Finding The Best Round Brilliant Diamonds in NYC

There are very few places like NYC, particularly for jewelry buyers looking for round brilliant diamonds. This city is the diamond gateway to the US. With 24 billion dollars’ worth of these magnificent gems flowing through our fair city each year, one would think that buyers would have massive choice. Yes, and no…

If you know what you’re doing, finding the best inventory at a great price is a snap. Much like the sommelier who knows the best wine at a reasonable price, getting it right is a matter of knowledge and access. That’s where Jewelers.NYC comes in…

About Round Brilliant Diamonds and The Risk of Getting it Wrong

Round Brilliant Diamonds are the mainstay of the diamond trade. With 75% of all diamond sales coming from round brilliants, the shape is very popular indeed. Here in lies the problem. With so much inventory in the system, there are a lot of “bad eggs” out there. Walk into any NYC Pawn Shop and you will find a “nice selection” of them. Walk into Tiffany and you will find a “nice selection” of them. You see the problem.

Quick Discussion about 4C’s

However you cut it (no pun intended), knowing the Four C’s of your diamond is of paramount importance. Not only because of the 4C’s themselves, which is shorthand information about the quality of the diamond, but because of “price relativity.” You may or may not know the difference between a D and G colored diamond, or an excellent or a very good cut stone, but knowing the value difference is how you pay the best price.

The fact is, a 1 carat Round Brilliant Diamond can have almost 300 different combinations of color, cut and clarity. When this happens the price swing can be 10X depending where you are on the quality scale. $2000 or $20,000 or somewhere in between. It is that significant.

Play with the 4 C’s with A+ rated online discount diamond seller James Allen’s diamond pricer here.

So, the 4 Cs’ now serve two functions:

1) to capture the quality of your purchase, but also

2) to help you find the best price.

First, determine which diamond quality you want. If you need help in this area, read our 4 articles on color, cut, clarity and carat weight. 

Once you know what you want, then determining the best price is a matter of benchmarking. Start with GIA graded diamonds (always), and finding the best price. What is the best price? It is a price that is better than James Allen (mentioned above) who sells their GIA graded diamonds at about 25-40% off retail store prices.

Once you know that price, you then know what your ceiling is.

The great lie – there are “special diamonds” that exceed their graded value..

Never let a jeweler tell you that a diamond’s graded value is different than its’ true value… While there might be a little give and take around the edges, the GIA diamond grading system is quite rigorous and exact.

Jeweler Selection

Once you know what a good price is, the next phase is to select a great jeweler. This is easy with our Jeweler Directory, because jewelers are rated on three separate criteria: Price, Quality and Trust. Each of these, together, is how you find the best jeweler for your Round Brilliant Diamonds.

To access our directory please click here. Please don’t forget to come back and rate your jeweler – we value your feedback and it helps others coming after you.