Diamonds

Your pulse pounds in your temples like a jackhammer. Sweat tickles your brow. The glare of the pinpoint lights, all the better to highlight the object of your absolute ignorance, hurts your exhausted, stinging eyes. And your ego has shrunk to the size of… what is it, a half-carat?

And across the fingerprint-free glass counter, is that… fellow… was his name Francois? Frappe? Fran?! Yeah, he's a smug fella... watching as you squirm. Because you are way out of your comfort zone. And you can tell, he's enjoying it.

You are trying to buy a diamond for your sweetheart, and you are having a really bad day.

If diamonds could just be more like, say, beer… or guns, or motorcycles, then we men would enjoy the process of understanding and acquiring them much more. Smith and Wesson. Harley and Davison. Bud. These are things we understand, and are willing to study. In the case of beer, even do hands-on research.

But diamonds… clarity, brilliance, color, marquis vs. Tiffany... it's enough to beget a migraine. But there it is… the one thing you'd better not screw up, the one purchase you can't undo (at least not the moment of presentation), the thing she'll remember… or begrudge… for the rest of your lives together.

And it's just a piece of supercharged carbon, after all.

But the reality of buying a diamond for your lady need not be a horror show. You may even learn to enjoy the process. And the next time you encounter Francois, you'll know what to ask, and what to say. And when to walk, if necessary.

Buying a diamond is a bit of 21st Century alchemy. It's a combination of science (geology), art (visual appeal), and horse-trading. Not enough of any of these to be scary, but enough of all to be interesting. You really can learn enough, in a short period of time, to enjoy finding the perfect rock for your significant other, and save a bundle, while making the best choice possible, for your significant other.

We were somewhere around a jewelry counter on the edge of our sanity when the cooing and purring of yet another salesman began to take hold. Your eyes' sense of beauty is no frailer than theirs, but you need to be able to trust your marbles to decipher which "ooooh, isn't it beautiful?!" is superior to the next. Battle the emotions and on to the facts.

Why are diamonds so beautiful, anyway? Firstly, they're the purest natural minerals, and the hardest gems, and truly 'forever', as hard things polish best. A diamond is also the most transparent substance, allowing light to pass through effortlessly (similar to a savvy consumer passing through a jewelry store – shine on!) An Ideal cut diamond is the most brilliant gem, gathering the most light due to its holding of the highest 'refractive index'. A diamond also has what is called fire or dispersion, or, ehm, jolly sparkles of rainbow colors. Scintillation being the sparkle of contrasting white and black, an Ideal cut diamond scintillates more than any other gem. Enjoy the prettiness and back to work.

"Why not? If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing right." - Hunter S. Thompson

Surrender to the adrenaline, but keep your head about your shoulders. You need to be able to depend on your own judgment, and that involves what's called the Four C's. Gentlemen, start your engines!

Jewelers use the Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat weight of a diamond to assess its value. You may think the biggest and best Color and Clarity diamonds to be the ones with the best Cut, but often this isn't the case. Cut has the least impact on the actual value of a diamond, but the quality of the cut creates the beauty itself. Read on to discover why Cut will be the key to value in the future, and how you can choose the best cut diamonds. Let's begin.