Brilliance…

What woman doesn’t love jewelry, or how about diamonds? Diamonds are a girls best friend, right? When my husband first bought me my diamond wedding set he bought me something simple, yet beautiful. I loved it, however after a couple of years he added to it a nice wrap of diamonds. Not only did this make my ring look stunning, but it made me feel like a million bucks as well! You wouldn’t believe the compliments I received once we added to my ring. We never changed the size of my center stone, however we discussed that when we were done having children we would like to put a larger center stone in my ring, but I didn’t want to throw my old stone out. The old stone meant a lot to me, so we decided that when the time came we would really like to put that stone in the center of a Mother’s Ring. It would represent my husband and I and would make it more of a “family” ring. Without that stone, that ring, we wouldn’t have our family. The ring is what started it all, and therefore that stone is special to us. 

Over the years I have glanced the loose certified diamonds in many different shops, however I was always pretty clueless when it came to diamonds. There is so much you need to know about cut, color and clarity. It really just made my head spin. I never wanted to spend a small fortune, but at the same time, I wanted my ring to look nice. When buying loose diamonds it’s not the same as buying a diamond that is already set in a ring. Loose diamonds allow you to truly check out your diamond. There is no way to hide the imperfections in a mounting or other setting. You can get a better look at the diamonds and will be sure you are getting what you are paying for. Sites like Brilliance.com offer thousands of choices so it’s easier for you to find exactly what you want in a diamond in your price range. I was very impressed with the number of diamonds and different prices when I browsed their site.

A couple of things I learned from Brilliance.com…

-Look for stones that have received diamond certification from a respectable laboratory. They recommend you use one of the world’s 5 most trusted laboratories: GIA, AGS, EGL, IGI, and HRD. 

-Look for someone who has been in business long enough to establish a trusting relationship with suppliers and customers.

-A high-quality loose diamond will always hold its value, but the setting does not.

-Bigger is not always better. You need to make sure that the diamond is good quality. Sometimes you can have a nice sized diamond, but if it’s not a great quality, it’s not necessarily a better diamond. Find a balance between size and quality.

I will definitely be shopping around when I go to purchase my center stone (which will probably not be until my boys are older) but when I do buy my stone I will be sure to remember these great pointers.