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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kate
Treworgy
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CONGRATULATIONS…YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED! How to Get the Most Diamond for Your Dollar: Many young men today are discovering that finding the perfect ring is as daunting as popping the question—but it doesn’t have to be! “Finding the right engagement ring doesn’t have to be overwhelming, nor does it have to break the bank, if you know how to go about it,” says Antoinette Matlins, noted gem expert. “But,” she adds in her newly released book, Engagement & Wedding Rings, 3rd Edition: The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love (GemStone Press / May 2003 / Quality Paperback Original / $18.95), “the key to experiencing the excitement and romance that should be part of the ring-buying experience is to become a knowledgeable shopper, one who makes the decision using not only the heart, but the head.” Ms. Matlins, who has earned widespread recognition as a consumer affairs spokesperson in the jewelry field through her numerous books, articles, and national television and radio appearances, offers the following important shopping tips to cost-conscious couples: Shop around at fine jewelry stores to familiarize yourself with current styles and decide what really appeals to you. Don’t settle for a superficial understanding of the Four Cs. Take time to really understand these important quality factors—color, clarity, cut, carat—so you feel comfortable juggling them to get just the right combination for YOU. Knowing what to juggle can enable you to achieve a high-budget look at a reasonable price, and puts you—not the seller—in the driver’s seat. For example, don’t let anyone convince you that a high clarity grade is necessary to have a brilliant, sparkling diamond, or that you can immediately see color differences. You don’t need a flawless diamond to have a sparkling beauty. Clarity is often mistakenly believed to be the factor that affects the amount of sparkle and brilliance; this is not true. Clarity refers to the presence of microscopic features that formed within the diamond as it crystallized; if readily visible to the eye without magnification, clarity will greatly reduce value, but otherwise, clarity has minimal impact on beauty and desirability. In fact, you can’t see any difference between a flawless diamond and one that is seven clarity grades lower on the clarity grading scale! Clarity is often the factor that you can juggle to get a larger or whiter diamond without sacrificing beauty. Don’t fret over color differences you’ll never see when the diamond is mounted. If you think you can’t afford a colorless diamond (D–F), don’t fret. Within the top 10 color grades, most diamonds still look very beautiful when mounted. However, if the stone you are considering is not quite as white as you would like, setting the stone in white gold or platinum can make it appear whiter. Or, if the stone has a noticeable yellowish tint, try setting it in yellow gold—in this case, by contrast with the intense yellow of the setting, the diamond will look whiter and the tint will be much less noticeable. Don’t buy a poorly cut diamond; it will lack the beauty and sparkle a diamond should have. Cut is the most important factor affecting a diamond’s beauty and cost, and can also affect its durability. A poorly cut diamond should sell for half the cost of an exceptionally cut diamond. Perhaps even more important, some cutting faults can make a diamond prone to breaking. A small difference in points can make a big difference in dollars. There are 100 points to a carat, but the cost of a diamond increases significantly when it reaches the full carat mark, and each carat thereafter. Rather than a full 1 carat, for example, try to find a diamond that weighs 90 points (9/10ths carat), or 1.90 carats rather than a full 2 carats, and so on. When set, no one can see the difference, but you’ll enjoy a big savings in cost. If size is important, consider shapes other than round. While the round, brilliant-cut diamond is considered by most to be the cut that exhibits the greatest brilliance, it normally looks smaller than diamonds cut in other shapes. Consider an oval, pear shape, or marquise, all of which will look larger than the round. Consider a design that uses several stones rather than one large diamond. A fine diamond weighing one carat, set in a classic Tiffany-style setting, might cost $7,500, while the cost of a ring containing three stones with a total weight of one carat might cost only $3,250; or a diamond band containing nine diamonds with a total weight of one carat could be less than $2,000. Bold designs in gold and platinum add importance and distinction to small diamonds. Using wider, innovative designs can create a very impressive look for adiamond under one carat, especially if your fiancée’s fingers are very large or unusually long and you are concerned that a smaller diamond will look out of balance on her hand. Use a birthstone for the engagement ring, offset with smaller diamonds. This combines the symbolism of diamond with the personal significance of the birthstone for a lovely, deeply meaningful, and often much more affordable, ring.
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you use any of the material provided in this release, or Thank you. Engagement & Wedding Rings, 3rd Edition: The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love (6" x 9", 320 pp., 16 pages of color photographs, more than 400 illustrations and photographs, Quality Paperback Original, ISBN 0-943763-41-X, $18.95) and all of Antoinette Matlins’ books are available from retail bookstores, amazon.com, GIA, Kassoy, Rubin, Grobet, and other jewelry supply houses, or directly from GemStone Press, P.O. Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091. Tel: (802) 457-4000, Fax: (802) 457-4004, www.gemstonepress.com. For credit card orders, call (800) 962-4544. Add $3.95 shipping and handling for the first book, $2.00 each additional book. |
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