The Diamond Exchange, or how to buy a diamond

2-3 hours

Description

A diamond exchange, or as «right» to buy a diamond: practical tips.

Usually, for most tourists, travel to the Diamond Exchange as part of free organized tours is limited to visiting the museum and large jewellery stores that are not part of the exchange. But where, for an unsophisticated viewer, the tour usually ends, for a real diamond connoisseur, it’s just beginning...

The Israeli International Diamond Exchange is the most secure location in Tel Aviv. On fifty floors three buildings are moved, stored in safes, bought and sold the rarest, the largest and most expensive stones in the world. Diamonds are selected for the best European jewellery houses, unlined diamonds are valued and multi-million dollar deals are made, including with private clients who wish to maintain their anonymity.
Interiors of the exchange, according to the standards of Moscow, remind, rather, class C offices, that absolutely does not embarrass either buyers or sellers: like any exchange commodity, stones here sell quickly, with a fixed margin of 2-5%, without being exchanged for excess. Behind the interiors and champagne go to Graff, say the local dealers - the truth is, the same diamond will already be five times more expensive.
Once upon a time, the Israelis were dealing with all kinds of stones, but government support for business ran out, money and interests flowed to Hi-Tech, so now the Israel Stock Exchange specializes in exclusive diamonds that you can’t buy in India or Russia.
The Israeli Stock Exchange buys diamonds from all the leading jewellery houses and watches, including Chopard, Graff and beyond. Of course, there is a street in Mumbai where you can buy a handful of small specimens at a very attractive price, but the fact that you will safely go with them to the plane is not guaranteed.

Today, it is rare that a medium or large diamond on an Indian or Russian exchange goes with an American GIA certificate. The reason is that there is a huge mass of synthetic stones circulating on the market, as well as «clouded» diamonds, undergoing the procedure of heating HPHT, which «squeezes» from the diamond of excess shade and defects. A GIA technician can determine that the stone has achieved such excellent quality through additional manipulation, but a simple dealer without special equipment - no. In the GIA certificate such stone will be marked Color.... E* and its price will be 30%-40% lower than a natural diamond, similar in other characteristics.
As in the case of a great forgery, the masterpiece will remain a masterpiece for the uninformed, but you cannot fool the savvy connoisseur. To determine that the certificate belongs to this particular stone is very simple - the certificate number is engraved on the rundyste. Taking a special magnifying glass, you can see the engraved number on a knotted belt separating the «crown» from the «pavilion». By the way, you can write on the stone whatever the buyer wants - for a symbolic payment on the diamond you can put any inscription, and for centuries imprint in the stone the most secret words. This idea seems very romantic to many...

There are dozens of goldsmiths working in the area adjacent to the exchange, ready to turn diamonds into exquisite jewellery. You imagine that in nature there are shops selling gold chains by a meter, and frames like buttons: at first glance, Mr. And just looking at it, you can see there are meters of gold chains wrapped on the coils, and there are earrings on the walls, and there are frames for rings of white, pink and yellow gold. The shop works only with professional jewellers and the entrance from the street is limited, but accompanied by a representative of the exchange you can show the most interesting specimens.

Practical advice.

*Buy a diamond on the exchange only from a licensed dealer - in this case it will cost reasonable money and will be sold according to all rules, with GIA certificate.

*Pre-calculate its approximate cost based on the chosen form, size, color, diamond purity and certificate, and read the description of such stone. Rare diamonds have an individual value, and the standard price does not apply to them.

*Set a meeting beforehand and ask the dealer to prepare several diamonds for the evaluation at once. Please let us know if you need a jeweler. Depending on the complexity, manufacture of the product takes from a few hours to several weeks

*Don’t buy diamonds as a means of investment - prices rise only on very rare specimens. But diamonds are the best means of saving in the history of mankind: they are compact, indestructible and... absolutely magnificent!

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