Tips in buying diamonds

A piece of jewelry made from 18K gold and diamonds can be an instant heirloom, whether it’s passed on as a gift or purchased for one’s own enjoyment. The recent explosion of e-commerce means that nowadays, consumers are confronted with more options and knowledge — and pitfalls — than ever before. One should have a certain level of comfort and level of trust in the jeweler and the store itself.

“It’s very important that when buying diamonds, look first at the 4C’s rather than the price,” says John Ortiga, managing director of Alexis. The 4C’s are cut, color, clarity and carat weight. John says, “The 4 C’s determine a diamond’s value. No two diamonds are ever alike. Each diamond is different from the other and that’s why they say diamonds are forever because you can never get another like that.”

With 30 years of solid retail experience and seven outlets to date, Alexis is the only jeweler that manufactures its own 18K fine jewelry line and has inventory and resources to offer clients a wide assortment of diamonds.

Cut is by far arguably the most important factor for John, “because all factors being constant, a skillful cut is what will unleash the fire and brilliance in a diamond.” Cut, which refers to the various facets within a diamond, should clearly not be confused with shape — such as round, marquise, oval, princess (square), etc.

With regard to color, grading begins at D; the deeper into the alphabet one goes, the poorer the color. “The more color a diamond has obviously means the stone is less desirable but NOT worthless though,” says John.

Clarity refers to the presence of — or lack of — imperfections/impurities called inclusions. Clarity is graded on a scale ranging from flawless to imperfect.

The final C is carat weight which most people believe refers to the size of a diamond. In actuality, carat is the term used to measure a diamond’s weight. The larger the diamond, the greater its rarity, the greater its value per carat as well.

With this in mind, one should also know their karats of gold standard for that precise jewelry one is dying to own at Alexis. “Look for the karat mark, which will tell you how much percent of pure gold is contained within your jewelry piece.” Oftentimes, gold is alloyed with other metals, such as copper, silver, nickel and zinc to give it added strength and durability. Different proportions of these alloys also give gold its rose or white coloration. “18K gold contains 75 percent gold, which is what clients could actually expect from every Alexis product in stock,” says John.

(Alexis has branches at SM Megamall; SM City North Edsa; Robinson’s Place, Malate; Waltermart, Makati City; SM Mall of Asia; Midtown Mall, Robinson’s Place Malate; and Glorietta 5.)