Customer Reviews

How to Buy a Diamond: Insider Secrets for Getting Your Money's Worth

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just wanted to put in a word of warning with all the praise this book has mustered. Fred Cuellar knows his stuff and is usually correct in what he says about diamonds but he please keep in mind that he is sales person - first, last and always. After discussing all the 4Cs, he puts one last bit of advice into the chapters about un-warped stones. And that's were it all unravels; for all the importance he places on this topic, he writes only a paragraph or two about it. Incredible.

Fred puts a lot of emphasis on finding an un-warped stone and eventually points the reader to his own store for "advice." In several months of research about round cut stones, I have found that most people in the business or hobbyists do not necessarily respect his opinions.

Let me explain ...

After trying to locate a reasonably priced stone that matched Fred's guidelines for dimensions, I called his 800 number looking for guidance. I found several stones on bluenile.com that matched all of Fred's recommended dimensions (but were low in price and therefore too good to be true?) but every time I asked the guys at DCI (Diamond Cutter's International, Fred's company), they told me it was an okay stone but warped meaning that the measurements around the stone weren't symmetrical all the way around. Even though the dimensions all matched the ideals for what Fred said in his book, according to DCI, the stones all suffered from a so called tragic flaw that Fred only devotes half a page to.

Yes, this is an important point and they did assure me that bluenile's prices were fair but I was still getting a warped stone which I should avoid. I asked for advice on where I could find a non warped stone because, after lots of phone calls and several months spent visiting jewelry stores, none of the local jewelers in Boston including those in the Diamond District on Washington Street had those types of stones. Except Tiffany's (but they don't have unmounted stones) and I didn't want to pay the 50% price premium for a brand name. I got an email back from the DCI guys with two stones that they could sell to me. I was a bit taken aback. I thought it was a conflict of interest to try and write an informational book about buying diamonds all the while pushing their own agenda and eventually scaring customers to purchase from him.

I ended up with a beautiful round cut, .98, G, SI1 (very nice, eye clean), GIA ideal cut for just under $4400 in Feb. 2006. I had it measured again by GIA and the certification was almost identical to the one I got from the dealer But it was supposedly warped according to Fred's DCI guy. This stone should have gone for $7500 according to Fred (if it were un-warped).

Readers should realized that ultimately, this book will point you to DCI and Fred's own diamond store. See one poor sap's comments, (Derek M. Hardwick "A Very Happy Customer") who fell for the entire scheme. Fred not only made a buck off of the sale of the book but lead this reader right to his store! Google Fred's name for more information about lawsuits against him. And check out this thread and look for his threads on Pricescope.

I found & read this book along with "Diamond Ring Buying Guide" by Renee Newman. Fred Cuellar really gives you insight on how diamonds are rated "The 4 C's" and gives you suggestions on what to look for based on what type of buyer you are. I found his inside information on what goes on in the diamond buying/selling business very helpful. He also provides you with questions to ask a Jeweler to interview them and see if they are a legitimate company to deal with. I like his no-nonsense approach and recommendations of pricing for different cuts, clarity and color. One thing the book lacked was actual pictures for examples. I found Renee Newman's book "Diamond Ring Buying Guide" was excellent in providing color/B&W picture examples but Fred's book was better laid out in educating the reader. After reading Fred's book and looking at Renee's pictures, I felt very confident in going into a jeweler to look at diamonds. In fact, once I went into a jeweler for the first time and explained in detail what I was looking for, I was treated completely different than the other customer's. The sales rep brought out the manager, and both of them treated me with respect. In fact, make sure you use Fred's example of asking the manager if they would GIA certify the diamonds. This tells you alot about the jeweler you are doing business with.

Fred Cueller provides some quality information. His emphasis on cut is well-placed, as it is commonly accepted that cut is the most important contributor to a diamond's appearance.

Explaining that a VVS clarity diamond is not the best choice for worn jewelry, confirmed by other sources, was helpful and saved me some money.

Recommending to "buy shy" (0.49 ct instead of 0.50 ct) is a handy tip, and saved me some money while getting the look I want.

His relationship advice, stories of crooked sellers, and anecdotes are interesting, amusing, and can be helpful.

However, there are significant problems.

His explanation of the proper cut for the Round is essentially correct, but more research shows his understanding is becoming outdated and may mislead people. The "ideal" is based on a 2D ray-trace of a diamond which ignores some aspects of dispersion. Today, full 3D models of diamonds can be performed. With that, his disagreement with GIA's new recommendations for "ideal" may well be incorrect and misleading people from good purchases.

Worse, his recommendation for choosing proper proportions of a Princess cut seem to be plain wrong. I'm still looking into this, but right now my understanding is that if had bought my Princess-cut diamond according to his proportions, I'd have a poorly cut stone.

While buying shy is a money saver, I'm not convinced it is nearly so useful today as he suggests. Prices I've seen don't jump dramatically at the round carat weights.

His recommendation on fluorescence are not universally held. My jeweler recommends some degree of fluorescence for non-colorless stones to mask the yellow and improve the perceived whiteness of the stone. This is a matter of taste and I'm choosing to believe my jeweler over Cueller.

For anyone looking for diamond buying advice, be wary of Cueller's book. While he provides a lot of useful information to the ignorant (like me), that is also what makes it so risky. The ignorant can't readily identify the weaknesses and errors in his book without further research.

Simply put, anyone who is in the market for a diamond, in particular for an engagement ring, must read this book. In about 200 hundred pages Mr. Cuellar explains everything you need to know to get a great stone at a great price. I was so fascinated by the book that I read it in one sitting. After reading the book, I knew more about diamonds than a number of the people who were trying to sell them to me. He exhaustively reviews the 4 C's and talks about tricks of the trade to protect yourself from getting ripped off. A great asset of the book is the price guide that is included. It gives you a good idea of how much you should expect to pay for a diamond of a given size and quality. Mr. Cuellar also provides a phone number so that you can call and talk to one of his associates about a stone that you are interested in. In fact, I got to speak with Mr. Cuellar himself this week about a stone that I just purchased. I thought I was getting a good deal; he said I got a great deal. I owe it all to his book and the fantastic jeweler I was fortunate enough to do business with. Five stars all the way!

For starters I am a Graduate Gemologist, member of the Diamond Dealers
Club, been in the trade over 30 years, and a member of the American
Gem Society. Mr. Cuellar's book is the most accurate, detailed and
brutally honest Diamond book on the market, This book will leave a bad
taste in the mouths of jewelers that are up to no good. Knowledge is
power! Deceitful jewelers thrive through misinformation.... The fact
that anybody can call up free of charge and get an idea of the value
of their diamond is spectacular. If you know the 4-C's on any diamond
you can determine price....Mr Cuellar, keep up the good work! I
highly recommend this book to everyone!

I bought three books about diamonds: "How to Buy a Diamond (5th edition)," by Fred Cuellar; "Diamond Ring Buying Guide (6th edition)," by Renee Newman; and "Diamond: a Journey to the Heart of an Obsession," by Matthew Hart. If you only buy one book, pick "How to Buy a Diamond," by Fred Cuellar. You'll learn almost all you need to know to buy a diamond and not pay thousands of dollars too much. Not only does Cuellar clearly explain the "4 C's" and other aspects of diamonds, he gives practical advice, e.g., buy SI1 clarity, H or I color, and a .99 carat weight rather than 1.01 carats, and your diamond will look fine to everyone and you'll save $$$$. I especially enjoyed Cuellar's chapters on how jewelers scam customers, and his chapter on court cases in which he was an expert witness. These mysteries will keep you turning the pages past your bedtime!

"Diamond Ring Buying Guide" has better photos and more detailed information, but doesn't have the practical advice or entertaining stories of Cuellar's book.

Both books are missing two chapters. First, I'd like to see a chapter about alternatives to diamond rings. E.g., a Celtic engraved ring without a gem can be more beautiful than a plain gold ring with a big diamond (yawn). Or rings with colored gems can look more beautiful than a diamond rings. These books have chapters about cubic zirconia, which Newman snubs and Cuellar, as usual, gives the practical advice "if you can't see the difference, maybe you shouldn't spend the extra money."

The other missing chapter should be about the human rights problems associated with African diamond mines. Some mines are run by warlords using essentially slave labor, with the diamonds traded for weapons. Then there's the DeBeers cartel...and more. After reading Hart's book you'll insist on buying a diamond from a Canadian mine (or buy a gem other than a diamond).

Very comprehensive. One will go into any jewelry store with complete confidence; and know exactly when you may encounter less than honest jewelers. Easy to understand and a pleasure to read, and I hate books.

Buying your first diamond does not have to be a nerve-racking experience. Fred gives thoughtful insight into the diamond-selling business so that your buying experience is a pleasant one. His book is both interesting and factful, including in-depth discussions of the 4-C's, tidbits of historical information about famous diamonds and different ways to "pop the question." Easily readable within a few hours, this book makes you want to buy a diamond, and gives you all the information you need to make a knowledgable diamond purchase.

I bought this book about a year ago and studied it to the point of writing notes down so I could sound somewhat intelligent when I talked to a jeweler. Well, as soon as the jeweler knew that I knew what I was talking about, they backed off the sleezy sales pitch and let me shop how I wanted. Just the feeling of knowing I was able to outsmart the jeweler was worth the price of the book.

I can't overemphasize how readily available Fred Cuellar makes his organization available to the average diamond buyer. I called the 800 number in the book so many times and can't thank the folks at Diamond Cutter International (DCI) enough. In fact, I ended up going with DCI for the diamond engagement ring - no other jeweler was able to match the 4Cs like DCI was, and my fiancee gets more compliments than I can count on her ring. We designed the ring and DCI custom made the ring. They walked me and my fiancee through the entire process and even made sketches of the ring we ended up getting before we made the sale final. They were just awesome.

Knowledge is power, and having some knowledge about diamonds, diamond buying, and the industry is worth your while. Fred takes you through all of the technical stuff, but then addresses buying over the Internet (not recommended), marketing ploys for diamonds, and other issues that you just won't get straight answers to from others. Fred does have a service that recommends jewelers in your area, and I would encourage the use of the service. Even though we ended going with DCI for our diamond, the jewelers that were recommended to us were very good - we just couldn't find what we wanted in our area.

It's worth the money. Just do it.

If you are even CONSIDERING buying a diamond don't do anything before buying this book. This book is directly intended to inform the consumer. The only thing it lacks is pictures but it MORE than makes up for it in informative content, price tables, and Fred's help line. If you are REALLY serious about buying a diamond in the near future buy another book that has good pictures only to SUPPLEMENT this one. DON'T EXPECT TO FIND A GREAT DIAMOND AT A FAIR PRICE WITHOUT READING THIS BOOK FIRST!