Opinion - Today’s diamond buying public needs clarity on pricing that is Crystal Clear

I have what I like to call a philosophy about diamonds and I’ve named it the Crystal Clear philosophy. At the heart of Crystal Clear lies a deep conviction that what today’s diamond buying public most needs is clarity about what they are buying and what they are paying for, when purchasing diamonds. 

Helping people to understand the existence and nature of what we in the diamond trade call irregularities is an essential key to achieving the clarity I am striving for. If you’ve been reading my articles about my Crystal Clear philosophy, you’ll see that I use the word irregularity a lot. It is because of irregularities that two diamonds with exactly the same 4Cs can be offered for sale at two very different prices. 

Most people know about the 4Cs used to determine the value of a diamond – carat (the weight of a diamond), cut (the quality of the polishing and the shape of the diamond), colour (how white the diamond is and what other hues are in it) and clarity (the extent of inclusions and other internal features of the stone). The 4Cs are listed on a diamond grading report that comes from a gemological laboratory and they are quite straightforward to understand. For example, the colour range for white diamonds is D to Z, with D being completely colourless and Z exhibiting the most added colour. So it’s easy to grasp that the closer a colour grading is to D, the more pure and colourless the diamond is.

But while a diamond grading report provides lots more information which has a bearing on a diamond’s price, most people still only know about the 4Cs. 

For example, fluorescence, which relates to the light a diamond radiates, can be of varying degrees in a diamond. There could be no fluorescence at all or there could be strong fluorescence, and it might appear in different colours such as blue, yellow or white. All these variations affect a diamond’s price.

Each grading report also has a section called Comments. Sometimes nothing is listed under this section. But other times there will be lots of additional points about the diamond under Comments, which give insights into the properties of the stone when it is examined under the accepted standard of 10 times magnification. 

I am passionate about pulling back the veil on the issue of irregularities. It is information that is well known to diamond industry insiders, but to few others. Anyone buying a diamond needs to know this, because comments and irregularities are crucial to determining the value of a diamond. They provide precious information that may not impact the 4Cs of a diamond, but could still impact the price. That’s because each of the different measures of the 4Cs, for example, F or H colour, or VVS clarity, actually represents a range. A diamond might be at the lower or upper end of the range, but a non-professional buyer of diamonds -  a member of the diamond buying public – does not know about such nuances. 

But they deserve to know. Armed with a full understanding of irregularities and their impact, diamond buyers would be a step closer to making an informed decision when making a purchase. I believe in helping diamond buyers with their decision-making by spreading information about irregularities and their role in determining the prices of polished diamonds, assessing the rarity of particular diamonds and demonstrating how diamonds can be a viable asset in a wealth preservation plan.

There is so much more to my Crystal Clear philosophy and I look forward to sharing other aspects of it with my readers very soon.

The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity. No one should act upon any opinion or information in this website without consulting a professional qualified advisor.