he physical conditions necessary to color a diamond naturally occur very scarcely, making natural color diamonds extremely rare.

How rare? For every natural color diamond, there are 10,000 colorless ones that have made the trip to the Earth’s surface. It is this entirely natural process of geographical formation which ensures that each natural color diamond is one of a kind


The formation of natural color diamonds is a process that requires the presence of not only the original magical formula for all diamond creation, but also the presence of additional trace elements and distortions to the typical diamond crystal. If an element interacts with carbon atoms during diamond creation, the diamond’s color can change. Radiation and pressure on a diamond’s structure will also impact its color as well.




What Variables Give Diamonds Their Color ?

	The presence of nitrogen can impart yellow or orange shades to a diamond.

The presence of boron will impart a blue shade to a diamond ranging from deep blue to sky blue.

The presence of hydrogen produces unique violet hues.

Tremendous pressure exerted on a diamond deep in the earth can abnormally compress its structure, thus creating a red, pink, purple or brown stone. Evidence of graining, which scientists believe is attributed to tremendous pressures under the earth can be seen at 10x in many Argyle pink and congac diamonds.

Natural radiation impacting already formed diamonds over millions of years can give them a green hue.

diamonds form

Diamonds, composed almost entirely of carbon molecules, crystallize and form under intense heat and pressure about 150 kilometers down and within the Earth’s mantle, just above the Earth’s molten core.


At one time or another, a vent or pipelike opening occurs starting beneath the mantle where the superhot molten material exists. A crack in the base of the mantle opens into the pipelike vent and the molten flow shoots upward under volcanic-like pressure carrying with it surrounding material containing the formed diamonds within it. This wondrous elevator ride to the surface carries diamonds in two types of magma – kimberlite and lamproite.

Since it has never been possible to observe nature forming a diamond in the rough within the Earth’s mantle, we cannot say with precision exactly how long the process takes. We do know, however, that when all conditions are perfect, all elements precisely in place at one time, that it is only a matter of a few days for carbon atoms to be transformed into rough diamond structure. But it then might take millions, if not a billion, years before natural color diamonds are formed and can surface where they can be discovered. 

origins of color

Look up into a clear, cloudless blue sky and wonder, “What makes it blue?” Look quickly there after a fresh summer rain and see the incredible rainbow. What makes such a dazzling display of color? How do my eyes work and what makes me see? Vision and color, such wonderful miracles in life both depend on what many believe is the primary origin of all life....pure light.

It is the existence of light that brings form from void, sight from non-sight, working in magical ways on molecules of air-borne water that brings forth the rainbow. And it is pure light reaching the internal essence of a color diamond that brings forth the full spectrum of nature's palette to entice and envelop our sight. One time blue, one time yellow, or brown, or olive or….the possibilities are endless in hue, combination, intensity, saturation. But there is more at work here than pure light and the world of natural color 

diamonds reveals its complexities, subtleties and mystique.

New Diamond Cut Grading Systems

This article addresses the challenges facing technology providers as the gem labs roll out their new cut grading systems. I shall divide the article into 5 parts, as follows:

	Part 1: The role technology providers play in the diamond pipeline.
	Part 2: The effects of new diamond cut grading systems on technology for diamonds.
	Part 3: 2 alternative approaches to adapting existing technology to the new diamond cut grading systems.
	Part 4: Spotlight on the role of geometry measurements.
	Part 5: Summation and a few recommendations.

Part 1: The role technology providers play in the diamond pipeline
Technology and high-tech equipment are increasingly being used in almost every link of the diamond pipeline. Heavy machinery for mining and sorting is used for extracting diamonds from the earth, sea, and rivers. Expert and decision-supporting systems are used for planning rough diamonds, often marking them with a laser beam in preparation for manufacturing. The diamond manufacturing process utilizes different technological products for most phases of production, including: laser cutting, centering, blocking, bruting, polishing, and marking machines. The quality assurance phase at the end of production introduces accurate proportion measurement machines. Grading, that is typically performed at gemological labs, incorporates proportion and symmetry measurement machines, as well as diamond color grading machines, in some labs. Finally, retailers now use an array of different sales and promotion tools for demonstrating a diamond's proportions, color, hearts & arrows phenomena, light performance parameters, and even for inscribing a security or personalization message on the diamond.


Part 2: The effects new cut grading systems will have on technology for diamonds
Since technology use is so widespread across the diamond pipeline, it is bound to be significantly effected by the introduction of new diamond cut grading systems.
Three major effects we can expect are these:

1.	The rough planning process will need to change in a way that will take into account all the relevant light performance parameters, but still output proportions and angles that diamond manufacturers can use. This is how diamonds have been cut for years, and any change in the cut grading system needs to address the needs of the diamond manufacturers.
2.	The second effect to expect is on quality assurance and diamond grading products. These will have to be able to measure and grade light performance parameters that will become part of the new grading systems. This will definitely require a new generation of quality assurance and grading products. Two approaches to these changes are coming up later in this presentation.
3.	Sales promotion products will need to address the task of explaining and demonstrating the new grading system in a clear, simple, and straightforward way to diamond buyers. Anyone who has tried to explain the '4 Cs' to a diamond buyer knows just how difficult this can be, especially when you reach the 'C' standing for 'Cut'. Imagine how potentially complicated this might become when you try and explain brilliancy, fire, and scintillation to the client in the two-and-a-half minute typical attention span.

Clarity Enhancement

Diamond clarity is a function of the number, size, color, and placement of inclusions in the diamond.  Since theses inclusions are in essence just cavities filled with different types of materials, you can greatly enhance the clarity of the diamond by reaching those inclusions from the surface and cleaning out the cavity.  To enhance clarity further, a fascinating processes created by Yehuda Diamonds is used to actually fill the cavity with a microscopic amount of a patented compound that makes the inclusion literally disappear to the naked eye.

Lets take a look at the different types and stages of clarity enhancement:

1) Deep Boiling:

This is the only type of clarity enhancement that is sanctioned by the GIA.  This involves boiling the diamond under deep pressure in a special acidic solution.  This procedure only works on diamonds whose inclusions are black and reach the surface.  If the inclusion cavity does not reach the outer surface of the finished cut diamond, then the acid has no way of penetrating the inclusion.  Likewise, deep boiling does not fill in the cavity, it simply removes the black compound that’s filling it.  So at best this procedure can remove a very noticeable black inclusion and replace it with a slightly translucent white inclusion.  This procedure is so commonplace and cheap that most diamond manufacturers simply deep boil an entire production of diamonds before sorting to be sure they have removed any black inclusions that could be removed.  There is no stigma whatsoever attached to this treatment.

2) Laser Drilling:

This procedure is what is done to diamonds whose black inclusions do not reach the surface of the diamond. A microscopic hole is burned with a laser beam from the surface of the diamond to the black inclusion contained within the diamond.  Once a passageway has been opened up, then the diamond is deep boiled to remove the black from the inclusion.  This procedure will leave a small, but detectably processed “tunnel” inclusion from the surface to the inclusion that was black prior to the procedure (See Figure 1).  This procedure is not sanctioned by the GIA and must legally be disclosed by anyone selling diamonds treated with laser drilling.

3) Special Laser Drilling:

This is basically the same as laser drilling, except that instead of burning a tiny “tunnel” from the surface of the diamond to the black inclusion, a microscopically thin plane is burned through the diamond until it reaches the black inclusion.  Despite the fact that the ensuing laser-created inclusion is larger than the “tunnel” left behind by the regular laser drill, its appeal is two-fold.

Firstly, for the unscrupulous diamond dealers out there (and there are many), the mark left is much more natural looking and harder to detect.  Secondly, the flat plane inclusion is more easily filled (see next item) than the “tunnel” created by a regular laser drill.

4) Fracture Filling:

This procedure involves filling the inclusion cavity with a microscopic amount of a special formula of silicon and other compounds.  This procedure works best with clear “feather” type inclusions.  These inclusions are generally clean empty cavities that when filled by the special solution become nearly invisible.  This procedure is often used in tandem with “Special Laser Drilling” to reach inclusions buried beneath the surface of the diamond.  As with deep boiling, you can only “fracture fill” a diamond if the inclusion you want to fill reaches the surface (otherwise, there’s no way to inject the inclusion, or “fracture,” with the solution).  For this reason, diamonds selected for fracture filling are often “special drilled” to open up the buried inclusion to the surface to allow the solution to reach it.  This process is said to have been invented by the Israeli scientist Zvi Yehuda in 1982.  His family currently runs a business called Yehuda Diamondswhere they sell clarity enhanced diamonds both directly on the internet and through partner stores.  Figure 2 is a sample picture from their site.  Like laser drilling, fracture filling needs to be legally disclosed with any purchase.  Furthermore, the GIA will not grade fracture filled diamonds.

Diamond Color

According to Blue Nile , diamond color is the 2nd most important characteristic of diamond quality. In fact, they claim that “When looking at a diamond, the human eye notices the diamond’s cut first and its diamond color second.”

The truth is, this statement is ridiculous.  As I have mentioned time and again, you cannot trust the person trying to sell you a product to provide you with an objective opinion about that very product.

I believe James Allen says it much better in their article about Diamond Color.  According to them, “Most people find it very difficult (if not impossible) to tell the difference from one color grade to another.  The difference in price, however, can be significant.”

Lets try to understand why Blue Nile’s claim is not true.  First of all, it’s simply preposterous to suggest that your eye first notices one of the 4 C’s, and then moves on to the other, as if somehow the light that is bouncing off the diamond and into your eye first bounces off the cut, and then bounces off the diamond’s color.  A diamond is an organic whole.  What your eye perceives is a balance of many factors and characteristics, including, but most definitely not limited to, the 4 C’s.

If you’re thinking, “well, it’s just a matter of semantics – what they probably mean is that when balancing out all the factors and characteristics that describe the diamond, Diamond Color, after Diamond Cut, has the most influence in the beauty of the diamond.”  But even that’s not true.

To get into the subject a little deeper, we need to differentiate between the different diamond shapes.  The different facet arrangements of the different shapes can greatly affect how much light is captured inside the diamond.  If I had to rank the importance of diamond color on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least important, and 10 being the most important) for the most common shapes, this is what I would come up with:

• Rounds – 3
• Princess – 5
• Emerald & Asscher – 6
• Oval, Marquise, Pear, Heart – 7
• Radiant, Cushion – 8

So for most of you (Round buyers) The Truth about Diamond Color is that if you showed just about anybody, excluding people who look at diamonds all day, an I or even a J colored diamond they would think that it is colorless.  And that’s only talking about loose diamonds.  If you’re going to set the diamond in a yellow gold setting, you could easily go down a few notched to a K, L, or even M color, and the diamond would still look fantastic. Even white gold or platinum engagement ring settings mask the diamond’s color somewhat.

To see a clear example of this, have a look at Zoara’s Diamond Color Tool.  This is a great demonstration of just how slight the variations are between the color grades between D and J on a Round Brilliant diamond.

Especially for Rounds, but also for other shapes, Diamond Color is primarily a relative characteristic.  What I mean by this is that an I-colored diamond really only looks like an I-color when it’s placed next to a higher-colored diamond for comparison.  In fact, this is how even expert diamond dealers and gemologists grade color — they place the diamond to be graded on a white folded card next to a master diamond to compare it to.  Nobody can reliably assess a diamond’s color simply by looking at the diamond in question.  So unless your bride to be plans on walking around with a set of GIA Diamond Color Samples in her pocket to take out and constantly compare to her ring, then you have nothing to worry about.  This will become relevant, though, if you’re purchasing an engagement ring with side diamonds, or perhaps a Three Stone Ring.  It is recommended that side (or accent) diamonds always either match the color of the center stone, or be slightly darker to accent the higher color of the center stone.

If you’re buying just a classic solitaire engagement ring setting with no accent diamonds, then don’t waste your money on a feature you will never be able to derive benefit from!

Another aspect to consider is Diamond Fluorescence and how it interacts with color.  Strong or Medium Blue Fluorescence will generally dull the brilliance of a colorless diamond (D-F, and even G, better to stay away from Strong Fluorescence), but will often make a diamond with a lower color appear whiter. So if you were really looking for great bang for your buck, look for a J or K color with Strong Blue fluorescence.

Diamond Cut (Shapes)

From Rough to Polished

The shape of a classic piece of diamond rough is called an “octahedron.” Imagine two 4-sided pyramids stuck together at their bases.  Typically, that piece of rough is sawed into two pieces which are each then made into polished diamonds.  Since diamonds jump in price exponentially with increased weight (well,not exactly, but see here for an explanation of diamond pricing), it makes more economic sense to saw that octahedron not down the middle, but just off center.  Then the center of that piece of rough becomes the girdle of the larger polished diamond. (see Figure 2)

Different Shapes – Different Yields

Don’t worry, there’s a reason why I’m boring you with all these details.   Take a look at Figure 2.  Try to imagine what the rough looks like after it’s been sawed through the plane represented by the black line.  What diamond shape does it look like?  If you guessed Princess cut, you’d be correct.  A princess cut is really just a slightly faceted sawed diamond crystal. It was invented not for its beauty, but in order to minimize loss of diamond material.  A Princess cut can easily have a yield percentage of rough of 80-90%  Compare this with a round diamond (represented by the purple diamond in Figure 3) that will at best have a yield percentage of rough of about 40%.

Diamond Polish

What is Polish?

Diamond Polish refers to how smooth the outside surface of a diamond has been polished.  You can achieve higher grades by using a finer grain diamond dust on the polishing wheel and polishing for a longer time.

Does Polish Matter?

I have worked in the industry for over 6 years, working for one of the largest and most well respected firms with offices in over 10 cities all over the world, and I cannot distinguish between an “Excellent” Polish diamond, a “Very Good” Polish diamond,  or even a “Good” Polish diamond.  Technically speaking, “Excellent” Polish diamonds have been polished longer on the polishing wheel with a finer grain of diamond dust, but the simple fact is, if I can’t tell the difference with a 10x loupe, there is absolutely no way you will ever be able to perceive a difference without it.

So while it might look nice on a piece of paper to have a pretty word like “Excellent” written three times, it’s certainly not worth the extra 10-20% you’re going to pay for it.  It would be like a car salesmen convincing you to purchase a $5000 upgrade package for a “friendlier cabin aura.”

Diamond Carat Weight

What is a Diamond Carat?

According to Wikipedia, the term diamond carat comes from the Greek word meaning “fruit of the carob tree.”  In ancient times, the seeds of the carob pod were used as standards for weight measurements, since the size of their seeds were almost always identical.  This provided a natural standard of measurement.

In in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, it was agreed that a modern diamond carat should equal precisely 200 milligrams.  This is technically known as a metric carat, and is the standard diamond carat weight that is used universally today.

Why does diamond Carat Weight matter?

The truth is, it doesn’t matter.  Think about it.  When you look at a diamond set in a ring, what does your eye see?  Does your eye see weight, or does your eye see physical size?  Obviously, your eye can only see physical dimensions — light doesn’t carry weight information back to your eye.  And if you think about it even more, your eye also doesn’t see the total physical size of the diamond, because most of it will be covered in jewelry.  All you can really see when you look at a diamond is the size of its surface area on the top of the diamond.  For a round diamond, that’s the diameter, and for other shapes, it’s a function of length and width.  For simplicity’s sake, for the rest of this article, I will refer to diameter, but what I am writing applied equally to non-round shapes.

Now, obviously, there is a direct correlation between the diamond carat weight and the diameter of a diamond.  It’s mathematically impossible for a 0.05ct diamond to have more surface area than a 1.00 carat diamond.  But because cut qualities can vary greatly, there is a vast amount of variance in the range of possible diameters for any given carat weight.  In my experience at Leo Schachter, a 1.00ct diamond can have a diameter that ranges from 5.60mm (a horrifically ugly deep diamond) all the way to about 6.60mm (a shallow “flat” diamond).

So as you can see, while weight should matter to you because it will help determine how much you are going to pay, what you should really be focusing on is the diamond’s cut grade and diameter.  After all, wouldn’t you rather have a 0.90ct diamond that is 6.2mm and looks fantastic yet is cheaper than a 1.00ct diamond that is only 6.1mm and looks terrible?

Diamond Symmetry

What is Diamond Symmetry?

Diamond Symmetry refers to how well aligned the facets of a diamond are.  i.e., do the edges of the facets on the top and bottom of the diamond line up along the girdle?  Are the facets aligned symmetrically around the diamond?

Is Symmetry any more important than Polish?

The simple answer to that question is: not really.  Take a look at the diagram on the right.  Each of the problems mentioned there (off-center culet, off-center table, misshapen facets, out-of-round circumference, crown and pavilion misalignment, and a wavy girdle) can definitely take away from the beauty of a diamond.  That’s not the issue.  The issue is that, I, the diamond expert with 6+ years of experience can hardly tell the difference between a diamond with “Good” symmetry and “Excellent” symmetry.  You will only see noticeable defects in symmetry as found in the diagram to the right in diamonds with a “Fair” or “Poor” symmetry grade.  So like Polish, do not spend any additional money to buy a diamond with a “Very Good” or “Excellent” symmetry grade.

Diamond Prices

For all diamonds, there are a few basic universal rules.  First of all, diamonds are all priced per carat.  So, lets say a 0.50 carat diamond has a price of $1400 per carat (that would be around a G/H SI1/SI2 at wholesale).  So that diamond’s price for the stone would be $1400 * 0.50, or $700. Secondly, diamond prices per carat increase as you jump up to higher weight categories.  Therefore, diamond prices increase exponentially with weight, since their prices increase both due to the increased weight and due to the higher price per carat for the increased weight category.  I stress categories, because you might mistakenly believe that prices per carat increase smoothly as weight is increased, but this is not the case.  Since diamonds are a retail product driven more by emotion than reason, a 0.99ct diamond is worth only about 1% more than a similar diamond weighing 0.98ct.  But a 1.00ct diamond is worth about 20% more than a similar 0.99ct diamond.  Why is that?  Maybe because now you can say it’s a “one carat diamond,” or maybe because now it’s three full digits.  Who knows.  But with diamonds, it’s all about feelings.  This little quirk about the business is the sole reason there are so many poorly cut diamonds out there.  You could imagine very easily that if there’s a 20% price jump from a 0.99ct diamond to a 1.00ct diamond, the cutter who looses that 0.01ct trying to make a prettier stone will lose his job.  Perhaps with the nicer cut it will only be worth 15% less instead of 20%, but either way, it’s a big loss.

This kind of price manipulation by maintaining weight categories has been taken to an extreme by many of the world’s largest diamond companies.  They will take rough diamonds with diameters that really should have only been used to make a 0.75ct-0.85ct diamond (with the proper cut to maximize brilliance), but instead will keep them over 0.96ct to sell them as 1ct diamonds to the major jewelry chains like Kay or Zales.  Even though they will have to sell these diamonds at steep discounts compared to well cut 1ct diamonds, they are still sold at a significant premium to well made 3/4ct diamonds.

See the charts below for a graphical representation of this price jumping phenomenon.

Diamond Clarity

Bottom Line Recommendation:  Buy the lowest diamond clarity you can that is still “naked eye-clean.”  While this is impossible with most online vendors, James Allenhas a fantastic tool they call a “virtual loupe”  which allows you to view their diamonds at about 20x magnification.  If you are unsure if the picture you’re looking at will translate to an “eye-clean” diamond, then please contact me and send me the link.  I’ll be happy to take a look for you.

The greatest myth about diamonds is that they are a smart investment.  Edward Jay Epstein, in his industry-shaking exposè on the “Diamond Invention” entitled“Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?” clearly and emphatically puts this idea to rest.  I recommend any prospective diamond buyer first read this article from start to finish.  It’s important to be in the right frame of mind when making such a major purchase and not be influenced by all the magic and emotion thrown at you from DeBeers advertising.

Diamonds are a retail product just like any other.  The product goes through various stages of production and distribution (mining, polishing, distribution, retail, and finally customer).  As the diamond changes hands, each participant takes their cut.  By the time the finished product ends up in the customers’ hands, the price is sufficiently inflated that you could never sell it without losing money.  If cars lose 15% when they leave the lot, then figure most diamonds probably lose at least 30-40% when they leave the store.

I began with this because the most common mistake people make when buying diamonds is they purchase a diamond with a diamond clarity grade that is simply too high to appreciate in order to buy a “good investment.”

Lets review the basics really quickly.  The scale of diamond clarity (GIA scale – other labs have added some other interim grades) goes like this (from best to worst): Internally Flawless (IF), Very Very Small Inclusions 1 (VVS1), Very Very Small Inclusions 2 (VVS2), Very Small Inclusions 1 (VS1), Very Small Inclusions 2 (VS2), Small Inclusions 1 (SI1), Small Inclusions 2 (SI2), Inclusions 1 (I1), Inclusions 2 (I2).

I worked in the diamond business for 6+ years.  If you gave me a diamond with a VVS2 diamond clarity grade, it might take me a few minutes with a 10x powered loupe to find the actual pinpoint of an imperfection that is the “Very Very Small Inclusion.”  I could find a VS1 in less time, but it’s only marginally larger than a VVS2.  VS2s and SI1 diamond clarity grades can be spotted right away with a 10x powered loupe, but almost always still completely invisible to the naked eye.  And even most SI diamond clarity grade diamonds cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Now, if a diamond is simply a product that has features that you want to benefit from (i.e., its beauty), why pay a lot more for features from which you will never benefit?

Figure 1: I1 at 9x

Think of your total investment in a diamond ring as a pie.  Each feature of the diamond has its own slice of the pie and the more you spend on a feature the larger its slice (and therefore, another slice or slices must become smaller). Wouldn’t it make sense to apportion the largest slices to the features you can actually derive benefit from?  All you have to do for the other features is make sure the slice is sufficiently large that it doesn’t detract from the beauty of the diamond.

Unfortunately, though, things aren’t quite as simple as I’ve made them seem.  An important thing to remember is that not all inclusions are created equal.  Some inclusions are shiny and some are almost completely clear.  Some inclusions, though, are dead white and some are even stark black.  Some inclusions are dead center in the middle of the diamond, and some are pushed so far off to the side, they aren’t noticed. The diamond clarity grade mainly takes into account the size of the inclusion, and rarely considers the color and opaqueness of the inclusion nor its position.

Thankfully, JamesAllen.com has some truly fantastic cutting-edge photography that will allow us to review actual diamond clarity examples with a tool they call “Virtual Loupe” that they claim provides 18x magnification.

Diamond Clarity – Real World Test

The first diamond I want to review is a 1.00 carat I1.

Figure 2: I1 at 18

This diamond is a perfect example of the great value you can find if you take advantage of technological breakthroughs like James Allen’s virtual loupe.  In Figure 1, which is at 9x magnification, you can barely see anything.  Had I not marked the inclusion in red, you probably would not have noticed it at all.  The inclusion is only slightly opaque, but best of all it is completely on the perimeter of the diamond.  A skilled jeweler could easily cover this with a prong to give your diamond the appearance of being completely clean.

In Figure 2, you can see the same diamond, but with 18x magnification.  In this picture, I have focused on the inclusion so you can better see how its color allows it to blend in with the natural color of the diamond.

The next diamond I want to review is a 1.01 carat VS2.  As you can see in Figure 3, there is a very small inclusion almost dead center in the table of the diamond.

Unfortunately, however, the inclusion is stark black.

Due to the combination of the inclusion’s position and its color, it is very possible it would be visible to the naked eye despite the fact that it has a diamond clarity grade of VS2.

Figure 3: VS2 at 9x

In Figure 4, you see the same inclusion, but at 18x magnification.

Now take a look at the table below (Figure 5) of the two different diamonds’ features.  They are virtually identical, save for three slight advantages the I1 has over the VS2 (No Fluorescence and Excellent polish, and slightly larger dimensions).

Now try to guess their prices.

The VS2? Listed on JamesAllen.com for $5,010.

The I1, which as I have shown isn’t simply a better value for your money spent, but is objectively speaking a better looking diamond?  $3,290.

The VS2 costs over 50% more than the I1!  And you know what you get in return for that $1720 extra you spent on the VS2?  A little black dot to always remind you of what a bad decision you made.

Figure 4: VS2 at 18x

Shape	Weight	Color	Clarity	Polish	Symmetry	Fluorescence	Measurements
Round	1.00	H	I1	EX	VG	None	6.38×6.45×3.97
Round	1.01	H	VS2	VG	VG	Medium Blue	6.36×6.40×3.99

To wrap things up, recall the pie analogy I mentioned earlier.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to take keep the Diamond Clarity slice nice and small (like the I1 from Figures 1 and 2) and instead increase the size of the Weight slice?  In our example here, you could easily upgrade to a 1.25ct diamond and you would still end up spending less than $5,010.

The Complete Diamond Stud Earrings Review

This article contains two main parts.  In Part I,  I will present general guidelines to be followed when buying diamond earrings in terms of the desired qualities (specific for studs) of diamond color, diamond clarity, and diamond cut.  In Part II, I will present the results of research I had performed to discover which online diamond vendor offers the highest quality diamond earrings (studs) for the best value.

Bottom Line Recommendation: Quality requirements for diamond stud earrings can be significantly relaxed when compared to diamonds to be set in engagemenet rings. This is due to the fact that the average distance at which they are viewed is notably larger than the distance at which engagement rings are viewed.   Additionally, due to the added viewing distance, many stones for engagement rings that aren’t considered eye-clean can be considered eye-clean for diamond studs.

If you want to “build your own” pair of studs by choosing stones online, you’ll need some help making sure the two stones match, and making sure you’re not spending too much on features that will go to waste.  Please don’t hesistate to contact me with any questions.  I’ll gladly look through inventory online and send you recommendations of specific stones.

If you want to buy already matched and set diamond earrings at a fixed price, then skip down to Part II of this article where I compare the diamond stud offerings of the four largest (and in my opinion, best) online diamond vendors: James Allen, Blue Nile, Abazias, and Mondera.

Part I – General Guidelines for Buying Diamond Earrings

Diamond stud earrings are the perfect gift.  Every woman needs them.  Every woman wants a pair.  They’re probably the most versatile piece of jewelry out there. She can wear them with anything, for any occasion.  They’re great for casual evenings, great for work, and great for formal occasions.

If you haven’t yet given your girlfriend, wife, or fiance a pair, you can always count on this simple gift making her very happy (and making you look like a King).  If  you have already given your girlfriend, wife, or fiance a pair of diamond studs, then you can always buy her a larger pair.

Here’s a general guideline of what to look for when buying studs online:

Color Quality – H-J is the right range for color.  Higher than this, and you won’t be able to appreciate the very high color from the normal distance from which you look at studs on someone’s ears.

Clarity Grade – In theory, you should be able to buy a pair of studs that are graded I1 clarity without a problem.  But unfortunately, since most online vendors sell their studs uncertified, it’s difficult to trust anyone selling something marked as I1.  Most of the time, these studs are a very low I1 or even I2, and most likely will have eye-visible inclusions.

If you are looking to buy large studs (2 carat total weight or more), then feel free to contact me to inquire about having me broker you a pair that I will choose myself from the Israel Diamond Bourse.  I guarantee what I choose will be clean to the naked eye and be a superior ideal cut.  I also guarantee I can beat almost any price you find online.

Otherwise, I recommend you buy online from my recommended vendors (see Recommendations at the bottom of this article).  Stick with their SI2 qualities.  In my report, I discovered that James Allen sells eye-clean diamonds in their SI2 quality whereas  Blue Nile, Mondera and Abazias do not.  Buying studs in VS2 quality is a waste of money.  The SI2s are clean to the naked eye, so what’s the point in upgrading to a VS2 if you get nothing out of the upgrade?

One final option is to use James Allen’s build your own diamond studs option.  With this option, you will only really benefit if you are buying a larger pair of studs.  Since the cost of GIA and AGS certification is relatively high,  paying for two certificates on a small pair of studs (1ct total weight and below) will add significantly to the price in percentage terms.  If you would like help choosing two great looking stones for studs (and make sure they match each other), then please feel free to contact me.

Cut Grade – Here as well, since the average distance from which you view studs on someone’s ears is quite far, you can be more relaxed about the cut quality.  Just stay away from extremes in terms of depth and table, and you will be fine.  A Good GIA Cut grade will be fine as long as the stone isn’t too deep (and therefore you loose too much spread on the face of the diamonds).

Part II – Review of Diamond Stud Earrings from the Four Best Diamond Stores Online

Recently I happened to notice that most of the major online diamond vendors sell their studs blindly – without certification.  From my experience selling to retailers like Blue Nile the small diamonds that end up in studs, I know the reason for this – generally, studs are a cheaper gift product and adding the cost of two certificates often knocks the product out of affordability.  While this is great for the consumer in that it keeps prices down – I realized that this also creates some major problems for the consumer as well.

1. How can the consumer trust what the vendor claims about the diamonds they are selling?
2. How can the consumer reliably compare prices across different vendors if no objective 3rd party can attest to the fact that they are comparing an equivalent product?
3. Customer reviews are great for giving the consumer confidence in a particular vendor, but how can the consumer compare customer service across different vendors?

Dan Inspecting Diamond Stud Earrings

That’s when I came up with the idea for the Complete Diamond Stud Earrings Review.  This report seeks to address the three issues just mentioned.  To accomplish this, a pair of studs from each of the four leading diamond vendors online (James Allen, Blue Nile, Abazias, and Mondera) were purchased and inspected.

Unfortunately, since I live in Israel, I was not able to do the evaluation myself, so in my place I hired a former colleague of mine from Leo Schachter, Dan P.  Dan has extensive experience in the diamond and jewelry industry having worked for some of the industry’s largest and best companies in New York for over 15 years.  We worked closely together on a number of projects for Leo Schachter, and so I am familiar with his experertise and professionalism on a very personal level.   I have the utmost respect for him and his opinions.

To accomplish this review, Dan ordered 1/2 carat total weight (1/4 carat diamond in each ear) round diamond stud earrings from each of the above mentioned vendors.  Each vendor has at least two different quality levels.  To keep things consistent across each vendor, we chose each vendor’s “SI” quality.  While on the phone with each vendor, he made sure to ask numerous questions to test the customer service representatives’ knowledge.  He evaluated each pair of studs, and then returned them to their respective vendor when finished.  He documented every step of the process: customer service, packaging, diamond quality, and ease of return.

The results of his hard work are presented below.  First I will present his findings vendor by vendor, followed by side-by-side comparisons of all of the vendors together.

A)  James Allen

Invoice From James Allen – Click to Enlarge

Close-Up of Studs from James Allen – Click to Enlarge

Customer Service – Dan found that James Allen’s customer service reps were the friendliest, most helpful, and most well educated of the four vendors reviewed.  One innovation of James Allen’s that Dan noted was particularly nice was that they would send him numerous very personalized emails from the same service rep.  This ensured that if he had any issue, he could address them to the same person who would always be familiar with his case.

Another positive about James Allen’s customer service is that they have extensive phone hours – they are open until 12 am EST – great for night owls, and great for customers on the West Coast.

Additionally, James Allen is the only vendor to offer moving 3D images of their studs so you can really get a feel for what they look like.  They offer this unique 3D view of all of their jewelry.

James Allen Packaging – Click to Enlarge

Packaging - James Allen’s packaging was really quite exquisite.  Upon opening the Fedex box,   you are faced with a very handsomely designed grey box with James Allen’s logo embossed on the cover (see below to the left).  When you open this grey box, you are faced with an elegant dark-wood polished jewelry box set squarely in the middle of a perfectly formed block of foam that matches the box perfectly (see below to the right).  All in all, this was far and away the best packaging of the four vendors.  If you want to impress  your wife or girlfriend, giving them a wrapped James Allen box will certainly do the trick.

James Allen Packaging – Click to Enlarge

Diamond Quality - James Allen offers platinum mounted diamond studs in a G/H Color VS2 Clarity quality level and they offer 18K White Gold mounted diamond stud earrings in an H/I Color SI1/SI2 Clarity quality level.  As mentioned earlier, for purposes of consistency, we ordered the SI quality from each vendor.

James Allen Packaging – Click to Enlarge

Dan found that James Allen’s claims of quality were right on target.  He described the pair of diamond studs from James Allen as being well-matched diamonds with a very high quality cut, with a very good SI2 clarity grade.  He estimated the color as being a high “I” color (I say “estimated” because it’s very hard to guage the color of a diamond in its setting).

Dan also noted that the quality and workmanship on the gold setting was very high.

Ease of Return – Unlike some of the other vendors, James Allen does not include a pre-prepared return mailing label in their package with their product.  Dan did mention, however, that James Allen’scustomer service was so helpful and the process so simple, that supplying a return label wasn’t really necessary.   Dan noted that their customer service rep expressed a polite regret for his decision to return the product, but it was not at all trying to make him feel guilty or trying to convince him to change his mind.

B)  Blue Nile

Invoice From Blue Nile – Click to Enlarge

Close-Up of Studs from Blue Nile – Click to Enlarge

Customer Service – Dan reported that the customer service representative (CSR) who took his order “was not very friendly and also not too helpful — he didn’t direct me to the premade stud section even though I told him what I wanted and at what cost. It was as if he was trying to upsell me, and I can’t stand that kind of pressure.”  On the other hand, Dan did note that while unfriendly and pushy, the
CSR who took his order was knowledgeable about diamonds and jewelry.  He answered questions (correctly) about diamond color,diamond clarity, metals, rhodium plating, ideal cuts, etc.

One positive note about Blue Nile’s customer service is that they have the most extensive phone hours of any of the vendors reviewed – they are open until 2 am EST – great for night owls, and even more convenient for customers on the West Coast.

Blue Nile Packaging – Click to Enlarge

Packaging -Blue Nile’s packaging was very standard – nothing special at all.  The blue jewelry box wasn’t nearly as elegant as James Allen’s darkwood box, the Blue Nile package included more materials, such as information about Blue Nile, jewelry insurance, and jewelry care along with the invoice.

Diamond Quality – Blue Nile offers platinum mounted diamond studs in what they claim is an H Color VS2 Clarity quality level and they offer 18K White Gold mounted diamond stud earrings in what they claim is an I Color SI2 Clarity quality level.  As mentioned earlier, for purposes of consistency, we ordered the SI quality from each vendor.

Upon inspection, Dan found that Blue Nile’s stated quality level was relatively on target.  He described the pair of diamond studs from Blue Nile as being well-matched. The SI2 in the Blue Nile studs, however, was notably stronger than the SI2 in the James Allen studs. Additionally, the cut on the Blue Nile studs was significantly worse than the cut quality on the James Allen studs. This makes sense, since the Blue Nile studs are only rated “Good” cut quality while the James Allen studs are rated “Ideal.” The huge difference in brilliance is readily evident in the pictures provided. The cheaper price for most sizes vs James Allen is definitely NOT worth the sizeable drop in brilliance.

Additionally, Dan noted that the culets on both stones from the Blue Nile pair had chipped culets.
Dan also noted that the workmanship and polish on the gold setting was very high.

Ease of Return – Dan noted that when he called to return the item, they were sorry for his need to return but were very helpful in instructing him on the return process which was very simple.  He also mentioned that the CSR who handled the return was very friendly.  To make things even easier, Blue Nile includes an adhesive self-addressed return mailing label on the actual invoice (see copy above on the left).  This shows a true concern for detail in making the customer’s experience as pleasant as possible.

C) Mondera

Invoice From Mondera – Click to Enlarge

Close-Up of Studs from Mondera – Click to Enlarge

Customer Service – Dan reported that the customer service representative (CSR) at Mondera who took his order was very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.  In fact, without Dan having to ask for it, she immediately gave him 5% off the listed price.   Dan noted that he was pleasantly surprised by this as none of the other vendors had done anything similar.

Unlike the late night phone hours that Blue Nile and James Allen keep, Mondera only keeps their phones open until 7 pm EST.  This can pose a problem for those shoppers too busy at work during the day to bother with making an order.  Of course, you can always place an order online at any time of day.  But I know from experience that many customers just don’t feed comfortable making such a major purchase without speaking to someone first.

Mondera Packaging – Click to Enlarge

Packaging – According to Dan, Mondera’s packaging was perfectly average.

Diamond Quality – This is where Mondera’s marks start to take a turn for the worse.

Like Blue Nile and James Allen, Mondera has two quality levels.  A G/H Color VS2 Clarity in Platinum as their premium level and a G/H Color SI2 Clarity in Gold as their standard quality.  This is a slight deviation (at least according to their claims) from Blue Nile and James Allen, as they claim their color to be slightly higher on their standard quality (G/H versus H/I for James Allen and I+ for Blue Nile).

When Dan inquired with the CSR about what SI quality meant, the CSR informed Dan that “SI is really good quality and not eye visible.”  While this description is generally true, unfortunately, the goods delivered did not live up to the expecations.  According to Dan, the diamond stud earrings from Monderaclearly had I1 Clarity grades, and their inclusions were definitley visible to the naked eye.

Aside from the disapointment in diamond clarity, the stud earrings’ diamond cut wasn’t very good either.  Dan reported that the diamonds had no “life” and one of the stones’ culets was noticeably chipped.

The workmanship and polish on the settings, however, were quite nice.

Ease of Return – Like the others, Dan reported that the return process was simple.  Also, the CSR who handled his return was friendly and helpful.  They too mentioned they were sorry for his decision to return, but nothing overbearing.

D) Abazias

Invoice From Abazias – Click to Enlarge

Close-Up of Studs from Abazias – Click to Enlarge

Customer Service – Overall, it seems, the customer service atAbazias left a little to be desired.  Dan’s experience with them was less than stellar.

When Dan first contacted Abazias, he reached a customer service representative (CSR) who was not knowledgeable.  He was not able to answer any of Dan’s specific questions about the diamond stud earrings, both regarding diamond quality, and regarding the earring post styles.  The CSR told Dan he would call him back with answers, but he never did.

Nonetheless, Dan did try calling back, and the next CSR he received was able to answer his questions and was qutie friendly.

Abazias Packaging – Click to Enlarge

As with Mondera, Abazias’ live phone support hours leave what to be desired.  They close their lines at 6pm EST – making it difficult for busy people on the East Cost to order by phone, and making it virtually impossible for people on the West Cost to order by phone.

Packaging – According to Dan, packaging was very poor, as the earring box was placed in an unmarked envelope with no accompanying paperwork. When he called to inquire about this, they said they never put invoices in their boxes for security reasons, which is odd because the other three vendors didn’t have such a problem.

Diamond Quality – Like the other vendors, Abazias has two quality levels.  Unlike the other vendors, however, their G/H color SI2-SI3 clarity quality is their premium quality.  They also sell a lower quality J/K color I1 clarity as their standard quality.  Again, for consistency’s sake, we reviewed the SI quality.

When Dan asked the CSR about what SI2/SI3 quality meant, the CSR informed Dan that their SI2/SI3 is “usually eye-clean.”  According to Dan, however, the diamond stud earrings from Abazias were obvious I1s, and their inclusions were definitley visible to the naked eye.  The cut on the diamonds was not good, and the two stones were not matched well either.  Dan reported that one of the two stones was a “fish-eye” (industry term for a too-shallow round stone that has no life and looks like a dark black circle when viewed face-up).

Additionally, workmanship and polish on the settings were not great, as it looked like a small piece of gold was missing under one of the prongs.

Ease of Return – Like the others, Dan reported that the return process was simple.  Also, the CSR who handled his return was friendly.