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"Diamond Ring Buying Guide," Renée Newman

About.com Rating 5 Star Rating
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Diamond Ring Buying Guide - Renee Newman

The Bottom Line

An excellent resource that's packed with details to help you evaluate diamonds and diamond jewelry. Written so that even beginners will understand the information that's presented.
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Pros

  • Excellent color photographs throughout
  • Educational schematic drawings
  • Clearly written text for all readers

Cons

  • None

Description

  • A thorough discussion of the Four C's: carat weight, cut, color, and clarity. Learn to judge each.
  • Concepts are reinforced by close-up photography of unmounted and mounted diamonds.
  • Schematic drawings accompany many photographs; they zero-in on specific details.
  • Advice to help you distinguish a real diamond from an imitation.
  • Read about common diamond enhancements. Find details to help you recognize a treated diamond.
  • Read about synthetic, or lab grown, diamonds.
  • Information about metals commonly used to set diamonds, with tips to help you make selections.
  • Advice about diamond and jewelry care.
  • Quizzes for each chapter to help you make sure you've learned the most important topics.
  • Plenty of jewelry photos in a huge variety of styles.

Guide Review - "Diamond Ring Buying Guide," Renée Newman

Renée Newman's book is one you'll carry with you when you shop for diamonds--or keep next to your computer when you browse online. It's an excellent guide to buying diamonds and diamond jewelry, and written so that even beginners can quickly grasp important details. A detailed table of contents and logical layout make it easy for you to find the pages required to answer your questions. The close-up photography is fantastic; it gives us an insider's view of diamonds that we don't usually see without a jeweler's loupe, with explanations to help us understand what we are looking at. I particularly like the schematic drawings that accompany many of the photos, since they help us see details that we might not notice at first glance.
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