DIAMONDS ON THE INTERNET? The Scotsman, a UK-based paper, brings us this article, raising some important questions about buying engagement rings--and diamond rings in particular--online:

As Michael Laing holds the two diamond rings up to the light, it's hard to tell the difference between them...

Yet one is worth £400, the other £2000. The difference? The clarity of the diamond.

To the untrained eye it's hard to tell the rings apart--but under a magnifying glass it becomes obvious. The yellow-gold ring has a murkiness in its stone, thanks to a poor cut and flaws in the diamond. The platinum cut is much more refined and the diamond of better quality...

According to Frederick Street jeweller Michael--and an investigation by the Trading Standards Institute--increasing numbers of people are being duped into buying jewellery of the same kind of dubious quality as the gold ring - and worse--believing it to be of the same standard as the platinum, by purchasing it on the internet.

Find the rest here.