How to... Buy diamonds in Dubai

Now, we’re not saying we expect something shiny on Valentine’s Day, but it would be nice, right? The experts at Dubai Rocks share their advice on how to buy diamonds in Dubai – everything from getting the best bling for your buck, what to look for, trends and more.

Buying fine jewellery can be one of the most confusing gift scenarios in the world, especially because, traditionally, fine jewellers have long succeeded by keeping the general public in the dark. The diamond trade especially is shrouded in mystery, with jewellers able to charge more because a lot of us don’t know our facets from our cuts.

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But buying a diamond is as straightforward as buying anything else – do your research, shop around and you’ll get a high quality diamond that’s worth double or triple what you paid. And UAE residents have it even easier than most people, because Dubai is not only one of the cheapest places to buy diamonds, it’s one of the top three diamond trading hubs in the world, along with Belgium and India.

As with much in the Middle East, however, diamond sellers love a haggle, so one big tip is instead of telling them your budget up front, get the specifications for the diamond you want firmly fixed in your head, research how much it generally costs, and then engage with sellers. Online diamond sellers have clear, transparent pricing on their website, which lets you choose the rock you want in terms of size, colour, quality, setting, etc.

So what’s most important when looking to buy a diamond in Dubai? Sarah Williams from Dubai Rocks, the only British-owned diamond seller in Dubai, shares the shine facts with us.

“Unlike a lot of items you can buy, a diamond’s specifications and quality are set things certified by an independent body,” says Williams, “So that means with enough information, you can get a big budget sparkler without breaking the bank.”

Shapes

One of the biggest considerations is shape, which tends to be dictated by fashion and current trends.

Diamonds come in different shapes, but there’s a clear favourite: eight out of 10 engagement rings around the world contain round diamonds.

Round shape diamonds offer a larger selection, as there are more of them out there. They can also appear larger, giving more for your money.

The Marquis shape also maximises size of carat and gives an appearance of larger shape.

Ascher, Oval, Marquis and Emerald are longer stones vertically on the finger, so can help slim the finger if your beloved is a bit sausagey in the metacarpal department.

If the diamond gift you’re looking to purchase this Valentine’s Day is an engagement ring, keep in mind that Dubai Rocks’ most recent survey revealed that 54% of women would prefer to be surprised. That means doing some more research into what your beloved wants – that can be achieved by simply strolling through the mall, looking casually at some jewellery shop windows, observing the styles she points out. Obviously looking at the jewellery she already has, and asking her friends and family, will really help.

Trends

It’s also important to know the trends in jewellery at the moment and as always, Tiffany, De Beers and Cartier are leading the charge.

Keep in mind that most of the engagement rings Dubai Rocks sells are classic solitaires, or classic designs with a few embellishments. A popular design at the moment is to have side diamonds around the band, and surrounding the main rock, such as the Tiffany Soleste or the Cartier Destinée.

The Tiffany Soleste

In terms of diamond shapes, we have seen a 300% rise in requests in 2015 for cushion cut diamonds (think of a square with rounded off edges), which have been popularised in recent years by Tiffany.

If the Valentine’s Day gift you’re looking for is a necklace or earrings, the big trend toward the end of 2015 and a definite one to watch for in 2016 is geometric shapes. Think rectangular drop earrings with a small diamond at the bottom, instead of the classic hoop, and pendants with minimalist, geometric designs.

As online diamond shopping becomes more popular, there’s been a big rise in educated, savvy consumers who buy the diamond they want and then have it designed to their own specifications, either with Dubai Rocks or with a specific designer that’s gained celebrity recently.

Get familiar with the 5 C’s – these are the technical aspects of a diamond which are measured, analysed and certified by the diamond trade, and knowing the order of importance is paramount in order to get a good bargain.

The 5 C’s are, in order of importance…

Certification

Most diamonds at reputable jewellers will be certified by an independent organisation as to the qualities of the diamond, which is done during an independent examination.

There are a number of different global certification institutions, but the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) sets the standard within the industry. Dubai Rocks sticks with GIA certified diamonds. So make sure the diamond you’re getting has a certificate, and that the certificate matches what has caught your eye.

Cut

Diamonds start out as a stone that resembles a plain, grey pebble. They’re not very sexy, so they have to be faceted by an expert to show all that shiny goodness. Cuts range from Excellent to Fair and cut is by far the most important of the C’s when it comes to getting the most bang for your buck.

A shiny princess cut 

Break it down: A 1 carat diamond with a Good cut will cost you more money but look less blingtastic than a 0.9 carat diamond with an Excellent cut.

Why? The better the cut, the more the diamond will sparkle and the better light will bounce off of it, which means your partner will literally be more dazzled.

Diamond cuts are like the foundation – get that right and the rest will follow.

Carat

This is the one everyone knows, and we all know that more carats = bigger, but here’s the size dilemma broken down: 1 carat = 200 milligrams in terms of weight. Jewellers refer to diamonds by ‘points’ and 1 carat = 100 points.

Price rises significantly for every additional 50 points or half a carat, even though the difference in weight is minimal.

Break it down: the price of a 1 carat rock is approximately 30-40% more expensive than a 0.9 carat rock, even though the difference is barely noticeable to the naked eye.

Colour

This is a confusing one, as the gemstone we think of as diamonds are actually clear or ‘white’. The diamond colour scale starts at D, which is actually a colourless diamond, and is very rare.

The further along the alphabet the letter is, the more colour can be seen in it.  That said, anything between D-I colour is still a beautiful white sparkler.

Clarity

Every diamond has tiny imperfections in it (they’re called ‘inclusions’ in the diamond trade) that lower the value of the diamond – the less there are, the more the diamond costs.

Clarity is a funny one, because no one wants to look at a diamond and think they can see a tiny speck of dust. At the same time, most of those imperfections are unnoticeable to the naked eye – also, once the diamond is put into a ring setting, it’s often not visible in the slightest.

So while customers tend to put a big emphasis on clarity, Dubai Rocks does remind you that clarity has the least impact on a diamond’s sparkle, so losing some of the perfectionism can help save you money.

Photos: Supplied, Wikimedia Commons/Mauro Cateb and Stephen Durham.

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