PriceScope Diamond Buying Shortcut

Congratulations on finding PriceScope.

We are the world’s Premier Diamond & Jewelry Community with the industry’s most in depth and objective knowledge base. PriceScope has been a unique authority among diamond advice and shopping sites for over 20 years.

Did you know?

• The world’s top online diamond vendors share their inventories here.
• Over 500,000 diamonds are listed in our search.
• We have the only search engine which will apply the patented Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA).

We are confident this website, and the advice you find here, will best serve your needs.

Choose your path

1. Get educated: If you’re motivated to elevate your knowledge about diamonds you’re in the right place. Start with our comprehensive PriceScope education pages. You can also sign up and use our forum for free guidance from our friendly community of experienced jewelry lovers and experts. You’ve got questions? They’ve got great answers.

2. Get expert help: Use our free PriceScope Concierge Service for assistance. Our experienced professionals will answer your questions, direct you to resources, and connect you with our trusted vendors.

3. Short on time? Alternately, if you’re short on time and would like a proprietary PriceScope shortcut to see the largest, brightest, most sparkling round brilliant diamonds available in your budget right now, keep reading.

Pro-tip: Many companies want to advertise on PriceScope but few meet our standards. See our short list of rigorously screened, vetted vendors here, including Blue Nile, Whiteflash and JamesAllen.com.

PriceScope Diamond Buying Shortcut

first

First: Don’t get stuck on the 4Cs.

You read that correctly.

Why? Because, if you’re like most shoppers, you started with a budget and a hopeful carat weight in mind. Beyond that, most bridal shoppers just want a beautiful, sparkly diamond. Simple. If that was your mission, continue reading.

Your Mission: The sparkliest diamond of the largest carat weight within your budget.

During your research, salespeople and diamond online tutorials may have diverted your attention to color and clarity minutia. They may have upsold or over-complicated matters that had nothing to do with your mission. Some jewelers may actually have suggested reducing carat weight to afford top color and clarity.

That’s fine if you don’t mind spending extra for collection quality rarity, but for many bridal diamond buyers there are more budget friendly color and clarity options with no visual sacrifice and (often) better sparkle!

If the sparkliest diamond is your mission that depends entirely on cut-quality. Not color. Not clarity. Your diamond buying guide should serve your mission. If you’re like many shoppers, this one does.

Your Mission: The sparkliest diamond of the largest carat weight within your budget.

next

Shortcut Search

Here is our “no-muss, no-fuss, skip the blah-blah-blah and get yourself an awesome round brilliant diamond online from a proven seller now” shortcut.

Over 500,000 diamonds are listed in our search. Our vetted vendors have the best reputations in the business. Use the filtered search below to shortlist the brightest, most sparkling round brilliant diamonds from respected, world-class vendors, sorted by the highest carat weights available in your budget: No yellow. No visible flaws.

Proprietary Results

More importantly, ours is the only online search which returns the brightest, most sparkling diamonds according to the patented Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA). Best of all, it returns diamonds which are actually with the seller, not sitting in an overseas warehouse.

Easy as 1-2-3

1. Click the SHORTCUT SEARCH button
2. SHOW FILTERS and enter the minimum and maximum you wish to spend in PRICE
3. Scroll for the results – highest carat weights in your price range appear first.

Now: Verify the results

All these diamonds are BRANDED. Diamonds topping the search are IN HOUSE. Below those are VIRTUAL DIAMONDS

What does “BRANDED” mean?

Branded diamonds are held to higher quality standards: Accurate grading, no unpleasant surprises and – in the case of our PriceScope vendors – a higher standard of cut-quality. Different brands conform to different standards, but they are typically that company’s best diamonds.

What does “IN HOUSE” mean?

This means the seller has personally held, examined and vetted the diamonds in the results. So, even beyond the basic 4Cs being confirmed as accurate, “In-House” means those diamonds will not have any undisclosed issues such as undertone, haze or milkiness.

In House Brands:  Some of our vetted vendors have strictly controlled diamond brands, kept exclusively In House. Check out Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE^® super ideal diamonds.

Every PriceScope vendor offers free shipping, a liberal inspection period and full refunds.

What does “VIRTUAL” mean?

The diamonds in the virtual sort may be in another location, but are quickly available to the vendor.  This is not a problem: we used the branded option in our search, which filtered anonymous diamonds.  Even when VIRTUAL, all branded diamonds must meet quality standards in terms of accurate color, clarity and fluorescence grading.

Virtual Brands:  Our vetted vendors also include sellers with access to hundreds of thousands of diamonds. See the best they have to offer their featured collections – JamesAllen.com True Hearts^™ and Astor by Blue Nile™.

Trust but Verify:

In all cases involving virtual diamonds it never hurts to ask the seller three simple questions:

1. Please verify this diamond is eye-clean face up.
2. Please verify this diamond has no undisclosed undertone; brown, green or grey.
3. Please verify this diamond has no undisclosed haze which impacts light transmission.

You should get honest answers because in the seller’s best interest to communicate transparently: They don’t want the expense of shipping a diamond into your hands, only to have it returned on their dime as well. The ability to filter branded diamonds and see which are In House and which are Virtual is a tremendous advantage of using our diamond buying guide and unique PriceScope search engine.

Finally: Consider the Support Package

The support package involves fixed short and long-terms expenses incurred by the seller.

Short-Term Support: This varies from store to store. For example, some sellers create a full suite of photos and videos for every loose diamond online. Some sellers provide tools like tweezers, loupes, and scopes. Some sellers underwrite two-way shipping so you may inspect the diamond prior to returning it for mounting. If you’re seeking this kind of support, it may be worth paying a few more dollars.

Long-Term Support: This varies from store to store as well. Some sellers provide a restricted upgrade policy, whereby you receive credit for your original purchase when upgrading to a diamond that costs 2X as much or weighs 2X the carat weight. Other sellers provide unrestricted upgrades where you receive credit when upgrading to any more expensive combination of Cs.

Mission Accomplished

If you used this diamond buying guide shortcut you cut through the noise, saved dozens of hours, avoided distracting agendas and achieved your mission faster and better than 90% of new diamond shoppers. Congrats!

Want to learn more?

Begin with the diamond 4Cs basics in our education section. Continue through the intermediate and advanced topics and, before long your diamond knowledge will eclipse that of your friends, family, and possibly some professionals.

Get fast answers to any question: Ask our community of unbiased independent helpers.