Using the Ideal Scope for Diamonds
The Ideal-Scope is an awesome tool for measuring the cut quality of a diamond. It shows how much light the diamond reflects and is a great visual example of judging the brilliance of a diamond.
The Ideal-Scope itself looks kind of like the kaleidoscope toys that kids like to play with. However, the scope gives you an accurate view of how much light is reflected back by the diamond and how much is leaked out. Obviously, the more light reflected back, the better. That means the diamond will shine and sparkle.
The visual information that you get from an Ideal-Scope goes beyond what the 4 C’s tell you. The Ideal-Scope image is specific to each diamond and there is no guesswork. However, it isn’t necessary to view an Ideal-Scope image before purchasing. You can still make a good decision without one.
Anyway, here’s how to use it.
| This is an example of an Ideal-Scope image of a very well-cut diamond: |  |
Red indicates light that is reflected back, and white shows light leakage. More red is better, so this is a well cut diamond.
| And here’s an example of a poorly cut diamond. |  |
Notice all the white spots. This means that a lot of light is being lost inside the diamond, and it won’t be as brilliant as a better cut diamond.
Here’s a reference chart from the creators of the Ideal-Scope. You can use this chart to compare a diamond that you’re looking at to judge its quality.
Here’s the most important question: How do you get Ideal-Scope images? Well, James Allen has Ideal-Scope images for all of their Hearts and Arrows diamonds freely available on their website. Also, you can email them to request an Ideal-Scope image of any of their other diamonds. This is the email address to use: service (at) jamesallen.com.
The other way to view Ideal-Scope images is to buy your own Ideal-Scope. You can find more information or buy one at the official Ideal-Scope website.
However, the quickest way to see Ideal-Scope images of diamonds you can buy is from James Allen’s collection of Hearts and Arrows diamonds. Hope this has been helpful!
3-Stone Diamond Engagement Ring with Blue Sapphires
This attention getting ring features a diamond in the center with two blue sapphires on either side. For anyone who wants a little bit of color on their ring, the beautiful blue sapphires will add that colorful touch. This is a great, versatile setting that can be set with a round, princess, emerald, asscher, cushion, or radiant shaped diamond.
Here’s how to order this ring: click the link above, and then select the metal (18K white gold, 18K yellow gold, or platinum) and the ring size. Then, go to the “Select This Ring” button and choose “Add a Diamond.” Then, select your diamond. If you need help selecting an awesome diamond, check out our diamond ring buying guides.
Is buying a diamond ring online a good idea?
Today I’m going to address a very common question that people have – is it a good idea to buy a diamond ring online? Most people are concerned about a few things:
- Being able to see what the picture of the actual diamond that will be set on the ring.
- The return policy of the online jeweler.
- How safe is it?
Here’s the lowdown:
Not all jewelry sites have real pictures of every diamond that they carry. I would definitely recommend buying from an online jeweler that offers real pictures of all their diamonds. James Allen, our most highly recommended online jeweler, has real pictures of every diamond that they have in stock on their website. They also have a virtual loupe that shows their diamonds under magnification, right from their website.
Most online stores usually offer 30 day return policies with a money back guarantee. Some only offer 15 days, so make sure you order from a store with a 30 day or more return period.
And what about the safety of buying online? Buying online is safe. James Allen offers payment by wire transfer, personal check, certified check, money order, and credit card. All credit cards payments are processed on a secure server. Additionally, wire transfer payments receive a 1.5% discount. So, you have a variety of ways to pay and you can pay however you are most comfortable.
In addition, there are a few other advantages to buying diamond jewelry online:
- The prices are better.
- You’re not being rushed by a pushy salesman.
The majority of the time, online jewelry stores offer MUCH better value. Brick and mortar jewelry stores consistently markup diamond prices to higher prices then online stores. It’s very common to see 2 diamonds with almost the exact same characteristics, 1 sold in a jewelry store and 1 sold online, and the online diamond is $1000 or more below the price in the jewelry store.
Also, what about the pushy salesmen that try to rush you through your purchase? When you buy online, you don’t have to deal with any of that! Definitely a positive.
To answer the question that titles this post (Is buying online a good idea?): Yes, buying online is a great idea. Just make sure you buy from a reputable online jeweler. James Allen is our #1 recommendation – they have an A+ rating from the BBB, a 5-star rating at iVouch.com, and an “outstanding” rating at Bizrate.com.
If you want to see what James Allen has to offer, click here to check out their store.
Engraved Diamond Engagement Ring
Here’s a beautiful diamond ring with an antique style. This ring is absolutely stunning! This would make an outstanding engagement ring for a woman who loves antique style in her jewelry. Take a look at the jewelry she already wears… if she has some jewelry that have the same style as this one (pay attention to the engraving and the sidestones!), then you can be sure that this ring will be a winner!
Also, this is a very versatile ring. You can set it with pretty much any diamond shape… round, princess, emerald, asscher, cushion, heart, marquise, or more!
Click here to learn more about this ring
To order this ring, just click the link above and select your ring size. Then, click the “Select This Ring” button and choose “Add a Diamond.” Then, choose your diamond. If you need help selecting your diamond, check out our diamond ring buying guides.
New guide up: Round/Brilliant Cut
The buying guide for the round brilliant diamond cut shape is now up!
This is probably the most important diamond guide up on the site right now, since the round cut is the most popular diamond shape for diamond rings and engagement rings.
So, if you’re in the process of buying a diamond or engagement ring, you need to take a look at this guide to help you make sure that you get the best ring you possibly can!
I hope the guide is helpful!
Engagement Ring of the Week
For anyone looking for a beautiful, head-turning engagement ring, here’s one that’ll definitely fit that description:
Click here to view more information about this ring.
This diamond ring has 24 round brilliant diamonds set in 2 rows around the center diamond. I love this ring, because I think it has a nice, solid look to it. It has a thick band, made even more exquisite with the diamond embedded in it. It’s definitely a winner!
If you want to order this ring, click here to view the ring and then select your ring size. Change the metal if you’d like (you can choose from 18k White Gold, 18k Yellow Gold, and Platinum), and then click the “Select This Ring” button. Then, click the “and Choose a Diamond” option that pops up. Select the diamond that you want, add it to the ring, and then add it to your cart and check out!
James Allen Store Review
Today it’s time to review my favorite online diamond store. James Allen is one of the leading online jewelry stores. Many people have had excellent experiences with their store, and they sell great diamonds. Here’s a little more detail as to why they are such a great store to buy from:
- They have a huge selection. I just checked their loose diamond search, and as of today they have 22,201 diamonds on stock, ready for you to build your ring with.
- They offer real, high-quality pictures of every single diamond in stock, with a virtual loupe so you can examine the diamond right from your computer. Of course, it’s not exactly the same as viewing a diamond in person, but they are the only online diamond store that has this feature. Also, it’s nice to examine a diamond without a pushy salesperson trying to distract you!
- They have diamond grading reports for each diamond that they carry. This helps you judge the quality of a diamond based on standardized ratings. If you need help understanding these reports, read our diamond ring buying guides.
Also, James Allen has an A+ rating from the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and also has been BBB accredited since 2000.
Another reason why I highly recommend James Allen is because I’m not the only person who thinks that they are a great company! They are trusted by thousands of buyers and they have been given very high reviews by many different people. You can see some of their ratings here:
So, these are the reasons that I recommend James Allen so highly. If you want to shop at James Allen, click here to start looking around their site!
Diamond Ring of the Week – “Thin Seed”
Here’s our diamond ring of the week. It’s from the M. Geller collection at James Allen, and it features matching round diamonds in the band of the setting. This ring can be set with a round diamond or a princess cut diamond.
Check out the pictures:
Click here to see this ring at James Allen
To order this ring, just click the link above and select your ring size. Then, click the “Select This Ring” button and choose “Add a Diamond.” Then, choose your diamond (it can be round or princess cut). If you need help choosing the diamond, check out our diamond ring buying guides.
New Guide Up: Emerald Cut
Hey everyone, this is just a quick announcement:
Good news! I have just finished and added the newest guide to BuyDiamondRings.org:
Although it says engagement rings, this is also a guide to any kind of diamond ring with an emerald cut diamond. The guide will teach you how to choose a high-quality emerald cut diamond. From there, you just need to pick the setting that you want.
If you don’t know what kind of cut, color, clarity, depth, and table specifications make the best emerald cut diamonds, then you need to read this guide!
Also, it covers the best places to buy one of these diamond rings!
Beware of Local Store Diamond Ring Rip-Offs!
Hey everyone, just a quick post about a recent experience I had at a jewelry store in the mall. A few days ago, I went to the mall and I decided to go into one of the jewelry stores, just to check out some of the rings they had and to look at their prices.
I forget which store I was in, but I looked around for a couple minutes and didn’t see too much that was noteworthy. Then, I came across this one diamond ring.
It had a 1.5 carat diamond, I2 clarity (yeah, I2!, as in it has visible inclusions!), and the color was something like H or I, I think. I don’t think there was any information about the cut, or the symmetry, polish, or fluorescence. So, besides the fact that the diamond was pretty big, this ring didn’t have a very high quality diamond.
Guess what they were asking for this ring?
$8,999! Yes, $9k for a diamond with visible inclusions that’s not even colorless. And, there wasn’t any cut information, so it probably wasn’t a great cut, either.
You can easily find a 1.5 carat, SI2, ideal cut diamond on the internet for about $4,500. Much better deal – lower price for a better diamond! Of course, that’s without the setting, but even if you add a pretty good, platinum setting, that’ll add about $1,500. Which brings the total up to $6,000, a savings of $2,000 for a better ring!
What does this tell us?
You can usually find much better quality diamonds and diamond rings online! If you don’t know where to look, check out the stores that I have listed on the front page of this site: Buy Diamond Rings.
Featured Diamond Ring
Diamond Ring of the Week
Diamond Ring Sale of the Week
