In today’s digital world, there is no shortage of information about diamonds.
A quick search will give you thousands of opinions, guides, and videos telling you what to buy and what to avoid. But as most of us have experienced, not everything you read online can be trusted.
And when it comes to something as significant as a diamond, the difference between good advice and great advice can be thousands of dollars, and a lifetime of difference in how that diamond performs.
When you are paying a premium for an expert, what you are really doing is safeguarding yourself from costly mistakes. You are buying time, experience, and the confidence that the decision you are making is the right one.
Why expertise still matters
I have always believed something quite simple.
I do what I do well enough that when I need someone else to do what they do well enough, I am more than happy to pay for their expertise.
So, I often say to clients, you can spend 30 years learning what I know, working with thousands of diamond merchants around the world and purchasing more than 10,000 diamonds, or you can simply have me do it for you.
Most people pause for a moment, smile, and say, “Can you just do it for me?”
My father would often get me to do the same apprentice exercises he learned back in Germany, when my grandfather placed him into a jewellery workshop so he could learn a trade he could take anywhere in the world.
There is a part of me, very much from the German side, that always wanted to be the best. We had a saying in our family, “when only the best would do.”
And I love going to sleep at night knowing that I have done the absolute best job I can for my clients, and that they love the ring I have crafted for them, for the next 50 plus years.
That mindset led me to become a gemmologist, a diamond grader and a valuer. And being naturally creative, it also led me to write Rock Her World, a book on how to choose the perfect diamond, which went on to win an international book award.
Not all diamond knowledge is created equal
One of the biggest misconceptions in today’s market is that you can trust the diamond certification that comes with the diamond.
The reality is, every diamond is priced exactly for what it is. If a diamond costs 20 percent more, there is always a reason why. You just may not know what that reason is.
In any industry there are newcomers. People who are learning from what they have read online or seen on YouTube.
Then there are what I call the GPs of the industry. Professionals who have been around for some time and are selling diamonds based on what has been supplied to them.
And then there are the diamond surgeons.
It is not that anyone is doing a disservice to their clients. Everyone is operating at the best level they know how. But just like in medicine, there are different levels of expertise. The difference between a GP and a surgeon is the depth of knowledge and experience, and the ability to perform at a much higher level.
Over the last 30 years of buying diamonds, I have always had a simple philosophy. I would sit with diamond cutters and ask, “I love the way this diamond performs, tell me why.” They would share with me their expertise in how to cut diamonds to be the best in the world, even down to a tenth of a degree.
Over time, I have come to understand what truly separates one diamond from another.
In the same way a mechanic can listen to the engine of your car and immediately know what is wrong, when I look into a diamond, I can see what the cutter has done right, what they could have done better, and why one diamond will simply perform better than another.
I truly believe that in this world, you get what you pay for. If a diamond is more expensive, there is always a reason. You may not know what it is, but the person selling the diamond absolutely does.
The difference you cannot see… until you know
If you have ever sat in on a specialist medical appointment, you may have seen a surgeon look at an X-ray and immediately point to something you could never identify yourself.
Diamonds are no different.
A trained eye can see nuances that are invisible to most people, yet they completely change how a diamond performs.
And performance is everything.
It is like comparing a high-performance V8 BMW M3 to a standard two-litre car. On paper, they both get you from A to B. But the performance is unmistakable.
Why “excellent” doesn’t mean what you think
In today’s diamond market, around 40 percent of diamonds receive an “excellent” cut grade on paper.
When I ask clients what they think that means, they usually say it means the diamond is a great diamond.
The reality is, that is not what the certificate is telling you.
All the certificate is doing is sorting a diamond into a category based on whether it falls within certain goalposts of angles and proportions. If it fits within those goalposts, it is labelled “excellent”.
But that does not mean the diamond is going to sparkle beautifully.
The harsh reality is that those goalposts are so wide that a large number of diamonds fall into that category.
I have seen diamonds with a 62 percent table percentage receive an excellent cut grade. That is a diamond I would never buy, because it will look flat and lifeless.
The hidden value gap
If diamond grading were an exact science, every diamond online would be priced the same.
But they are not.
I have seen many occasions where two diamonds have identical certification, yet one is priced 23 percent higher than the other.
To the average consumer, they look exactly the same on paper.
But in real life, whether under showroom lighting or natural daylight, the performance is completely different.
That perfection in cutting is what you are paying for.
And performance comes from understanding what most people will never see.
When I am sourcing a diamond for a client, I will often review 50 to 70 stones to find the one that truly stands out. Not just in size or clarity, but in how it performs in not just the shop lights, but the natural daylight.
Why sparkle is not just about looks
When most people look at a diamond under bright showroom lighting, they could be forgiven for thinking they all look similar.
But the reality is different.
Just like a car that looks immaculate when it is freshly washed, a diamond’s true performance shows over time. And most people are not cleaning their ring every week.
A lower-performing diamond will quickly begin to look dull, as light leaks out through the bottom of the diamond.
A high-performing diamond will continue to sparkle, even when it is not perfectly clean.
That is the difference.
What a diamond expert actually looks for
When I am selecting a diamond, I am not just looking at a certificate.
I am looking at three key elements:
Brilliance
The amount of white light returned from the diamond.
Dispersion
The rainbow effect (blues, reds and yellows) created as light passes through it.
Scintillation
The sparkle. The flashes of light that catch your eye from across the room.
When you move a diamond, one might give you 10 to 12 flashes of light. Another might give you 15 to 20.
On paper, they can look the same. In reality, they are not even close.
What you are really choosing
At its core, choosing a diamond is not just about buying a product.
It is about deciding who you trust to guide you.
Because the greatest compliment someone could ever receive is not, “That diamond is big.”
It is, “Why does your diamond sparkle like yours?”
So the real question is this.
Are you buying a beautiful diamond that just so happens to come with a certificate?
Or are you certificate shopping, and ending up with a diamond that underperforms?
