Diamond Buying Guides
Honest, practical guidance on diamonds and engagement rings, written by the people who grade, price and set them every day in Beirut.
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Diamond basics: the 4Cs, shapes and grades
Diamond Buying Guide: How to Choose the Perfect Stone
The complete diamond buying guide for first-time buyers: budget, shape, the 4Cs, certification and how to judge the…
Read the article →The 4Cs of Diamonds Explained: Cut, Colour, Clarity & Carat
The 4Cs of diamonds explained from inside the trade: what cut, colour, clarity and carat really mean, where…
Read the article →Diamond Shapes Guide: Which Cut Fits Your Style?
A clear guide to diamond shapes by personality, sparkle and price, from round to oval, emerald and pear.…
Read the article →Oval Cut Diamond Guide
The oval is one of the most flattering shapes we sell, and one of the most misunderstood. It…
Read the article →Triple Excellent vs Very Good Cut: Is 3EX Worth It?
The cut scale from Excellent to Poor, what Triple Excellent (3EX) adds over Very Good, and how to…
Read the article →Emerald Cut Diamond Guide
The emerald cut diamond is the quiet aristocrat of the diamond world. Where a round brilliant dazzles with…
Read the article →Cushion Cut Diamond Guide
The cushion cut is one of the most romantic shapes we sell. Picture a soft, pillowed square or…
Read the article →Diamond Colour and Clarity Chart (Every Grade Explained)
Every diamond colour and clarity grade in one place, with a value matrix, the full 4Cs chart and…
Read the article →Moissanite vs Diamond
Moissanite is the question we are asked most often after the 4Cs, and we are happy to answer…
Read the article →Lebanese Wedding Traditions: Zaffe, Dabke, Rings and Gifts
The traditions many Lebanese weddings share, from the bride leaving her family home to the zaffe, the dabke,…
Read the article →Princess Cut Diamond Guide
What defines a princess cut, how to judge one without a cut grade, the ratio and sizes to…
Read the article →Round Brilliant Diamond Guide
What defines a round brilliant, how to judge its cut and proportions, how large each carat weight looks,…
Read the article →Asscher Cut Diamond Guide: Clarity, Colour and Settings
Why an Asscher step cut needs a clean, white stone, how to judge its square ratio and windmill,…
Read the article →Marquise Diamond Guide: Ratio, Size, Points and Settings
How to judge a marquise diamond's ratio, two-way symmetry, bow-tie and points, why it looks bigger than its…
Read the article →Pear Shaped Diamond Guide: Ratio, Bow-Tie, Point and Settings
How to judge a pear shaped diamond's outline, ratio, bow-tie, colour at the tip and point protection, and…
Read the article →F vs G Diamond Colour: Is Colourless Worth It?
F and G colour compared on real certified diamonds, and when crossing the colourless line is worth it.
Read the article →G vs H Diamond Colour: Can You See the Difference?
G and H colour compared on real certified diamonds, and how shape, size and metal decide whether the…
Read the article →VS1 vs VS2 Diamond Clarity: Can You See the Difference?
VS1 and VS2 clarity compared on real certified diamonds, with an honest answer on when the eye can…
Read the article →VS2 vs SI1 Diamond Clarity: Which Is Eye-Clean?
VS2 and SI1 clarity compared on real certified diamonds: where SI1 stays eye-clean and where it is safer…
Read the article →Diamond Glossary: 75 Terms Explained Simply
Seventy-five diamond terms explained in plain words, from table and girdle to bow-tie, fluorescence and Triple Excellent, with…
Read the article →Do Diamonds Hold Their Value? An Honest Answer
Retail versus resale, why a certified natural diamond keeps part of its value while lab-grown largely does not,…
Read the article →Lebanese Engagement Traditions: A Guide for Couples
The customs many Lebanese families share around an engagement, from the tolbe to the engagement gathering, rings, gifts…
Read the article →Diamond Carat vs Size: How Big a Carat Looks on the Hand
What each carat actually measures on the hand, and why buying in millimetres instead of milestones saves real…
Read the article →Lab-Grown Diamonds in Lebanon: An Honest Look Before You Buy
Lab-grown diamonds in Lebanon, honestly: how they compare with natural stones on looks, reports, value and resale, and…
Read the article →Eye-Clean Diamonds: The Clarity Grade the Trade Buys
Ask the trade what clarity they'd buy for themselves and you'll hear a term that appears on no…
Read the article →Diamond Fluorescence Explained: The Line Buyers Skip
It quietly moves prices, occasionally affects beauty, and hides flaws in plain sight. The fluorescence line, decoded.
Read the article →Prices and value
How Much Should You Spend on an Engagement Ring?
How much to spend on an engagement ring, from inside the diamond trade: why the months'-salary rule is…
Read the article →How Diamond Prices Work in Lebanon: Judge Any Quote
How diamond prices work in Lebanon: the global benchmark, the 4Cs, carats versus grams and the retail layers…
Read the article →Are Diamond Prices Falling? How to Check Before You Buy
Why natural and lab-grown diamond prices behave differently, what moves natural prices, and how to check a stone…
Read the article →The Best Diamond for Your Budget: Where to Compromise
How to allocate a fixed budget across cut, colour, clarity, carat and shape, so your money goes where…
Read the article →What Really Sets the Price of an Engagement Ring
How the price of a certified diamond engagement ring in Lebanon is built, and how to get the…
Read the article →The Rapaport Price List, Explained for Diamond Buyers
The trade's benchmark price list, explained for buyers, and why we print our Rapaport discount on every stone.
Read the article →Certificates and buying with confidence
GIA vs IGI: Why Diamond Certification Matters
GIA vs IGI, explained plainly by a Beirut diamond house: how the labs differ, why IGI dominates lab-grown,…
Read the article →How to Tell if a Diamond Is Real
The home tests and how far to trust them, what the imitators are, and the checks that actually…
Read the article →How to Read a GIA Diamond Report, Line by Line
A field-by-field guide to the GIA Diamond Grading Report, how HRD reports differ, how to verify a report…
Read the article →A Diamond at Half the Price: What the Trade Knows That Buyers Don’t
He found 'the same stone' at half the price on Instagram. He paid. It never arrived. A true…
Read the article →HRD vs GIA Diamond Certificates: The Real Differences
Both labs are respected, but they're not identical. The practical differences between GIA and HRD reports, and how…
Read the article →Where to Buy a Diamond or Engagement Ring in Lebanon: A Checklist
Where to buy a diamond or engagement ring in Lebanon: what a good seller offers, the red flags,…
Read the article →How to Choose a Diamond Seller You Can Trust
The single best protection for an engagement-ring buyer is a reputable, established diamond dealer known in the market.…
Read the article →Why Buy Your Diamond in Lebanon
Why buying a certified diamond from stock in Beirut beats carrying one home through an airport: see it,…
Read the article →Why We Film Every Diamond in 360° Before You Buy
A still photograph is a diamond's best friend and a buyer's worst adviser. What motion reveals, and how…
Read the article →Certificate Swapping: Real Paper, Wrong Stone
The paper is genuine and verifiable. The stone it travels with isn't the one it describes. How the…
Read the article →How to Verify a GIA or HRD Diamond Certificate Online
The three-step online check for any GIA or HRD report, what to compare on it, and how to…
Read the article →Rings, metals and proposals
White Gold vs Yellow Gold vs Platinum: Ring Metal Guide
White gold vs yellow gold vs platinum: how each wears, what upkeep it needs, and which metal makes…
Read the article →Engagement Ring Styles & Trends in Lebanon for 2026
The engagement ring trends in Lebanon for 2026: hidden halos, oval cuts, slim bands, yellow gold and lab-grown,…
Read the article →How to Clean & Care for Your Diamond Jewellery at Home
Learn how to clean diamond jewellery at home in five minutes, the safe method for rings, earrings and…
Read the article →How to Propose in Lebanon: The Best Places and the Ring
Twelve well-known places to propose in Lebanon, chosen season by season, plus more ideas by the sea, in…
Read the article →Engagement Ring vs Wedding Band (Mahbas): What Is the Difference?
The difference between an engagement ring and a wedding band (the mahbas), how the two are worn in…
Read the article →Valentine’s Day Proposal in Lebanon: Ideas and Ring Timeline
Winter proposal ideas for Valentine's Day in Lebanon, from the snow at Faraya and the Cedars to Byblos…
Read the article →Engagement Ring Buying Guide: How to Choose and Buy a Ring in Lebanon
How to choose and buy an engagement ring in Lebanon, step by step: budget, diamond, certificate, setting, metal,…
Read the article →Travelling With an Engagement Ring: A Practical Guide
How to carry an engagement ring home or on a proposal trip: hand luggage, paperwork, customs, insurance in…
Read the article →Christmas and New Year Proposal in Lebanon: Ring Timeline and Ideas
Christmas and New Year proposal ideas in Lebanon, from Byblos at Christmas to a snowy mountain weekend, and…
Read the article →How to Choose Her Ring Setting: Solitaire to Bezel
The setting is the personality. How each style behaves on the hand, and how to match one to…
Read the article →Caring for and Insuring Your Engagement Ring in Lebanon
Gym bags, beach summers and thirty years of daily wear: the handful of habits that protect a ring…
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