Jewelry Buying Guide

You don't need to be an expert to buy a diamond. That's why we're here.

This guide will help you find the perfect piece, at the right price, for you or your loved one. If at any time you find that you still have questions, please speak to one of our diamond experts by calling 1-800-489-0620 or by using the Live Chat.

What to spend

When you start thinking about buying a diamond, you will naturally want the most beautiful stone you can afford because of what it symbolizes to the recipient.

If you are about to buy a Diamond Engagement Ring, you may want to consider spending the commonly accepted guideline of two month's salary.

Fortunately, two months salary at Steve Padis Jewelry Plus equals twice the diamond from anywhere else, and most likely, a loved one left in stunned silence.

Regardless of the jewelry you buy, you can be certain that you will get more for your money when shopping with us. See "Pricing" below to find out how we can sell certified diamonds for less.

What to buy

When it comes to Diamond Engagement Rings she may already have dropped hints by admiring a photograph in a magazine or someone else's diamond ring.

If she hasn't, suggest a browse in one of our San Francisco stores or at another trusted jeweler and make note of what she seems to like. And pay attention to her ring size, it is likely to be mentioned at some point.

When it comes to other types of diamond jewelry, such as a Diamond Solitaire Necklace or Diamond Solitaire Stud Earrings, simply purchase a diamond that captures the brilliance of the moment as you see it.

All of our Diamond Solitaire Earrings and Pendants are certified and come with a diamond certificate. Never buy a diamond without one!

Choosing a quality diamond to celebrate life's most intimate occasions is a personal and rewarding experience for the one who gives as well as for the one who receives.

Size

Inevitably, the first question people will ask is, how BIG is your diamond?

The larger the stone, the larger and rarer the piece of diamond rough it takes to cut it. In other words, the size affects the price of your stone the most.

Color

Diamonds are graded by their natural color. While many diamonds appear colorless, they may have subtle yellow or brown tones. The purer a diamonds color, the more rare it is.

If you chose to set your diamond in platinum or white gold, you should consider colors D through I. These colors will look white in a platinum or white gold setting. If price is an issue, you can save a lot of money by buying a G, H, or I color.

If you are setting a diamond in yellow gold the color is less important. You can safely buy a diamond that is a L color or better. Again, the lower the color on the scale, the lower the price.

Clarity

Clarity is a very personal decision. Different people have different opinions on what clarity they want to wear.

Almost all diamonds have natural "birthmarks" or what are called in the diamond business "inclusions." Seen under a jewelers magnifying loupe, these microscopic birthmarks may look like tiny crystals, clouds, or feathers, giving your stone its own unique fingerprint.

These inclusions will be marked on your diamond certificate, so that you’ll always be able to identify your stone.

Here is the scale the diamond industry uses to rate a diamond’s inclusions.

I-SI3	You can easily see the birthmarks with the naked eye.
SI3-SI1	With the naked eye you won't see anything. Birthmarks are visible easily through a jeweler’s 10 power loupe.
VS2-VS1	Close professional examination and a 10 power loupe is needed to see any “inclusions”.
VVS2	A flawless diamond. If there are any "inclusions", a professional jeweler would need laboratory conditions to spot them.

Shape

Diamonds come in several shapes.

The classic Round Brilliant, Oval, Pear, Marquise, Princess, Heart and Emerald shapes are among the most beautiful and popular today. 80% of diamonds sold today are round. Round shaped diamonds tend to hold their value for the future.

Cut

The better the cut, the more brilliant and radiant the diamond.

While nature determines a diamond's clarity, carat weight, color; the hand of a master craftsman is necessary to release its fire, sparkle and beauty.

When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light reflects from one mirror-like facet to another and disperses through the top of the stone, resulting in its brilliant flare.

Diamonds that are cut too deep or too shallow lose light that spills through the sides and bottom. As a result, poorly cut stones will be less brilliant and beautiful, and less valuable than well cut diamonds. This is one of the reasons it is so important to buy only a certified stone. The certificate clearly tells you the cut grade.

Carat weight

A diamond's size is measured on a scale in what is called carat weight, and each carat is equal to 100 points. A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-point diamond or a 3/4 carat stone.

While larger diamonds are highly prized, diamonds of equal size may vary widely in value and brilliance, depending on their qualities of clarity, cut, and color as we mentioned earlier.

Certification

When you purchase a diamond of 0.40 carat or larger, we at Steve Padis Jewelry Plus will always provide you with a detailed report from one of two independent gem labs, the EGL or GIA.

This report will "map" or plot the natural "birthmarks" of each diamond, which will allow you to identify your diamond forever.

The report will also independently detail carat weight, color, clarity, cut, and shape, and the certificate number will be inscribed on the girdle of each stone.

Be aware that many retail jewelers, including some of the biggest names in the business, create their own reports. They use GIA's methods, but are not graded by either GIA or EGL.

All diamonds sold through Steve Padis Jewelry Plus are conflict-free diamonds.

Pricing (Why we can sell for less)

Our prices are among the lowest in the industry.

The six reasons that we can sell certified diamonds for less are simple and straight forward.

We own the diamonds we show you on our web site. A majority of online retailers use other vendors inventory lists and then go searching for the diamond you want. Finding it, shipping and receiving it, administrating the paperwork and so on makes the diamond more expensive once everyone involved has been paid.
If you can sell a diamond for cash to a diamond dealer why would you consign it to a website? Either the diamond is the worst of the worst or they can charge the website a lot more. We pay cash and get you the best stones on the market.
We use the weekly published wholesale diamond price index (it is to diamonds what The Blue Book is to cars) to price every diamond the lowest on the net.

Ask to view this independent list if you visit our stores and you will see that we sell diamonds for less than the normal wholesale price (this is where those relationships we mentioned come in to play).
We buy very large amounts of diamonds and pass the volume discounts on to you.
We don't pay rent for our headquarters showroom. We own the San Francisco Jewelry Center in San Francisco where we also lease space to other wholesalers.
Our founder Steve Padis has long standing personal relationships with the diamond wholesalers and he passes his savings on to you.
Our business is family run, based locally in San Francisco and we answer only to our customers, not to far away investors or Wall Street.

We hope this guide has been helpful to you.

If you have any questions, or want some ideas on what to buy, our friendly and helpful diamond experts are happy to answer your questions and make sure you get the diamond that is right for you and your loved one.

Our phone number is 1-800-489-0620, or use the live chat to talk to one of our Diamond Experts who will be happy to assist you.

See our store locations and special holiday hours