Buying fine jewelry is an investment as well as a fashion statement. You want to choose something that you love, but also know that what you choose is worth the price. When shopping for fine jewelry, there are some things to avoid in order to protect your investment.

Know Your Gold

When you are comparing gold jewelry, look for the karat amount. The 18 karat gold is more expensive than 14 karat gold due to the amount of gold. A label that says "10 karat" or less cannot be advertised and sold as a gold product in the United States.

Gold plated is a thin overlay of gold on another metal. This makes it cheaper than real gold, but it does not count as fine jewelry. Any store that pitches gold plated jewelry as fine jewelry, is not giving you accurate information. Avoid it.

Do Not Get Confused

Beware of unusual descriptions or measures for jewelry. Diamonds are measured in Carats and gold in Karats, not any other name. Do not confuse them and avoid jewelers who do.

Avoid Fake Diamonds

Most consumers know that Cubic Zirconium (CZ) is an artificial diamond, so some dealers change the description to "Created diamonds" or "Designer diamonds" to give them more appeal. A created stone can certainly be beautiful, and definitely less expensive than the genuine article, but it is NOT the genuine article. It has lower status than the real stone. Know what you are buying and do not be tricked into thinking you are buying a genuine diamond when it is really CZ.

Keep it Real

Platinum is a precious metal. It is expensive. It is also popular, so it is becoming copied and misrepresented. For example, a ring in a "platinum-type" finish is not platinum. It might be platinum overlay or platinum plated but these are not worth nearly the same price as a platinum ring. Cheap and platinum are not words that go together.

Get the Color Right

White diamonds are graded into different shades of white ranging from white to yellow. G, H and I graded white diamonds are very good value because to the untrained eye they are virtually indistinguishable from the expensive D, E and F grades. Color is important. Even with a colored stone, like sapphire or ruby, the color needs to be pure and distinguished for a quality stone.

Avoid Poor Quality Pieces

Check the strength of the stone mounts on a ring or bracelet to see if they wiggle or if they are secure. Also check the clasps on necklaces and bracelets. Open and close them several times to make sure that the clasps hold tightly.

Look critically to see if quality was sacrificed to cut price. A 14 karat gold bracelet may be set with low quality small diamonds. Check. Do not assume that if one element of a jewelry design is good quality then all elements will be equal in nature.