Buying diamond jewellery but unaware how valuation works? Here’s everything you need to know

The festival season is also a time of big-ticket purchases like jewellery. But unlike gold jewellery, which has mandatory BIS hallmark signs to ensure quality, diamond has no such protection. So many people are unaware of what to check while buying diamond jewellery. Let us change that this festive season. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are out to buy Diamond Jewelries.

Pricing of diamond
In diamond jewellery, there are two elements – diamond and a metal, usually gold. So a jeweller will charge for both separately.

But before we start, it is important to clarify that carat (CT) is a measure of weight of diamond and karat (KT) measures the purity of gold. A Google search can show the price of 24KT gold. However, that is not the case with diamonds.

Vipin Sharma, Chief Merchandising Officer, online jewellery BlueStone, says, “There is no specified benchmark for a quick reference of diamond prices. Various factors impact the diamond prices. Apart from the cost of procuring the diamond, there is a cost

involved in finishing it by cutting, polishing, etc. Most critically, supply and demand factors also impact the price of a diamond.”

It is important for customers to do their homework before finalising a product in such cases, says Parag Shah, Director of KISNA, a diamond and gold jewellery brand from Hari Krishna Group. “A customer must check with different jewellers for pricing per carat.”

Quality of diamond
Checking the 4Cs is important while buying a diamond. Sharma says, “These are the globally accepted standard for ensuring the quality of a diamond. The price you pay for buying a diamond depends on the combination of 4Cs.”

The 4Cs are:
a) Colour
b) Clarity
c) Cut
d) Carat weight