New York diamond street

It’s known as Diamond Street and it is not only one of the centres of diamond trade in the US, but also functions as a place where young men looking for an engagement ring like RJ Nool go to make their important purchases.

The 34-year-old Nool took his time looking for an engagement ring and was not frightened away by a single price he saw while searching. Nool said he looked for the perfect ring for more than two months after getting lost in in the large selection along Diamond Street.

Many American men have the same problem when it comes to finding an engagement ring - the one that conjures up a certain sparkle in the eyes of the women they intend to marry. A small, delicate ring without any distinctive features is an exception in the US.

Most men who want to give their girlfriends a ring choose a diamond, said Erik Broman, a gemologist and jewellery buyer for Continental Jewellers in Washington.

And the girlfriends like to show them off. After getting engaged it’s not uncommon for young American women to organize their own engagement parties in order to broadcast the fact that they have a diamond ring on their finger. When the engaged woman lets her girlfriends see her ring for the first time, a bit of showing off goes along with it, Broman said.

Marissa Whitehall, 27, is proud of the ring her boyfriend gave her when he asked her to marry him.

“I love this diamond,” said Whitehall of the stone once worn by her boyfriend’s grandmother. Whitehall’s girlfriends planned an engagement party to present the ring in a manner that acknowledges its importance in the history of the family.

Young women aren’t the only ones who benefit from America’s love of diamonds. About half of the total retail sales of diamond jewellery worldwide take place in the US, according to International Diamond Consultants, a trade group.

New York diamond street Largest market US

In 2005 the US was the world’s largest market for precious stones with total sales of 31 billion dollars. Total worldwide sales in 2005 were about 69 billion US dollars.

The numbers are no surprise to Julie Herschthal of Washington jewellery store Mervis Diamond Importers. Herschthal, a saleswoman at the store, said an engagement that includes the gift of a diamond ring has long since become a common practice followed by all classes of people, not just the wealthy.

A diamond ring is part of an engagement no matter how much money a man earns, she said, adding that some customers have to save a lot, others less.

The average amount a US man spends on an engagement ring should be equal to two to three months of his net salary, if he wants to really delight his girlfriend with a very special ring, Broman said.

Customers typically go to great lengths to spend their money wisely, and Broman said most of his customers are educated about diamond quality.

Experts advise anyone shopping for a diamond to understand “the four C’s” - cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. These relatively easy criteria have meant more and more buyers are turning to the Internet to order diamonds.

Herschthal, however, advises buyers to use caution. Diamonds available for sale over the Internet are cheaper, but customers get unreliable information about the actual worth of the precious stones, she said.

Diamond shopper Nool can’t complain about insufficient advice when he purchased his diamond in New York. He said the jewelers were very helpful and understood that customers don’t make their decision after their first visit to a jewellery store.

Problems arose only when Nool saw the broad selection available in the New York jewellery stores. More than 90 per cent of diamonds sold in the US are reported to pass through the New York City diamond district.

In the end Nool went to a jewellery store recommended by a close female friend. The 6,000-dollar ring is now exactly where it belongs - on the left ring finger of his fiancee.