Buying Diamonds Online

With all of the potential for scams concerning diamonds, buying diamonds online almost seems unthinkable! However, you actually can purchase diamonds online, without any problems – as long as you are careful.
First, think about your reasons for wanting to purchase the diamond online, as opposed to making a purchase from a local jewelry store. The most common reason is price. Due to low overhead costs, online jewelers and wholesalers are able to offer lower prices. However, you must be careful – sometimes a price that is too low is a sure indication of a scam.
One of the best things about purchasing online is the unlimited selection. When shopping offline, you are limited to the selection in the stores in your general area. Online, there are no limits. But again, you must use a great deal of care and consideration before handing your money over to someone that you cannot see and have never met!
Before shopping, learn as much as you can about diamonds – especially cut, color, clarity and carat weights. When you are knowledgeable about diamonds, it will be harder for a con artist to rip you off. Once you know more about diamonds, you will be ready to start shopping.
Take your time. Don’t purchase the first diamond that you see that interests you. Instead, look for similar diamonds for sale. Do some comparison shopping to find the lowest prices. Once you have found the lowest price, start doing your investigation. You know about diamonds, you’ve found a diamond that you love, and you’ve found the lowest price – but you are still quite a ways away from actually purchasing that diamond!
Ask about the seller’s credentials, such as professional jewelry associations that they belong to. View and print the seller’s return, refund, and upgrade policies. Also inquire about additional services, such as settings and mountings, sizing, and free shipping. Do a search for customer reviews on this particular company around the Internet. Alsocheck with the BBB Online to see if there have been any complaints.
Ask for a diamond grading report from an independent laboratory such as GIA, HRD, EGL or AGS. You should see this before making a purchase. Finally, use a reputable escrow service for high dollar diamonds – preferably one that will have the diamond appraised while it is in their possession. The seller sends the diamond to the escrow service, and you send the money to pay for the diamond to the escrow service. The escrow service has the diamond appraised, sends the diamond to you, and sends the money to the seller. This is the surest way to protect yourself…again, make sure that you use a reputable escrow service!

Where Diamonds are Mined

Argye mine located in the Kimberley region in the far north east of Western Australia. Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s largest single producer of volume of diamonds.  However, due to low proportion of gem quality diamonds it is not the value leader.  It does produce 90-95% of the world’s supply of pink diamonds.  

Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, located in Canada it is a very large mine.   It is located north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle on an island.  The island is connected by an ice road.  It is also an important part of the regions economy employing more than 700 people and producing more than 8 million  carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP Billiton and located south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada.  The Ekati is Canada’s first operational diamond mine. Diamonds mined here are sold under the Aurias trade name   Authenticity is verified through Canada Mark service.  CanadaMark service is also owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.

Baken diamond mine is located along the lower Orange River in South Africa.  It is owned and operated by Trans Hex.  The average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 carats. In 2004, this mine produced a 78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was sold for over 1 million US dollars.

Merlin is the second of only two diamond mines in Australia.  No longer operating it was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker Resources, who has explored the possibilities of reopening the mine.  

Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine. It us located 240 Km west of Francistown.  The mine is owned by “Debswana” which is a partnership between DeBeers and the government of Botswana. This mine operates 7 days a week.  It maintains pre primary and primary schools for its employee’s children.  There is also a 100 bed hospital and game park.  This mine began production in 1971 and is the oldest mine owned by the Debswana Company.

The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South Africa produced the largest gem diamond ever in 1905. The Cullinan Diamond weighed 3,106.75 carats.  This mine also produced the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed 545.67 carats.  This mine is owned by the De Beers Company and was renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in 2003 in celebration of its centennial.