Diamond buys

(Well, it is not that I do not want to blog, but just that I am in dire danger of being run over by deadlines if I spend that long outside what I am writing that hour. It will, like all things, pass. Or so I hope. Meanwhile, this is the latest from the journalistic files....)

It’s soon going to be wedding season, Christmas, the new year, whatever, and perfect timing to look for that solitaire you want to give someone (maybe yourself?). The story goes that the first diamond engagement ring was given to Mary of Burgundy by her exalted suitor, Archduke Maximillian of Austria, in the late 15th century; this was a rough diamond elaborately set in gold. But the Indians knew all about diamonds long before that. Vedic texts call the stones heera, the gemstones of the planet Venus, representative of love and the good things in life. The ancient Romans believed that diamonds were pieces of stars that had fallen from heaven and have magical, mystical powers. And indeed the sparkly stones have a special power that those who have beheld it, held it, can well understand. Diamonds may have been called ‘a girl’s best friend’, but they cast their spell over anyone who appreciates beauty.

When I went out to look for a sparkler that I could take home with me, I found that things were rather more complicated. Buying a diamond in itself is easy enough today, with so many brands available both in stores and over the Internet. But buying a good diamond for the right price can be a bit of a problem – and the bigger the stone, the bigger the problem. Say you are looking for a one-carat solitaire. Since you will be spending a lot of money – and believe me, your budget could be rather shaken up, as mine was – you have to go about this with some intelligence. Of course, as anyone anywhere will advise you when you do your research, you must first of all consider the four Cs – colour, clarity, caratage and cut. And then, before you actually hand over the money and collect your jewel, there is that nebulous concept of intuition: Does the gem feel right? No one can point you in the right direction on that one. But it is important. Lots of stones called loud, clear and clarion to me. Unfortunately, they all got stuck in my checkbook before they reached my finger.

Diamonds are generally classified primarily by their colour. The most valuable, and most rare, are completely colourless, even to the trained and expert eye. As per the guidelines of the Gemmological Institute of America, which sets the standards, D is the clearest, while Z has a distinct colour. From E to I, no colour can be discerned by the layperson; J, K and L could be sold as ‘good’, but have a tint when looked right in the eye…er…‘face’, as it is known. Of course, there are the fancy stones that are brilliant yellow, bright green, vivid pink or even, in very rare instances, chameleon, which change colour (from yellow to green, for example) when exposed to light.

And the price can zig-zag madly up and down the scale. According to latest figures from Rapaport (which defines the numbers in the business), a one carat D clarity flawless stone will cost about Rs 6.75 lakhs. Mercifully, before I could do more than lech, I was told hastily that these D pieces were so rare that I could not get one without a fairly long waiting period. The same size of stone that is graded G, which seems colourless and perfect when set, will be priced at about Rs3.5 lakhs – more bling for your buck, in a manner of speaking. Of course, the better the air-conditioning in the store you buy from and the fancier the designer label on the staff uniforms, the higher the price of the gem, but that is a minor detail. While a family jeweler is perhaps the best person to buy from, especially since you can deal with the seller if something is off-kilter, it is always best to get a certificate of authenticity and quality when you are buying a stone of this size and expense.

I retreated, bloody but unbowed. I would get my diamond one day. Find it, buy it, use it and enjoy the feeling. I know that nothing else even comes close to the bliss of wearing a diamond that is perhaps not as big as the Ritz, but close enough for jazz as far as you are concerned!

The Diamond Registry in the USA has some valuable tips for diamond buying: Never buy a stone that you think is ‘cheap’ or that is on sale – there will be a reason for the discount that usually has to do with size or quality. Make sure that the certificate that you are issued is from a genuine ratings institution and can be verified by an independent assessor. Never buy a diamond just because you like it – unless of course you have the money to throw away and you buy diamonds like most people buy potatoes. And, since you will of course be politically conscientious and humanitarian, avoid ‘blood’ diamonds and those from regions that have major human rights violation problems. Why have that on your conscience? Most of all, never buy a diamond as a short-term investment. The stones do not depreciate in value and cannot be sold easily like shares or a house.


A diamond may be the ‘hardest thing on earth’ (it is not really!), but it still needs looking after, especially if you want it to be forever. The stones can chip, crack or even split if hit in the right direction, even if it is protected in a good setting. Don’t wear the solitaire when you are doing anything that could cause it to be scratched, if you are working with anything oily, so that dirt does not collect in the setting and blur the beauty of the stone. Avoid exposure of the diamond to chemicals, from chlorine and hairspray to acids and strong alkalis. Jewellers recommend that you could boil your solitaire in its setting in a weak solution of soap water to clean it, but taking it to the experts is a better option.