Questions
The ones worth asking before you spend the money.
Price
- Why is it the same price per carat regardless of grade?
- Because we set a floor instead of selling a ladder. Every white stone is VS1 or better and D to F, so there is no lower grade to discount and no higher grade to upsell. Multiply the carat weight by $510 and you have the price.
- Is there a catch in the shipping or the certificate?
- No. Standard delivery is free and insured, the grading report is included, and there is no restocking fee on a return. The only cost that is ever deducted from you is the prepaid return label, and only if you send a stone back.
- Do you take coupon codes?
- There is a field for one in the cart. If you have been given a code it will apply there, and the saving shows in the order summary before you pay.
- Do larger stones cost more per carat?
- No. A 3.00 ct is exactly three times a 1.00 ct. The trade normally prices weight exponentially; we do not, which is why the value gets more obvious as the stones get bigger.
- What do fancy colors cost?
- $600 a carat — yellow, pink, blue and green, graded fancy or better, on exactly the same terms as white.
What you receive
- Can I choose a specific stone?
- No, and that is deliberate. Stones move through here in volume, and holding individual ones for browsing is most of what makes a diamond expensive to sell. You choose the cut and the size; we guarantee everything else meets or beats the published floor.
- What does 'up to 10% over' actually mean?
- Order a 1.00 ct and you will receive a stone weighing between 1.00 and 1.10 carats. Order 2.00 ct and it is 2.00 to 2.20. It is never under the weight you ordered, and the extra weight is not billed.
- Could I receive a better clarity or color than I paid for?
- Regularly. VS1 is the worst case; VVS2 and VVS1 stones go out at the same rate. The same is true of color — F is the floor, D and E turn up often.
- When do I find out the exact specification?
- Before it ships. Once your stone is allocated we email the grading report, so you know its actual weight, clarity and color while the parcel is still with us.
- What if I want an exact carat weight for a setting?
- Tell us in the order notes or by email. We can hold allocation to a tighter band, though it may add a few days. The measurements in millimeters matter more to a setter than the carat number does.
Grading and certification
- Who grades the stones?
- IGI or GIA. The report ships with the stone, and the report number is laser-inscribed on the girdle so you can match the two and look it up on the laboratory's database.
- Is a laboratory-grown diamond a real diamond?
- Yes. Same carbon crystal, same hardness, same optical behavior. It is distinguishable from a mined stone only by laboratory equipment reading its growth pattern — which is exactly what the report states.
- Will it hold value?
- Laboratory-grown diamonds have been getting cheaper to produce for a decade and that is likely to continue. Buy one because you want to wear it, not as an investment. We would rather say that plainly than sell you a story.
Returns
- How long do I have?
- 30 days from delivery. Request a return authorization, we email a prepaid insured label, and you send the stone back with its report in the condition it arrived.
- What does it cost me?
- The return label, and nothing else. Once the stone is back and verified we refund the full purchase price, less that label cost. No restocking fee.
- Why do I need an authorization number?
- So the parcel can be matched to your order and insured properly. A stone posted back without one cannot be traced or covered, and we will not accept that risk on your behalf.
Anything else, hello@houseofdiamora.com. A person answers.