Where to buy the most beautiful diamond at the best price.

Buying a diamond is a big decision. There's a lot riding on it, both emotionaly, and financially. Buying a diamond requires looking, comparing, evaluating, and asking the right questions to make sure you are getting the most beautiful diamond at the best price.

Before you consider where to buy your diamond, do your homework (so you know what to look for) and establish a budget that is reasonable for you.

Now you can look at the three different options for finding the best diamond possible with conviction and confidence.

Buying from a trusted retail jeweler.

Buy from a respected retail jeweler. It's the best route for making the right investment and getting the best assurance of quality, value, and service. You can:

· See a wide selection of diamonds for comparison

· Get answers to your questions about each diamond's attributes from a knowledgeable sales associate

· See the certification for each diamond you look at

· Ask for a money-back guarantee

· Develop a relationship with the jeweler that ensures on-going service, such as cleaning and checking to see that the diamond is securely in place in its setting, or upgrades

If you decide to get a branded diamond , you'll be buying from an authorized jeweler. Diamond companies select jewelers they trust with their valuable and prestigoius brands based on their reputation for excellent service, their insistence on providing only quality merchandise, and their reputation for highly trained and knowledgeable sales associates. In many ways diamond companies are more demanding of the jewlers that sell their diamonds than you are.

Buying from an online diamond retailer.

There's a value to looking at these sites, but there's also a clear downside to buying from one –you won't be able to compare the diamonds you are considering side by side , and you cannot see the diamond's characteristics – its fire, sparkle and brilliance – on a computer screen. The real beauty of a stone is tangible and when you compare one diamond with another, as you would at a jewelry store, you can evaluate which diamond you like best.

The process for buying a diamond online is that you select a diamond and have it sent to you. If you don't like it, you wrap it up, insure it, send it back, and start all over again. There is no knowledgeable sales associate to answer your questions or point out the relative difference between diamonds you are interested in. And there's no one to guarantee you on-going service for your diamond jewelry – cleaning, repairs, upgrades and so on.

On the plus side, online diamond retailers say they discount their diamonds, and offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Online diamond retailers do provide certification from independent laboratories. So you can go that route - but be afraid, be very afraid.

Buying from an estate jeweler.

Some women love the design of antique and estate jewelry. What appeals to them more than the actual diamond, is the vintage look of the setting. Since it is really the diamond you are paying for, it might make more sense to select a loose diamond from a retail diamond jeweler and then have an antique setting designed for it.

The drawback to buying an old diamond is that it is unlikely to come with certification . That means you have no proof of that diamond's 4Cs grading, and therefore, no clear understanding of its fair market value. The value of an antique diamond ring or other piece of jewelry depends more on the age and design than purely the quality of the diamond itself.

If you do choose to buy an antique or estate diamond, find out whether you can get full credit or simply store credit.

There are advantages to buying the diamond first , then the ring.

What are the advantages of buying a branded diamond ?

How can you choose the perfect ring?