Know Your Terms (Diamonds and Jewelry)

Be extra wary of jewelers who are quick to take advantage of clients who seem to know little about fine jewelry. It's easy to get swayed with technical words. Here's a short list of basic terms that can help you out.

1. Karat = Purity of gold (ie. 24 karat is 100% pure gold, 18 karat is 75% gold,

14 karat is 58.5% gold, etc)

2. Carat = Weight measurement of diamonds and gemstones (i.e. 1 carat, 2 carats, 2.5 carats, etc)

3. Cut may mean one of two things

a. Proportion and symmetry of a diamond (affects brilliance)

b. Shape of the diamond (i.e. Round brilliant cut, Princess cut, Emerald cut, Radiant cut, etc.)

4. Carat face = this is not the actual carat weight but rather an estimate of the size of an illusion design in comparison to a whole stone (ie. 1 carat face = size of a whole 1 carat stone)

Train your eyes to look at different types of jewelry. Sometimes a slight change in perspective can open up a whole new world of jewelry viewing for you.

The more you look at quality made jewelry, the better you get at telling apart high and low end pieces.