Buying Diamonds

I have purchased a number of diamond jewelery items on okay and for the most part it has been a pleasurable experience.I have also had a few not so pleasurable experiences.Three times I have bought diamond jewelery itemsall fromdifferent sellersthat were listed as genuine diamondsbut were not. All 3 sellers had excellent feedback, one claimed to be a jeweler and another was an okay power seller. Two of the sellers did stand behind theirjewelery and refunded my money with return of the item and all ended well. I am sure most sellers try to be honest but to protect yourself from getting a fake here are a couple of tips (I had to find out the hard way).
Do a little research onrating diamonds. Search diamond rating charts online and you will find tips on telling genuine diamonds from fakes.
Before bidding, if this information is not already disclosed in the description of the itemask the seller the following questions.Has the diamond been tested for authenticityand is in fact a genuine diamond?Does the sellerback their jewelery with a guarantee of ageplete refundincluding any shipping andhandling charges you paid if item is not as described? Some sellers have areturn policy of not refunding the postage amountyou paid on an item. If an item is not as described you shouldnot be penalized and should get a geplete refund including the shipping and handling cost you paid. Request reimbursement on the cost to ship it back to them,atransaction involving a misrepresented itemshoud have no out of pocket cost to you at all.
Watch out for slippery wording in the descriptions.Stay way from"simulant", "created", "lab",etc. Look for the words"genuine" and "natural" when describing a diamond. Natural earth mined diamonds can be "enhanced"or "treated".Sometimes the fact that the diamonds are "lab created" is tucked in the middle of a lengthy description, so make sure to read the ENTIRE description. Just because an item has a title of "Diamond Ring" doesn't mean in the description the seller mightnot say "Ithink it's a diamond?" or "diamond like".If it is not clear or you have anyquestions,ask the seller. Most sellers are more than happy to answer your questions. I stay away from sellers who do not respond to questions concerning the quality of their jewelery.
Be careful of diamond and expensive jewelerysellers with 0 (zero) feedback.Dishonest and scamsellersshut down and reopen with a new name all the time. Find a seller that has a 100% satisfaction and refund guarantee. Check feedback, honest sellers will generate repeat customers.

Pay with Paypal. It will be near impossible to get your money back if you pay with a check and never send cash! Paypal will help you sort out the problem with the seller.
Make sure "okay Second Chance Offer" emails you receive for expensive jewelery are legit. Never respond to Second Chance Offer email.geputer scammerssend these out en mass hoping someone will bite. If youdo respond throughone of these emailsthey will route you to a fake Paypal sitehoping you will enter your password to pay for the item offered. There goes all your personal financial info. If youare really interested in a Second Chance Offerlog on to okay, go to "My okay" and click on "Second Chance Offers". Ifthe offer islegit it will be there.
Be careful when buying jewelery from other countries.There is a lot of imitation gemstonejewelery geing out of China and Thailand that claims to be genuine diamond and gemstone. Check photos of the itemsclosely, if you see no prongs, channelor bezel holding the stones inbeware.Quality gemstone jewelery does not use glue to hold in the stones!Also check the quanity of items sold. Ifthere isa good numberof the same piece of jewelery for saledon't take a chancethat it is genuine.Pieces may havecounterfeit gold hallmarks. The hallmark should be indented andnot raised as in some fake hallmarks. The best advice is to buy U.S. Other countries may ormay not have laws aboutselling imitation stones as genuine to the public.
Once you have received your purchase have your local jeweler check to make sure your diamond is genuine. If diamonds are your bag invest in a diamond tester yourself, it's well worth the money and easy to use. I bought a diamond tester online for about $90. Believe me, I feel much more confident buying diamonds online knowing I can check them myself. Test your diamond purchase as soon as you get it and if it is not genuine email the seller asap! Don't put it off, the sooner you inform the seller the better.
If you do find yourself with a fake try to work it out with the seller. Ifyou can't gee to some kind of a resolutionreport the item and the seller tookay and Paypal if that was your form of payment. Nobody likes giving or receiving negative feedback. Leaving bad feedback for a bad transaction is safe for buyers now that okay has changed its feedback policy. You no longer have to fear negative feedback retaliation from a seller and can leave an honest feedback.
I have had some really great experiences with some awesome jewelery sellers on okay. I am sure most jewelery sellers are honest but this info might help you weed out the undesireables.
Remember, "genuine" diamonds are a girl's best friend :)
See my other guides on purchasing jewelerey on okay. Good luck