When you purchase a loose diamond from us there is no obligation to purchase a setting for the diamond as well. You are free to purchase an engagement ring or fine jewelry item from anyone and still say that you have a Distinct Diamond.

		What separates Fire & Ice from our online competitors like Star129 and Blue Nile?

1. Blue Nile carries American Gem Society Laboratories, AGS, and the Gemological Institute of America, GIA, certified diamonds. The diamonds in Bluenile's Signature Collection are only certified by GIA for one reason – the lesser amount of information about a diamond on GIA grading reports allows sellers to draw their own conclusions about the quality of the diamond’s cut. The only reason diamond manufactures or diamond cutters send diamonds to AGS Labs is to have their diamond’s proportions confirmed as conforming to “ideal cut” specifications on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being the highest.

If they feel a diamond might receive a lower grade they’ll send it to another lab. Many of Blue Nile’s Signature Collection diamonds have proportions that many gemologists would consider out of standard parameters, containing crowns that are too large and tables that are too small, in turn causing too much distraction especially in fancy shapes like Emerald cuts. During your diamond research, you will find that there are many permutations on cutting styles; however, Blue Nile’s Signature Collection diamonds are not among them.

2. Fire & Ice’s labs are equipped with some of the most state of the art equipment in the gemology business from Moscow State University, OctoNus, Sarin, and OGI Systems. We, however, only use this equipment for initial sorting of diamonds from our diamond cutters. The final analysis is painstakingly performed by eye.

3. Fire & Ice offers a lifetime exchange policy. Considering a Distinct Diamond is an investment, you are free to upgrade at any time.

4. Fire & Ice also donates at least 2% of the price to diamond related charities in order to help end the trade of conflict diamonds in the world market. This does not affect your cost unless you choose to donate a larger percentage.

		What are the advantages in buying directly from gemologists as opposed to wholesalers or retailers?

1. At our level we deal with hand-picked diamond cutters and manufacturers directly. We can specify exactly what diamonds we want and can even have the diamonds re-cut if we think it would be of benefit especially if there is notable graining, but other characteristics are ideal. Sometimes the difference between a magnificent diamond and a dull one can be .2 carats.

2. At the sub-wholesale level we have enough market power to purchase diamonds only after examining them. Many wholesalers are pressured by the market to use inaccurate computer models in selecting their inventory beforehand and end up getting stuck with rash selections. For some examples of how wholesalers may have been duped by their suppliers see:

Diamond Clarity

Diamond Cut Grade

Retail jewelry stores frequently pass off pre-owned diamonds as new whether a diamond has been returned or whether they have purchased a used diamond. The longer the grace period to return a diamond; the more of a chance there is for the diamond’s polish to be scratched or the cutlet to be chipped, especially if the consumer took it to an unqualified jeweler to have it set or appraised.

3. Salespeople may also have ulterior motives in selling you a specific diamond. Because you select your own diamond at Fire & Ice, you have complete control over the entire selection process without any pressure to buy.

4. Many diamond wholesalers and retailers that have neither the time nor money to properly analyze their diamonds rely on an online user entry form called the Holloway Cut Adviser (HCA) to decide the cut grade that they will assign to their diamonds. Its results, however, are not always accurate because of the variations in grading reports between labs. AGS Laboratories and GIA have varying definitions for several parts of a diamond’s anatomy. GIA has always encouraged consumers to consult with professional gemologists as to a diamond’s quality and not rely on “experimental” computer programs.

The most common mistake we see is that customers shop around for a specific diamond, with every detail of what they want. They look in dozens of stores to find one who has their desired diamond in stock at a good price.

This is often a very common and a big mistake. There are approximately 6,000,000 possible combinations of diamond quality and size in the usual range people use for engagement rings, so no one jeweler can possibly carry every possible combination. So instead, decide on your jeweler first, pick someone with integrity, and then have them find your ideal diamond.

Always call first and make an appointment.
This achieves three objectives:
1) to see some diamonds and learn by direct experience, and
2) to describe what you want over the phone, so they can order it for you to see it
when you go in.
3) You avoid being pushed into buying something they have in stock.  Buy what you want to buy, not what they want to sell.

8 Questions to Test a Jeweler

The lowest price is rarely the best deal when it comes to diamonds. Shopping by price alone without enough knowledge and experience is exactly how most couples pay too much for a diamond or end up with a lower quality diamond than they think. If you compare only the 4 Cs, or even 7-8 of the 13 quality factors, you will be mislead by any unscrupulous jewelers, or even misleading yourself.

Therefore, we recommend choosing a good jeweler as your very first step.

If you are working with a FireandIceDiamond Gemologist, your screening work has been done for you by our staff of diamond experts. You won't really need the process below, because we have already researched far more than the list below to select the stores on our list. We will gladly send the full report of our findings on any jeweler that passed our tests.

If you have not decided who to use as your jeweler, we suggest you use the 8 questions below to see if a candidate jeweler can answer "yes" to every one. If not, please be careful!
1. Does this diamond come with a grading certificate from one of the two most respected independent gem labs: GIA or AGS?
2. Do you offer a written money back guarantee? (at least 30 days)
3. Do you specialize in loose diamonds and fine jewelry
(rather than birthstones, class rings, crystal, watches, and other jewelry)?
4. Do you have a microscope so I can see this diamond under proper magnification?       (Microscopes are better than a jeweler’s loupe.)
5. Do you have a GIA-trained gemologist to answer my questions?
6. Do you have a full-spectrum diamond light for color grading
(instead of the regular display lights that artificially enhance color)?
7. Are you a member in good standing with the jeweler's trade associations like the Diamond Dealers Club, or Jewelers of America, or the American Gem Society?
8. Will you show me the Rapaport wholesale diamond price list, and how it works?
(Remember Rapaport prices listed in the basic charts are only the starting points that need to be adjusted for other quality factors -- more on that later.)

When you find a jeweler that can answer a definite "yes" to these questions, there is a good chance you have found a respected gemologist. Such stores tend to offer top service and top value for your money. FireandIceDiamond Gemologists and diamond consultants have been thoroughly tested and screened by our staff of experts, and will easily pass this simple test.

		Purchasing a Diamond Online?

1. If you’re viewing a loose diamond in a store, let alone in a setting, you might as well be looking at a picture online. A diamond will never look as good as it does in the retail setting. Jewelers use special lighting that could make the dullest diamond seem truly amazing to the untrained eye by strategically placing diamonds throughout their stores. Diamonds with fluorescence that makes them appear whiter are placed near windows, while diamonds with a “milky” fluorescence are placed well inside stores.

2. Stores also try to keep diamonds of different color grades in different cases completely. You may purchase a diamond that looks white and full of fire, brilliance, and scintillation, only to find that it has a yellow tint and is dull when you compare it to a friend’s.

3. Retail jewelry stores also get stuck with the poor decisions their suppliers made at one time.

For more see our Diamond Grading and Cut Grade section.

4. If you purchase a Distinct Diamond and really aren’t impressed, send it back. If the diamond isn’t damaged, we’ll give you a full refund - no exceptions!

		Why not just bid on a diamond on eBay?

Do people sell other commodities, stocks, or bonds on eBay? A diamond is an investment. If someone wanted to sell a diamond at cost they could just take it into their local jewelry store. For the most part, De Beers controls the inflation rate and market price of diamonds and in the past hundred years, excluding the Great Depression, there has been no such thing as selling a diamond below market value. If it’s on eBay you have to ask yourself, “Why?”