According to the LJWest website, you can identify “natural” diamonds because their thermal conductivity levels are high. They also have a high refractive index, although there are other materials that can compare. A diamond can cut glass but this is not enough to identify diamonds because there are other materials that can also cut glass, like quartz. Diamonds can also scratch other diamonds but this simply sometimes results into damaging both stones. Hardness tests are not usually done because they can damage the gems during a test. Extreme hardness and the high value of a diamond means that the gem stone was polished slowly using traditional techniques with greater attention to detail than what would normally be given to other gem stones, resulting into the highly polished, extremely flat, and sharp facets of a diamond. When taken together, all factors play a role in affecting the overall appearance of a diamond. Sometimes, the only real way to determine a diamond is to look at it very closely, relying on the skillful use of a loupe to identify the gemstone by eye. This is why you’ll still see a lot of jewelers always have a loupe on their person.

Here are some few tips on how to purchase diamonds without breaking the bank or having to apply for a bad credit loan. You might think that it’s kind of impossible, but think again. It just takes a few tricks to acquire that beautiful diamond jewelry that you have been eyeing for a while.

Try to consider slight inclusions. A diamond with slight inclusions such as SI1, SI2, or SI3 can really save you thousands compared to buying a perfect and flawless diamond. In fact, these flaws cannot be seen by the naked eye and are not visible without the use of magnification. So these slight inclusions can be a wise decision to consider when shopping for a diamond.

Buy a diamond less than one carat. Even though diamonds are less than one carat, it can still look very beautiful. Shaving off a little from its weight won’t actually be that obvious compared to a one carat diamond. So instead of purchasing a one carat diamond, you can try picking a diamond with lesser weight, like 0.90 to 0.99 or less. As a matter of fact, prices really get so high when it reaches the once carat mark. Therefore, lesser weight means more savings.

Try going for a stone with lower color quality. Near-colorless diamonds that are usually graded G-J, are not really far different from their sisters in the colorless or D-F category. The colors are slightly blue and yellow because of the ground elements that are present during the development of the diamonds but that can’t be seen by the naked eye either. The colors are not really that visible and it is really a practical idea on buying near-colorless diamonds instead of colorless ones if you are really on a tight budget.

Try buying online. Buying diamonds online is just like any other online shopping experience from any e-commerce store, like this one for example. It is a lot cheaper than purchasing from a jeweler or any other jewelry stores. And it’s a more stylish alternative to tattoos!

Be careful when choosing metals for your ring. Palladium as well as white gold can give you much cheaper prices. In fact, Palladium can also be a good hypoallergenic choice.

Josef Heller is a science and fashion writer who writes about varied topics like diamonds, gadgets, buying dedicated servers, and all kinds of related fun!

Although very costly, diamonds have remarkable optical characteristics because its very structure makes it hard for it to be contaminated by impurities, like nitrogen and boron. They can probably do more for your self-esteem than even such transformations as customized fat loss. Combined with high transparency, the most natural diamond ends up clear and colorless in appearance. Small levels of impurities or defects turn a diamond yellow (nitrogen), blue (boron), green (radiation exposure), brown (lattice defects), red, pink, purple, or orange. Diamonds have relatively high levels of optical dispersion (ability for dispersing light into different colors), resulting into a luster that the gem stone is so well-known for.

Thanks to Randy Badu, lead editor of www.mcveighoffsite.com/sips for this guest post. His writing is often found on Salon, Technorati, and Reason.tv.