Diamonds are nature's gift to man. Perfect crystallized carbon that has been sitting in our Earth's crust for millions of years. However, most people don't know how these precious gems are mined much less understand the complex world of conflict diamonds. The sad reality is that there are many lives that are negatively affected by conflict diamonds. However, there are ways to ensure that you get a conflict-free diamond that offers peace of mind. Here are some ways to do your due diligence in helping diamond mining stay a conflict-free activity:

A good way to start your research on these diamonds is to do an online search, as it’s quite easy to find a lot of good information online in a short amount of time. Pull up your favorite search engine and simply type in "conflict free diamonds" where many solutions will inevitably pull up. On the websites for the various firms that sell these diamonds, you can find things including prices, the types and sizes of diamonds that are available, and pretty much anything else you may find applicable. You can also find a lot of information on man made diamonds, just in case you need some persuading, as many people do, that they’re every bit as good as natural diamonds. Further research can be done once you have found some options that fit your personal style and financial budget.

You can actually easily read online reviews for the various companies where your better able to determine which company to order from. The reviews will inform you about the excellence of the diamonds in addition to the kind of service they are able to provide to their clients. If the company is local and you can actually go into the store, the type of experience you’re going to have with them is going to be different from the one you’d have with an online shop, so take that into account when you’re trying to determine which company to buy from. While many people feel at ease buying online, that is totally up to you whether you buy online or in your area.

Buying a diamond online can help ensure that you purchase a conflict-free diamond. Be sure to insist upon a third-party diamond grading report from a reputable lab and as where the diamond vendor sources their diamonds. Most legitimate online businesses adhere to the Kimberly Process so this isn't too much of a concern these days. Just be sure to do your research to make sure that your diamond is not only beautiful but conflict-free too!

Well, it's done. Dating for 3 years and now we are engaged. She actually said yes, LOL. I thought I'd give back a little and let everyone know how in the heck a guy from a small town tackled the stressful and expensive experience of buying a diamond engagement ring.

Colleen isn't a girly girl by any means, but she does love romantic gestures and definitely believes in the cultural and now socially expected tradition of being presented with an engagement ring. I didn't care either way, but like most guys I just wanted to make my girl happy. Luckily I had a friend that just went through the diamond buying process so I leaned on him a lot in the beginning.

Diamond Buying 101

If there is anything that I learned from my buddy John, it is that buying a diamond via the internet will save you tons of cash. At first I was skeptical but after going to a few local retail stores in my nearby mall I realized that physical jewelry stores had a 30-50% mark-up of the same exact jewelry that you could find online. It didn't take me long to realize that shopping online was the the way to go. So obviously the first place I looked at was Blue Nile. Luckily, it was the last place too.

Of all the things that were important to me, I wanted to ensure that I bought a quality diamond; in other words not just any ol'rock. I really wanted to spend the time and energy in making sure that the diamond would sparkle and be the finest quality that my budget would allow. Blue Nile's diamond search tool allows you to search via your budget, carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. After a few searches, and coming up with literally hundreds of diamond options, I decided that I was in a little over my head. How can I possibly tell this G-color VS-2 clarity diamond from this other G-color VS-2 clarity diamond? I have no idea what the difference was besides the $1000 dollar difference. So, something told me that I was definitely missing a huge piece of the diamond buying puzzle.

Getting There,...CUT - The Most Important C

I quickly learned that you can't just plug in random carat weight, color, clarity and cut settings. The average person has no real idea what each of those characteristics really means anyway. After a bit of online research, and reading a few very good Blue Nile reviews, I realized that a diamond's cut is by far the most important characteristic that you could pay attention to. At first I was overwhelmed with the amount of information needed to understand the quality of a well cut stone, but once do research and take your time digesting the information you eventually make sense of it all.

So, after understanding what cut was all about I then went back to Blue Nile's diamond search tool and started over again. This time I utilized the depth % and table % parameters. I learned for example, that round brilliant diamonds have optimum depth and table % that often gives maximum brilliance and light reflection. After inputting this information, only a handful of diamonds actually populated on the screen. This was a far cry from the hundreds that I first started off with!

I ran a few numbers through a diamond calc program and was ready to pull the trigger. I took one last look at the other diamonds and decided that I had made up my mind. I had found the perfect diamond! Since Colleen doesn't like anything too fancy I just stuck with the classic 6 prong solitaire setting that everyone seems to get. It is traditional afterall, and something that I know she wouldn't be disappointed with.

The Proposal - A Family Affair

I decided that I wanted to propose with her family involved, since we are both so close to both of our families. With both families in on the big secret, we all went skiing together for a duel family holiday. Down one of the slopes her brother and Dad held up a sign that read, "Will You Marry Me Colleen?" and as we skiied towards the sign she almost fell down the slope. Luckily she didn't fall, but we both stopped together and I got down on my knee and presented my beautiful solitaire diamond engagement ring. She was ecstatic.

Conclusion? Blue Nile Diamonds - A Smart Choice

Overall I'd say that my diamond buying experience is a universal situation. Most men don't know too much about diamonds and definitely want to get the most that their money can buy. All I can say is that Blue Nile saved me several thousand dollars and the diamond was absolutely stunning. Why pay more at your local mall? Blue Nile has it all and my fiance is in love with her ring and I'm totally proud that I was able to do it on my own.