If you’ve ever bought a diamond ring for any reason, such as for an anniversary, engagement or wedding, you know that process is stressful and ridiculously complicated as well as being treacherous because of dishonest practices.  For those looking for certified loose diamonds, the path is even more complicated and dangerous.

When looking for certified loose diamonds, it is important to keep in mind the four C’s, shapes, cuts and grading.  In addition to this, the process is for getting a diamond certified is complicated and is usually done by an expert who knows what he or she is doing.  The process essentially amounts to a thorough examination of the diamond and all its various properties.  The certificate for the certified loose diamond is a report with a summary of the examination.  It’s a good idea to research the person or company you are buying your certified loose diamond from in order to make sure he’s not giving you a worthless piece of paper in addition to what might be nothing more than a piece of glass.  If you have more time, you should research everything about diamonds so that you can choose a certified loose diamond and not get ripped off.

Why is it important to have a certified loose diamond as opposed to one that is not?  For insurance and sales purposes as well as bragging rights.  If you spent approximately $2000 on a loose diamond, it would be a travesty if something happened to that diamond.  Thus, it’s a really good idea to have insurance.  However, most insurance companies require a certificate in order to give any sort of coverage.  So in order to ensure that your loose diamond doesn’t disappear and you loose $2000, having a certified loose diamond is a good idea.  This way, if something happens to your certified loose diamond, you can collect the value of the diamond from the insurance company and purchase another.  In addition, if you want to sell your loose diamond later on, having a certified loose diamond will ensure you can secure a fair price.  Finally, if you have acertified loose diamond, you can claim bragging rights for owning a gem that has papers much like a show dog or a purebred cat.

In addition to all of this, a certified loose diamond will save you money if you intend to crate a piece of jewelry with it later on as you will only have to buy the setting and nothing else.  Thus, if you intend to buy a loose diamond, buy a certified loose diamond.  It’ll save you a lot of time and aggravation in the future.

Canada has only been a recognized abundant source of diamonds since 1991. Canadian diamonds currently make up an estimated 15% of world output, with vast more estimated in reserves. Canadian diamonds are now the third most common source, rivaling Russia and Botswana. Since 1991 and the birth of the Canadian diamond industry, Canadian diamondshave been in high demand due to the clean practices that surround their mining and extraction. In other words, withCanadian diamonds you will be hardpressed to trace back and find violent rebel armies armed to the teeth with weapons 1,000 years beyond their culture shooting each other and forcing enslaved children to mine the mineral that funds their constant wars. Canadian diamonds, since they have nothing to do with Africa, are mined in an area more or less free of conflict and grant people an honest living.

The African rebel armies know this, too, which is why they try to pass their diamonds along as Canadian diamonds. They put pictures of majestic glaciers on the packaging, maybe a Canadian moose or elk or some other huge animal roaming in the arctic, and then say it’s from Canada. What a consumer must know before purchasing a Canadian diamond is that the only thing that certifies a Canadian Diamond is the Government of the Northwest Territories Certification (GNWT).

Aside from a Canadian diamond certificate, which, with enough determination, can be forged, each Canadian diamond has a microscopic laser-cut serial number on it indicating which Canadian diamond mine it came from. Technically speaking an engraved impurity on a diamond lowers its value, but for this purpose it has become accepted not to “count” this imperfection as a value slasher. The serial number is inscribed directly on the diamond’s girdle, or brim, the edge between the flatter top and the pointed bottom of the stone. To be completely safe, you should make sure that the Canadian diamonds you buy have both the GNWT certificate and the laser-inscribed serial number.

Besides Canadian diamonds, Australia has been discovered as a significant source of diamond ore, currently making it much easier to purchase a diamond that is not a conflict diamond. The Argyle mine in Australia produces 35 million carats of diamonds (about 7,000 kg) a year, and interestingly 80% of them are brown. 90% of the world’s pink diamonds, as well, come from Australia. So, if you own a pink or brown diamond, you can be safe in assuming that it probably is not a conflict diamond.

Apollo Diamonds is a Diamond Manufacturer Company based in Boston, MA.  The company was started by Robert Linares, who developed the compound used in cell phone batteries.  Apollo Diamonds gained its fame and notoriety in the diamond industry and around the globe for their breakthrough invention of a diamond formation process called Chemical Vapor Deposition, or CVD.

In CVD, Apollo Diamonds workers rain carbon atoms place a seed of diamond roughly the size of a small button in a sealed chamber.  Then workers “rain” carbon upon the seed to create near perfect cultured diamonds.  These diamonds can be used in nanotechnology and optometry as well as sold in the jewelry market.

Why are Apollo Diamonds so notorious?  Because their process of diamond formation has threatened to wreak havoc upon the entire diamond retail industry.  Dealers in Antwerp as well as around the globe don’t like the idea of growing diamonds in a laboratory – which Apollo Diamonds does – because this will make the price of diamonds drop considerably.  The fallout, to quote a merchant in Antwerp, “Would bankrupt the entire industry.”  In response, the retail diamond market, specifically those dealers in Antwerp, have reacted by insisting that Apollo Diamonds’ product is fake.  They also have built machines to prove that Apollo diamonds are fake and thus return the market to its status quo with obscenely high-priced diamonds.  However, American diamond dealers don’t care and are more than happy to sell Apollo Diamonds’ product because in their view, it is quite simple:  A diamond is a diamond regardless of where it was created.

Apollo diamonds seems pretty determined to sell their cultured diamonds as jewelry and thus have acceded to the demands of the diamond market that they admit their product is not natural and certify it as such.  Whether or not Apollo Diamonds will be successful depends on their ability to market and whether the diamond industry grows up, stops acting like children bickering with an eight year olds’ “I know you’re not, but what am I” attitude and recognizes that Apollo Diamonds’ product isn’t attempting to bankrupt them, especially because Apollo Diamonds also produces diamonds for other industries that these old school dealers probably rely on such as optometry equipment for examining diamonds and glasses to see with.

In short, Apollo Diamonds is posed to revolutionize the diamond market.  The only question is: Can they do it?

Whenever you go about purchasing something of great value- a car, a house, etc., you want to make sure that you shop around wisely, in order to avoid any mishaps and spending unnecessarily large amounts of money. The process of buying a diamond is no different. Whether you are looking to buy a small diamond to add to your ring or a large diamond ring, there is a lot to know before actually buying the diamond.

The first basic thing you need to know is the four major factors according to which diamonds are priced. These are cut, color, clarity and carat, also known as the 4 C’s. Cut is probably the most important, and most challenging, of the four Cs to understand. The brilliance of a diamond depends heavily on its cut. If you want to buy a brilliant diamond you should learn about the different way diamonds are cut. Most diamonds contain some inclusions that occur during the formation process. The visibility, number and size of these inclusions determine what is called the clarity. Diamonds that are clear, naturally, are more expensive. The color of the diamond is important since colorless diamonds allow for the most refraction of light. Finally, carat is the unit of weight by which a diamond is measured. Buying diamonds can be an overwhelming task, so make sure you familiarize yourself with the 4 C’s.

When you buy a diamond, it is extremely important to ask for a certificate. Certificates tell you the diamond’s exact measurements and weight, as well as the details of its cut and quality. Buying diamond without a certificate is foolish since the certificate proves the diamond’s identity and value.

Scams are very common and are found in many major jewelry chain stores to a certain extent. Such scams exist simply because it is hard for innocent consumers to educate themselves before they buy diamonds. For instance, some major stores raise the prices of their diamonds, sometimes by hundreds of dollars, and then mark then 50% off- which still means you would pay more that you would at a different, more honest place. So, if you’re looking to buy diamonds make sure the store is known to be trust worthy. Another known scam is something called “Bait and Switch,” which, though outlawed, still persists. Stores advertise diamonds, but when you arrive to buy them, the diamond has been sold and they try to get you to buy a different diamond.