Hong Kong Diamonds
Buying Diamonds in Hong Kong
A Complete Guide

Hong Kong has an abundance of shops selling diamonds and diamond jewellery. However, having this much choice can also be bewildering for the average person. The main shopping areas for diamonds and jewellery are Queen’s Road in Central, Nathan Road in Kowloon, and Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay.

All three of these locations feature local chain jewellery shops in Hong Kong such as Chow Tai Fook, TSL, Chow Sang Sang as well as international brands such as Tiffany’s, DeBeers, and the like.

Aside from these, you have specialist dealers who specialise in finding the perfect diamonds for the customers and creating bespoke pieces of jewellery for them.

Pros for buying in the retail shop:
Retail stores offer a wide range of diamond jewellery and are easily accessible. 

Cons for buying in the retail shop:
Staff are generally not trained gemologists. As such, they are usually not able to adequately explain to customers the pros of cons of two similar diamonds, for example. Even two diamonds with the same color and clarity grade (on the certificate) often have important differences that make one a better choice than the other. 

Specialists like Caram have years of experience in manufacturing and trading in diamonds and other gemstones. We can guide you through the buying process and find the best diamond for you based on your individual needs. 

There are online options for buying diamonds and diamond jewellery, such as Blue Nile or James Allen, among others. 

Blue Nile is an aggregator of diamond inventory and jewellery. It has a large selection of diamonds and jewellery on display but none of the products are in its own inventory. It relies on suppliers to directly ship an item to customers once a purchase is made. It is unlikely that anyone at Blue Nile physically sees the items on sale on their website.

James Allen is an online diamond and diamond jewellery retailer founded in 2006. They are primarily focused on the US market. They seem to focus on the lower to medium end of the market.

Before buying via online retailers, you may need to consider the following:

1. No two diamonds are the same (this is even more true for colored gemstones) and an online retailer is unlikely to be able to guide you through the nuanced understanding of each.
2. In case you do not like the diamond you purchased, it is also cumbersome and expensive to send it back overseas, where most of these retailers are located.
3. Importantly, if you need to resize your ring there is no way for the online retailer to provide you that service locally in Hong Kong. And no local jeweler will do the resizing work as they do not want to take any risk with an item they didn’t sell.

Buying a diamond can seem like an overwhelming task. However, as a consumer there are several ways that you can educate yourself and find the right diamond for you. Fortunately, the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has developed a useful tool to assess the quality of a diamond. It is referred to as the “4Cs”:

1. Cut
2. Colour
3. Clarity
4. Carat Weight

For more details, please refer to our diamond guide to fully understand the intricacies of each of these 4C quality factors.

Are Hong Kong diamonds cheaper?
Hong Kong is one of the most active markets in the world for buying and selling diamonds, gemstones, and jewellery. As such the diamond prices in Hong Kong are very competitive compared with other countries. Also, a lack of a sales tax or VAT makes buying high-value items in Hong Kong very attractive.

What does setting a diamond mean?
A diamond must be set into a piece of jewelry. For example, a diamond chosen for an engagement ring must be then set by a master setter into the actual ring. After being set the jewelry piece is complete. 

To learn more about the various kinds of jewelry settings please refer to our jewelry settings guide.

What does Hong Kong setting mean in jewelry?
Hong Kong is known for its high quality jewellery and workmanship. Diamonds and gemstones in Hong Kong are set in a way to minimise the visible gold between each stone, making a piece of jewelry look more uniform.

Is there any Hong Kong diamond certification?
Most buyers in Hong Kong prefer buying diamonds certified by GIA as it’s widely considered to be the most reliable and reputable diamond grading laboratory in the world. 

At Caram, we can guide you through the buying process and find the best diamond for you based on your individual needs. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!