Table of Contents

Contents
List of Price Guides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi–vii
List of Special Charts and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Contents of Color Photograph Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Preface to the Third Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
PART ONE Appreciating Diamonds
1 The Magic of Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Becoming Familiar with Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3 Looking for a Diamond That's a "Cut Above" . . . . . . . . . . 13
PART TWO Diamonds
4 What Is a Diamond?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5 The Importance of Cut & Proportion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6 Body Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
7 Clarifying Clarity: How Flaws Affect Diamonds . . . . . . . . . 61
8 Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
9 How to Read Diamond Grading Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
10 False Claims & Costly Bargains: How to Spot Fraud
and Avoid Misrepresentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
11 Comparing Colorless Diamond Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
12 Fancy-Color Diamonds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
13 Comparing Fancy Natural-Color and Treated-Color
Diamond Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
14 A Word about Synthetic Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
PART THREE
Design &Style
Getting the Look You Want … and Keeping It That Way
15 Choosing the Right Metal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
16 Choosing the Design of the Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
17 Caring for Your Diamond Jewelry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
PART FOUR
Important Advice Before &After You Buy
18 What to Ask When Buying the Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
19 How to Select a Reputable Jeweler
& Gemologist Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
20 Buying on the Internet: E-Commerce &Online Auctions . . 199
21 Choosing the Appraiser & Insurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Appendix
A Selected List of Recognized Laboratories . . . . . . . . . 213
Selected Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Color Plates and Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Index 217
Price Guides
Retail Price Guide for Round
Brilliant-Cut Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126–28
Retail Price Guide for Old-European Cut Diamonds . . 129
Retail Price Guide for Rose-Cut Diamonds . . . . . . . . . 129
Retail Price Guide for Briolette-Cut Diamonds . . . . . . 130
Retail Price Guide for Fancy Natural-Color Diamonds
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147–150
Retail Price Guide for Fancy-Color Permanently
Enhanced/Treated Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Retail Price Guide for HPHT-Treated Fancy-Color
Diamonds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
vi CONTENTS
Auction Prices of Fancy-Color Diamonds (A Sampling)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Retail Prices of Colorless Synthetic Diamonds
(A Representative Sampling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Retail Price Guide for Fancy-Color Synthetic
Diamonds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Special Charts and Tables
Diamond Color Grades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Commonly Used Diamond Color Grading Systems . . . . 47
Commonly Used Diamond Clarity Grading Systems . . . 71
Sizes and Weights of Various Diamond Cuts . . . . . . . . . 77
Diameters and Corresponding Weights of Round
Brilliant-Cut Diamonds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Acceptable Tolerances for “Round” Diamonds . . . . . . . 83
Depth Percentage Guidelines Used Generally. . . . . . . . . 88
Table Percentage Guidelines Used Generally . . . . . . . . . 89
Comparison of Diamonds and Diamond Look-Alikes . 123
International Ring Size Equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Comparison of Gold Content Markings . . . . . . . . . . . 161
How Alloys Affect Gold Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

About the Author

Antoinette Matlins, PG, FGA, is an internationally respected gem and jewelry expert, author and lecturer. With over 1 million copies of her seven books in print in nine languages, she is the most widely read author in the world on the subject of jewelry and gems. Honored with the international Accredited Gemologists Association's highest award for excellence in gemology, Ms. Matlins’ books are widely used throughout the world by consumers and professionals in the gem and jewelry field. Her books include Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide (over 400,000 copies now in print—the only book of its kind ever offered by Consumer Reports); Colored Gemstones: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide; The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide; Gem Identification Made Easy; Engagement & Wedding Rings: The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love; and Jewelry & Gems at Auction: The Definitive Guide to Buying & Selling at the Auction House & on Internet Auction Sites (all GemStone Press).

Former gemology editor of National Jeweler magazine, her articles and comments on buying and selling gems and jewelry and on gem investment have appeared in many national and international consumer and trade publications. She is also the author of the "Gemstones" chapter in the Encyclopedia of Investments, second edition.

Ms. Matlins has gained wide recognition as a dedicated consumer advocate, and continues to spearhead the Accredited Gemologists Association’s nationwide campaign against gemstone investment telemarketing scams and other types of consumer misrepresentation. A popular media guest, she has been seen on ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, educating consumers about gems and jewelry and exposing fraud.

In addition to her educational work, Ms. Matlins is retained by clients worldwide to seek fine, rare or unusual gems and jewels for acquisition.

Reviews

"Purchasing diamonds can be a magical experience. But lack of information, error or misrepresentation can make buying diamonds confusing, intimidating, overwhelming and costly.The book covers in-depth all the latest trends and trickery to look out for. The author leaves no stone unturned to give you everything you need to know, whether you are a novice or connoisseur." Antiques Diary, November/December 2011