Buying Diamonds Online

You may have concerns about buying diamonds online. However here is some information which may help you to buy a diamond online and make a substantial saving:

Ensure the diamond or jewellery vendor you are buying from online is in fact a registered company (do they have an Australian Business Number?). You can do this by checking the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s company register by doing a search at http://www.search.asic.gov.au/gns001.html.

Ensure the online diamond vendor has a returns policy which clearly states whether and within what time frame you can action a return if you are not happy with your online diamond acquisition.

Ensure the online diamond supplier provides a diamond certificate with diamonds purchased online. Internationally recognised diamond grading laboratories and certificates are preferable but a respected and known Australian diamond grading laboratory will also do. Remember that a diamond certificate is a third party opinion from an industry expert - it is not something subject to consumer laws. The effectiveness and validity of a diamond grading laboratory and the certificates it issues are measured by the trade. Anyone in the diamond trade who is worth his or her salt can very quickly tell you which diamond grading laboratories are respected and which are not.

Diamond forums can help you gain an understanding of which diamond grading laboratories and diamond certificates are respected and trusted within the trade. But probably the best measure is experience. Talk to your friends and ask them about their experiences in buying diamonds.

Do as much research as you can about the diamond 4’Cs; cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. This will enable to you compare apples with apples when you assess the different options available to you. The diamond 4C’s describe a diamond characteristics and define its value.

Most reputable online diamond sellers list much more information than simply the 4C’s. You should be able to see the diamond’s certificate data from a good online vendor and if you do your research you can then use this information to further ensure you are comparing apples with apples during your searchers.

Remember that in buying a diamond online you will most likely be offered a much better selection than if you were to walk into a jewellery store and ask for the same thing. Usually this is because quality online vendors hold substantially more stock than jewellery retailers can afford too.

If you are worried about the security of your personal data and your financial data (like credit card data) read the online diamond suppliers privacy policy. A privacy policy should at least detail what information is collected, what the information is used for, who it is disclosed to, wether security measures are in place to protect the private data collected.

Many online diamond suppliers do not hold all of their stock locally or at all. Often the stock is in fact a computerised representation of a database of diamonds. For example a supplier overseas who has a lot of diamond stock allows a local company to display their diamond database entries on a website. Then when you order the diamond the overseas company ships it to the person from whom you ordered it online (locally), and they in turn ship it to you.

Try to buy diamonds from local online merchants who hold their diamond stock in Australia as this decreases delivery times. Often the online diamond supplier may not actually have the diamond which they list on their website situated in Australia and you may have to wait for delivery of the diamond from an overseas supplier. Or the diamond could be gone once you have requested it and then they offer you an alternative which sets you back to square one again.

Also local companies are easier to deal with purely from a geographical point of view.

Escrow services have often been suggested but these are essentially a waist of time when buying a diamond online. Escrow services simply slow the process down. If the diamond you are buying online is being provided with a respected certificate and if you are dealing with a registered Australian company who has a returns policy on their website you should have no problems returning the diamond if you follow the returns criteria listed in the returns policy. If you do experience a problem, contact the ACCC and make a complaint, or the department of Fair Trade, or the Jeweller’s Association of Australia.