STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I would not purchase from a department store. They are usually promotional-grade low-quality and it's very possible the diamonds will be treated, and the treatment will break down over time and it's possible you'll end up with some cloudy yucky diamonds.

I'm all about getting the best value for my money. Try to find the largest and best quality diamonds you can for as little as possible. I wouldn't go any higher than H/I in color and no worse than SI2 in clarity.

I treasure hunted on ebay for mine. I found a pair of old screw-back non-pierced earrings that the seller did not know the diamond size of, but I figured it out by scaling the photos to actual size and measuring the millimeters of the diamonds. The diamonds were 1 carat total weight (1/2 carat each) bought them for $200, scrapped the original settings for $50-100? and had the diamonds mounted into platinum studs for $130. The diamonds are D-G in color and probably SI2 in clarity.

That said, with some effort and perseverance you can get a great deal. Everything I'm going to share with you is from years of experience from successful and not so successful jewelry collecting.

If I were on the hunt for diamond earrings right now, I would look at etsy and ebay. My etsy search would be diamond earrings > view only vintage > sort by most recent (the best deals get snatched up quickly.) There are many sellers on etsy that don't know the value of what they're selling, so since there is no auction, you don't have to worry about bidders driving the price up. You just have to have the confidence to snatch them up.

Vintage diamonds are less likely to be treated.

November through mid February (pre-V-day) is the worst period to find a good deal on diamonds on etsy and ebay because there is high demand and the prices tend to be much higher.

Be leary of earrings displayed being held by tweezers/calipers or sold by a jeweler -- these are not your best deal. Ideally you find someone who has earrings from an estate, is selling for hardship, or wants to get rid of a gift from an ex.

Here is a diamond mm chart to help you for reference: http://www.ajediam.com/Sizes-of-Diamonds.html

I would consider brilliant and older european, mine or miner cuts.

I would be cautious about earrings sold as used in this exact setting shown because it is newer, and it's very possible they're treated diamonds from India:

Here are some I would seriously look at on etsy:

These are a little darker than I would like, but they have a nice cut and clarity, which can make up for that. Nice size too: http://www.etsy.com/listing/108111342/130-ct-65ct-each-stud-earrings-natural?ref=sr_gallery_43&ga_search_query=diamond+earrings+14k&ga_order=date_desc&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=6&ga_search_type=vintage

Note that the setting looks similar to the one I said to stay away from, but it's not exact (it's much wider at the bottom):

For ebay, I would search diamond earrings > vintage antique > fine (yes there are a lot of results, but scolling through looking for large diamonds, even ones you can reset, is how you can find a good deal.) 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/60-CT-VINTAGE-OLD-EUROPEAN-CUT-DIAMOND-STUD-EARRINGS-14KT-SOLID-GOLD-3-499-00-/350635455703?pt=US_Fine_Earrings&hash=item51a38074d7

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IGL-CERTIFIED-18K-WHITE-DIAMOND-1-00ctw-SOLITAIRE-STUD-EARRINGS-/251192310963?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7c3a7cb3

These next two you can try sniping these with your top bid, but they'll go high probably: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Modern-3-30-Ct-F-G-Color-Brilliant-Diamond-Platinum-Stud-Earrings-NR-/390506089730?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aebfa0d02

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Estate-1-06-ct-Diamond-Platinum-Stud-Earrings-NR-/390506094432?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aebfa1f60

The ones on Etsy look like a fantastic deal if you're OK with the color (I think they look pretty nice.) Seller feedback is good too.

Boots wrote:

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D- that was a fantastic tutorial on diamonds. I know next to nothing about them and I feel like I learned something useful.

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Thank you, Boots! Diamonds are my favorite gemstone and I love finding deals on old diamond jewelry. It's like treasure hunting for me -- a hobby 

Over the past year I have bought a Georgian diamond pendant for $300 that's worth $5,000, a 38g 18k gold chain for $100 -- worth $2000? A 24g 14k white gold chain for $30, among other items... Anyway, I'm fairly good at finding "treasure" and have some techniques.

Odd hobby I suppose? 

Lovely diamond stud earrings. Design is unique and beautiful. Ladies like to wear diamond jewelery.