article was written by Daniel W. Campbell, BS, GG, FGA, Graduate Gemologist and Associate Appraiser at Bernards Appraisal Associates, LLC in Gladstone, New Jersey. (908) 234-1153

Taking Stock – The Importance of Archiving Your Assets

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antique furniture, Antiques, Appraisal, Appraising, Archive, artwork, Charitable Contribution, damage/loss, decorative art, Estate Appraisal, Fine Art, Insurance Claims, insurance scheduling, Inventory, jewelry, Matrimonial Appraisals, oriental carpets, Peace of Mind, personal property, personal property appraisers, silver

It’s human nature to keep thoughts of devastating fires, storms and theft furthest from our minds. But if disaster strikes, are you prepared? Having a detailed property inventory is the first step to ensuring that you will not only survive a damage loss, but that you will be made whole again.

So why is it that doing a property inventory is the last thing on our ‘to do’ list? Is it that taking inventory of our lives is too close to home? A property inventory is crucial not only to determine adequate amounts of insurance coverage prior to a loss, but it will also expedite the claims process after a loss has occurred.

Establishing adequate insurance coverage for the contents within your home is the driving force behind the decision to conduct a personal property inventory. Having an up-to-date inventory not only establishes your net worth of tangible property, it also helps you to adjust your insurance coverage accordingly. You may even discover that after your assets are valued you are under-insured, or better yet, over-insured, and paying too high an insurance premium.

However, there is another reason you may consider conducting an inventory. Perhaps you are relocating, scaling down or starting to consider which items to bequeath to loved ones. Whatever your goals, knowing the value of your property is the first step to making an informed decision.

Developing an Inventory/Appraisal

There are two common types of property inventories: written and pictorial. The ideal inventory combines both types of inventories, including a detailed written and enumerated inventory that is supported by photographs of the property. There are many different software options out there to help with the inventory process, however it is essential that you have a value to go along with the description.

After the Inventory/Appraisal

After you have developed your inventory or received your appraisal it is important to store a backup copy at an off-premise location, such as a safe deposit box or with a trusted relative. You should also provide a copy of your inventory/appraisal to your insurance agent and use this document to review your current content coverage to make any necessary adjustments. In many instances, the valuable items, including antiques, silver, Oriental carpets and jewelry may not be covered under your general homeowners insurance. Specialty items often require special coverage beyond the basic contents coverage. This additional insurance coverage is referred to as a rider or floater and provides the policyholder with extra protection beyond the provisions contained in a standard insurance agreement.

Updating the Inventory

The property inventory should be updated every six months to one year. The appraisal is required by the insurance industry to be updated every three years for adequate insurance coverage. If you are in the process of re-furnishing your home or collecting, be sure to continuously collect receipts from new purchases and keep them entered in a database.

Tips for Pictorial Inventories

• Take wide-angle photographs or a video of entire rooms.

• Take individual, close-up shots of expensive items.

• Zoom in on important labels and special features such as signatures of paintings, underside of an antique vase, close-up image of the reverse of an Oriental carpet to illustrate the foundation weave, and the secondary construction of antique furniture, i.e., the drawer frame.

• Take photos of the interior of cabinets, and drawers to illustrate the contents.

• Label each photo with the description, item name and date.

Although it is always important to document the big ticket items, such as artwork and antique furniture, don’t forget that the small items such as decorative art and silver can really add up. At some point in our lives there comes a time when we need to take stock of all the personal artifacts we have inherited and/or accumulated along the way. Don’t wait until it’s too late, for you never really know what you have until you have lost it.

The above article was written by Martine M. White of Bernards Appraisal Associates, LLC, in Gladstone, New Jersey. Ms. White is a Senior Certified Appraiser of Antiques & Decorative Arts with the American Society of Appraisers and the Appraisers Association of America. Ms. White has been appraising personal property in the Metropolitan area since 1988. Martine and her associates specialize in appraising fine art, antique furniture, Oriental carpets, silver and jewelry. Martine can be reached at 908.234.1153.