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Title: How To Buy A Diamond: Insider Secrets For Getting Your Money's Worth, 5th Edition
ISBN: 1402204094
Author:
Fred Cuellar
Publicate Date: 2005-03-01
Publish: 2005-03-01
List Price: $16.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.50
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.70
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.71
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Very Helpful
This book is excellent. Information is first rate and very clear. The dimensional data on diamonds is helpful to decide how to buy an excellent diamond over the internet or at a jeweler.
The book helped me get a really nice diamond at a decent price.
There really are lots of scumbags in the diamond industry ready to screw you so be prepared with this book.
Seriously, after reading this book you will know more about diamonds then half the "jewelers" out there.
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2: Detailed and Practical
Very comprehensive and detailed. The OEM price list is of great help. This book is a must for anyone who's looking at buying diamond.
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3: How to Get What You Pay For. But the Advice Comes from a Salesman.
Fred Cuellar -jeweler, prolific diamond advisor, and creator of novelty gem pieces for pro sports teams and corporations- brings his enthusiasm for diamonds to "How to Buy a Diamond", his popular guide to getting your money's worth in carbon, now in its 5th edition. "How to Buy a Diamond" discusses buying diamond engagement rings, but since it assumes you will be shopping for a loose stone, the information is equally applicable to any diamond: rings, earrings, pendants, stones for investment, etc. This book places more emphasis on the process of purchasing the diamond than most diamond guides. Only the first 2 chapters are concerned with the stones themselves.
Chapter 1 addresses the obligatory "4 Cs": carat weight, clarity, color, and cut. In addition to basic information, Cuellar explains the expanded color typing produced by a Colorimeter, shows how color and clarity grades should correspond unless you want an oddball stone with poor resale value, and he comments on GIA's new, looser cut grading system. Chapter 2 is dedicated to "Cost", including price lists for 1/3 -5 carat diamonds, price lists for "buying shy" or buying just under the desired carat weight, and charts for calculating prices of 6-10 carat stones. Cuellar explains why it is difficult to determine what a diamond of a certain color, clarity, and carat should cost without a lot of other information.
There are questionnaires to aid in finding a qualified jeweler and picking a suitable stone. The author highly recommends "bonded" diamonds, warns against the limitations of lab grading reports and buying on the internet, describes enhancement treatments to look out for, and introduces us to synthetic diamonds. Chapter 5, "Tricks of the Trade", details some common ploys that jewelers use to deceive customers as well as some that customers use to scam jewelers or unjustly accuse them of theft. Presenting the dangers of the diamond business from the jeweler's point of view provides interesting insight.
A "Will You Marry Me?" chapter gives trepidatious men advice on how to pop the question -and when not to. This seemed to me like a lot of self-righteous advice on finding Miss or Mr. Right. Fred Cuellar is unquestionably a romantic and a talented salesman. He likes the idea of "true love" and the idea of a diamond as an expression of such. The book has 11 chapters. Those that I did not mention are shorter and perhaps less essential: ring settings, common myths about diamonds, tips on cleaning, advice on trade-ins and selling your diamond. Carat size charts, a glossary, Q&A, and more are found in the Appendixes.
"How to Buy a Diamond" offers some helpful advice that I have not seen in other consumer diamond guides. On the other hand, no retailer will ace the jeweler questionnaire, no one recognizes color typing, and you will not find diamonds with the kind of "bonded" warranty that the book describes. Fred Cuellar is not a disinterested party. He sells (bonded) diamonds, and he hopes you will buy from him. I found "How to Buy a Diamond" a mixed bag: useful insight, strong opinion, and thinly veiled sales pitch. I liked enough to recommend the book, but sometimes it must be taken with a grain of salt. "How to Buy a Diamond" does not have photos, but its companion web site does. If you would like more detail about diamond cuts, enhancements, and how to detect a fake, including how to examine a diamond though a loupe, "Diamonds: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide" is more hands-on and impartial.
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4: Great Book - Well written
If you don't know the 4 C's about diamonds, certification, etc. you will be "totally" unprepared to deal with jewlery stores and wind up paying way, way...... too much money for a diamond.
This is a great book. Get a fair deal for your loved one. Get this book!!!
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5: Read THIS Book Before You Buy a Diamond
I ordered this book before a major diamond purchase. I was able to read it quickly and easily. I was impressed by how well organized and effective it was. I believe that this book prepared me well.
The author provides plenty of support for his clear recommendations. I was suprized at how well he used just enough detail without bogging down. He even has included an extensive diamond price list.
I can't emphasize enough how much the organization of the book made it easier to pick up the necessary information.
Highest recommendation
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