Diamond Trust

If you’re looking to buy a diamond and thought of buying something locally produced in Australia, what are your options?  Unfortunately, your option are limited.  According to Wiki, there are only three diamond mines in Australia and only one has been branded, Arygle.

Argyle diamonds

You’ve probably heard of the Argyle diamond mine which most associate with pink diamonds.  Here are some statistics I found about what kind of loose stones come out of the Kimberley region:

• In 2007, it was the 8th largest producer of rough diamond in carat weight volume
• only 5% of the rough is gem quality (average around the world is 20%)
• 2% are white diamonds
• 1% are pink diamonds
• 80% are brown (yuck!)

Personally, I think pink diamonds are overpriced and overrated.  So are the white diamonds worth it?  I would say not.  Their mine generally produces low quality rough and according to those statistics, they only mine twice as much white as pink diamonds which are stupidly expensive.  I’m not sure you’re going to get much value out of Kimberley diamonds compared to other options open to a diamond buyer.

CanadaMark diamonds

So what’s “plan B”?  Well, where I used to work we stocked CanadaMark diamonds.  I know what you’re thinking, this post is about Australian diamonds, what do Canadian Diamonds have to do with it?  Well, CanadaMark diamonds are mined out of the BHP Biliton owned EKATI Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

And in case you didn’t know, BHP is referred to as The Big Australian.  So my logic is that you’re indirectly buying Australian, that makes sense right?  Just nod and smile..

So what makes EKATI better than Argyle?  In contrast, 80% of production is gem quality and I’ve personally seen at least a hundred of these stones and the average cut and symmetry is impressive.  There are many branded stones out there, but this one seems to be the only one worth buying with an Australian link.

One thing we noticed in jewellery retail was that some people came into our store just to convince themselves buying online was better.  Sometimes they changed their mind and bought from us, but most of the time I think they had already made up their mind that they wanted to buy a diamond online and that’s cool - each to their own.

So why should you trust what I have to say?  It’s true, I’ve never bought a diamond before, but I have sold them from leads that were generated online so I can empathise with what is going through the buyer’s mind, or maybe more important, what should be going through their mind.

So what would a smart diamond buyer do before commiting to buying a loose stone?

Research the 4Cs (Cut, Carat Weight, Colour, Clarity)

This blog is focused more on the consumer issues-  pricing and value.  Learn a few basics about how cut affects the brilliance, colour the whiteness, etc. and how they all play a part in not only the beauty of the stone but also the price of the diamond.

Buy diamonds in Australia

Or wherever you live if that’s not Australia.  You’re going to save yourself the hassle of shipping internationally which involves customs, parcels lost in transit, insurance, GST and duties.  Also, you have probably kissed any hope of after sales service good bye.  Believe me, it’s not fun dealing with time zones and tracking diamonds lost lost parcels.

Stick to a GIA certificate

Most diamond wholesalers and online diamond dealers will have GIA certed stones.  By sticking with one (and the most popular) certificate you’re comparing apples with apples and it makes it easier to compare prices.  Personally, I don’t think a certificate is always required if you know what you’re looking at and you have a rappore with the diamond supplier, but I’m guessing you don’t necessarily conform to both that criteria if you’re on this site!

Visit a few jewellery stores

You’re probably buying a diamond for an engagement ring, so don’t take all the fun out of it by not visiting a jewellery store.

The extra costs of buying a loose diamond

When you buy a diamond in a jewellery store it’s the finished product.  You’ll need to consider the cost of the make which is metal cost of the gold or platinum but predominantly it’s labour.  On top of that a setter and a polisher will do their bit, but chances are your jeweller will give you a single quote for everything other than the cost of the loose stone.

Talk to the diamond dealer on the phone

The stones I sold were leads generated from the internet - either the CanadaMark web site or through a Google Adwords campaign I ran - but after a few e-mails it was often better for both parties to just speak on the phone.  I think you can judge someone to a degree once you’ve spoken to them.  They can’t think too long about their answers so you can gauge how honest and knowledgeable they are about the diamonds they are selling.

Find a jeweller

Most brand name jewellery stores won’t let you bring your own loose diamond to set in their jewellery.  So it’s a good idea to find a jeweller (a few in the Sydney CBD do contract work for the brand name jewellers) and they might also be able to source the stone from you.  It might be a bit of a premium but it’s one less hassle.

(to be continued)