Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Diamonds
Step1
Study styles. The traditional solitaire--a single diamond held aloft by prongs--is the most popular. Bezel settings (in which a slim border of platinum or gold surrounds a smallish diamond) can make the gem look bigger. The anniversary style is a row of diamonds or a diamond flanked by sapphires or emeralds.
Step2
Become fluent in the four Cs--the international language of diamonds: carat weight, color, clarity and cut.
Step3
Ask for an independent grading report--your diamond's detailed genealogy. Don't buy a costly stone without one, since it's your guarantee that you're getting what you've paid for.
Step4
Take a valuable diamond to an independent appraiser. If necessary, buy it first, but only with a written, unconditional moneyback guarantee allowing you a few days to have it appraised.
Precious metals
Step1
Look for marked jewelry. While gold need not by law carry the karat marks (not to be confused with carat, the weight measurement for diamonds) that define its level of purity, virtually all reputable stores sell only marked gold. If it is karat-marked, law dictates that it also be stamped with a hallmark, which shows that the manufacturer stands behind the karat mark's accuracy. The country of origin is also often noted.
Step2
Buy gold in a range of colors and levels of purity. The higher the karat rating, the more pure the gold in a piece and the richer the color (and the softer the item). For instance, 24k, or 100 percent pure gold is so soft, it's not often used in jewelry. As the purity decreases, to say 14k, or 58.3 percent gold, other metals like copper or silver are added. This also distorts the color, giving it a reddish hue. Anything less than 10k, or 41.6 percent pure, cannot legally be sold as "gold" in the United States.
Step3
Step up to platinum, the rarest, purest and heaviest precious metal. Almost double the weight of 14-karat gold, platinum is incredibly dense but also very soft.
