Lets start at the basics. You find a partner and you suddenly realise you want to buy a diamond engagement ring in Dublin because you really want to support the Irish economy (hint hint) ;). Well you’re in luck. Buying a diamond in Dublin is a really easy thing to do and hopefully this little blog will set you on your way. So you find a store like CM Weldon in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre and ring the bell. In you walk after looking for hours on the internet about the four C’s and sit yourself down with a selection of diamond engagement rings. First tip. Don’t be afraid to say NO. It can be hugely overwhelming when faced with diamonds and even more so when you see how different the prices are. It is important to talk with your jeweller honestly about what your expectations are when buying a ring in terms of cost. A 1ct D flawless round brilliant versus a 1ct G SI1 can be literally thousands of Euros with no real aesthetic difference to the untrained eye. Therein lies the problem. The perception of value differs from one client to the next. Some wanting the biggest stone they can find for the budget they have while others want the best quality without a care for size. Start simple. What style of ring is your loved one edging towards? Usually a jeweller can find a diamond in particular budget to fit the perfect ring or mount. Most can make them. Understand that there is a reason that the top three grades D,E and F in colour command a premium simply because they are much rarer than the other grades. Don’t discount other stone shapes just because you have never heard of them. There are many beautiful cuts of diamond which are not as well known as the round brilliant. For example the cushion cut diamond or the pear shaped diamond are amazing on the finger. I have a policy of being completely transparent when it comes to cost.

3ct Cushion cut diamond CM Weldon from C.M.Weldon on Vimeo.

 

There are literally hundreds of clarity and colour permutations that can easily fit most budgets. It’s like having a suit made. You tailor a stone to meet you wallet and your passion for the diamond. It is important to get your facts right about the value of stones. There is so much information and disinformation on the internet that it can be hard to filter through it all. I would always advise against buying a diamond that you have not seen. I have seen many stones that on paper should be beautiful but in person they lack the fire and brilliance in person. The three visual cues I use for judging a stone are Fire, Brilliance and scintillation. Fire is the breaking up of white light within a stone into its constituent colours. Which is why in a diamond you get a beautiful prism effect. Brilliance in the amount and strength of the white light which is reflected back at you when you view the stone table down and scintillation is the “sparkly” effect you get when the stone is turned and moved. It really is like judging a work of art. So at the start you need to be honest with both your own expectations and with the jeweller. Of course they want to sell to you. That’s their job. But the process is a far more enjoyable one for both the client and jeweller when both know exactly where they can start from. Selling the wrong ring or the wrong stone for the sake of a few extra euros doesn’t do anyone any good. I love to see happy faces walk out the door, and of course come back for the wedding rings ;).

 

 

Colin

1.22 G