Quick and Easy Buying Guide
Carat weight: 1 carat = 200 milligrams = 6.5 mm diameter. Doubling weight doesn't double diameter.
Diamond clarity: FL/IF/VVS/VS = super expensive, near perfect. SI = best value if you can check a photo for obvious inclusions (defects).
Color: D-G = colorless, expensive, only if you have money to burn. H-J = best value. Can go lower in gold metal settings than white metal.
Cut: Better cut ratings let more light into a diamond, making it sparkle more. Very important property, don't skimp here.
Set a budget and minimum cut (Premium). Go J color for gold and I/H for white metals. Go searching for SI1/SI2 clarity diamonds at James Allen. Pick a diamond with small/no inclusions. Choose a ring setting and buy it risk-free (60-day returns).
Importing A Diamond Engagement Ring Into Australia
So you're all set to pull the trigger and purchase a diamond engagement ring online. Odds are, you're using one of the large American-based diamond companies such as James Allen or Blue Nile, but this advice will apply for any company which is overseas.
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I should stress that all the advice in this article is just informal advice, and you should make your own enquiries to check the particular circumstances for your situation.
The first thing you should be aware of is that you may have to pay customs duty on the diamond engagement ring when it arrives in Australia. This is because you can buy a diamond engagement ring in Australia, so they are trying to give local sellers a fair go. Because you're still deciding to purchase overseas, it's probable that even with this duty added to the price, you're still getting a better deal than if you were to buy the ring locally, especially from a bricks and mortar store.
As of writing this article, if the total value of your shipment is less than $1000 Australian, you don't have to worry about paying customs duty or GST. I just imported some diamond engagement rings from James Allen, and there was no cost added at customs. This was because the diamond earrings had a value of approximately only $650 Australian.
However, for larger purchases, such as a typical engagement ring, you will have to pay both customs duty and GST. The method for calculating how much extra you're going have to pay is as follows:
First you add together the cost of the jewellery, any insurance, any freight charges, and a 5% duty fee on the value of the jewellery. Next, you add 10% of that total sum as GST. The resultant total figure is going to be the total effective cost of importing a diamond ring including the original value of the jewellery.
So for a $1600 ring, you end up paying a little over $200 in customs and GST, and possibly other small miscellaneous fees.
The key in importing a diamond engagement ring from overseas is to ask lots of questions before you pull the trigger and buy the ring. Phone up your local customs agent - you can Google for their contact details, and also ask the diamond engagement ring company that you're buying the ring from if they have any information on the import process.
The actual process itself is quite easy, especially if you buy the ring through a company which uses a large freight company such as FedEx to ship it. Essentially, you just get a phone call when the ring arrives in your local port, and you can make a credit card payment over the phone. Nice and easy. Just make sure that it's not just some random person who has called you up trying to scam you.
Importing can be a very worthwhile process because it can allow you to save a significant amount of money, or get a much more valuable diamond engagement ring for a fixed amount of money. The two key steps are to enquire about the fierce customs and tax payable on a potential purchase, before you make the purchase, and to try and get a company like FedEx to handle the shipment, to make things as easy as possible for you.
Good luck with your importing!