When buying jewelry, especially fine jewelry that includes precious metals such as gold and platinum and gemstones such as diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, it is really helpful to educate yourself as much as possible. That is actually one of my goals for this blog is to help educate consumers. However, finally it comes down to whether you can trust your jeweler or not.

From Sun-Sentinel.com: "Few purchases are more mystifying for first-time buyers than fine jewelry. There's more information out there than ever -- from jewelers' Web sites and online forums to nearly ubiquitous grading reports from independent labs. But buying expensive gems and precious metals is still largely a matter of trust between you and the jeweler.

First, educate yourself on the basics. For diamonds, that means the four Cs: cut, color, clarity and carat weight. For gold, platinum and silver, it means purity.

You can find helpful information on these fundamentals from the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and the better business bureau (www.bbb.org). The Gemological Institute of America, the most prominent diamond grading agency, provides tutorials on buying diamonds and colored gems at (www.gia.edu)."

You can also find some helpful advice here: How to Pick a Jeweler