Meet the Leo behind The Leo Diamond®

Leo Schachter on selecting the perfect diamond.

Why is that most people don't feel confident about selecting a diamond?

Have you had lunch, because this could take a long time? I'll try to summarize it for you. A diamond is not a small investment , and any time people spend money they've worked hard for, they want to know they're getting a good value. If they start the diamond buying process without learning about diamonds first, then they won't know what they are buying or if it's the most beautiful diamond they could find at the best price. There's a lot of information out there to educate people about buying diamonds before they even think of entering a store.

Is that the only reason?

That's the intellectual reason. Selecting a beautiful diamond is easy. Selecting a woman to love, now that's another story. There's a huge emotional component to diamonds that begins, for men, anyway, with hoping that the diamond they select will embody all of their deepest feelings for the woman they love. And that she, in turn, will react positively to his choice, ooh and aah over the diamond, and accept his proposal . It makes men nervous. Funny how women can do that to you! I should know, I have a wife and five daughters..

Where should you start in the selection process?

I would begin by knowing what diamond you are looking for, and that means listening for hints she may drop , observing her taste in clothes and jewelry, possibly talking to her friends and family. The most popular shape and setting for engagement diamonds is a round brilliant solitaire diamond set in platinum. It's a classic, but is she? If she tends towards more contemporary styles of jewelry , then the Princess cut would more likely be her choice. If she only wears yellow gold jewelry, then by all means have her diamond set in yellow gold, not platinum.

Where should you shop for a beautiful diamonds?

“My friend's uncle knows a guy” is a bad way to start. Limit your choice of diamond jewelers to a few with excellent reputations . Those jewelers will share their knowledge with you, provide you with diamond certification , offer a money-back guarantee or upgrade policy, and service your diamond in the future. That means clean it and check it periodically to make sure it still fits tightly in it setting.

What about the selection of the actual stone?

Begin by asking to see the certification for every diamond you consider. It will show you the grading of the diamond based on cut, color, clarity, and carat weight – the 4Cs . The certification should come from an independent gemological laboratory like GIA, IGI, AGS, EGL, etc. With that in hands you can compare diamonds apples to apples and ascertain the fair market value. How hard is that?

What should you look for in the grading?

Cut is the most important factor. How a diamond is cut determines how light is refracted back out and this translates to the amount of fire and brilliance that radiates from the stone. A well cut diamond refracts nearly all the light entering it out of the top and sides, creating greater fire and more brilliance, so the diamond will have wonderful sparkle. A poorly cut stone, on the other hand, won't be as beautiful or as valuable. Carat weight has nothing to do with the beauty of a diamond, but if you are comparing diamonds, then a larger diamond is more valuable than a smaller one with the same cut, color and clarity attributes. A smaller diamond with superior attributes, however, with have greater value. If you don't mind my tooting my horn just a little bit, I will tell you that every Leo Diamond meets the quality standards I just described. Any diamond of lesser quality doesn't get my name on it!

If beauty equates with brilliance in a diamond, how do you measure that?

If you compare a Leo Diamond to another diamond of equal color and clarity, you can see the superior fire, sparkle and brilliance that our patented cut delivers with the naked eye. There is however, a scientific measurement for brilliance, also known as “Return of Light.” An independent gem lab called GemEx Systems, developed the technology five years ago. They use a state-of-the-art optical device called a BrillianceScope™ . It looks at five lighting angles to precisely measure the light that enters the stone and is then returned back. GemEx provides additional certification for every Leo Diamond as proof of its superior brilliance.

Do you think a person who has read this interview will feel confident about selecting the perfect diamond?

A man who has learned all he can about diamonds – and the preferences of the woman he loves -- can select one with the confidence that he is buying the most beautiful diamond he can afford at a fair price. If your question, however, is “Can he feel confident that she will say yes?” then I can only tell you we've yet to develop the state-of-art technology that will allow men to understand the fascinating, inscrutable inner workings of the female mind.

See The Leo Schachter collection.