How To Buy A Beautiful Quality Diamond
Know Your Diamonds
Ever since the first diamond engagement ring was given to a 15th century bride, diamond has been the stone of choice for professing your love. But that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to only purchasing diamonds for an engagement – from promise rings and birthday gifts to anniversary bands and fashion pieces, diamonds have the power to enhance any look and make you feel loved.
You should know how to evaluate the quality of each diamond as you shop online or else where. Experts use four standard measurements to compare and evaluate diamonds: Cut, carat, clarity, and color. Once you get to know the Four Cs, you can make informed tradeoffs based on your style preference and budget.
Learn About the Four Cs
The Four Cs: Cut, Color, Clarirty, and Carat
Cut: The brilliance of a diamond depends heavily on its cut. Cut is the most important (and most challenging) of the four Cs to understand. The cut of a diamond affects how well a diamond returns light back to the viewer’s eye, resulting in what we call fire, sparkle or brilliance. A well cut diamond will appear brilliant and fiery, while a poorly cut diamond may appear dark or lifeless regardless of how good the color or clarity may be. Not only do well cut diamonds have the most sparkle they may also appear larger than a poorly cut diamond of the same carat weight.
A well-cut diamond reflects light to maximize the stone’s brilliance.
Cut has three components:
• Diamond cut grade – A standard grading report describes cut by the shape or outline of the diamond and the pattern of the facet arrangement (also known as cutting style)
• Diamond cut depth – Diamonds cut too shallow or too deep lose light through the bottom or sides, causing the stones to sparkle less.
• Diamond Polish – A poor polish, or rough facets, can diminish a diamond’s brilliance, as well as its value.
How to measure the quality of a diamond-The American Gem Society (AGS) has a scale to measure the quality of a diamond cut, ranging from 0 (ideal) to 10 (poor).
How to measure the quality of a diamond–Scale to measure the quality of a diamond cut
Color: Most diamonds appear white to the naked eye, but they all include trace amounts of yellow color, with the most valuable diamonds falling in the colorless range. However, a deeply colored diamond such as a brilliant canary yellow diamond can cost more than its colorless counterpart. Colorless diamonds are the most desirable since they allow the most refraction of light (sparkle). Off white diamonds absorb light, inhibiting brilliance. A diamond’s color is a measure of the stone’s whiteness, meaning it is actually measuring the lack of color a diamond has.
For most people, the difference between colorless, near colorless, and even the highest range of faint yellow diamonds can be hard to see. It’s actually possible for a diamond to go above a “10” color, but at that point the diamond is re-categorized as a “Fancy Color Diamond.” These extremely rare diamonds exhibit intense colors such as blue, pink, yellow green or even red and have their own set of grading parameters.
Diamond Colors include:
-Colorless
-Near Colorless
-Very Light
-Faint
Clarity: Diamonds contain inner flaws–called inclusions–the occur during the formation process. The visibility, number and size of these flaws determines what is called the “clarity” of a diamond. Diamonds that are clear create more brilliance, and thus are highly prized and priced.
Diamond Clarity–The clarity of a diamond refers to the presence (or lack) of imperfections. Generally, the more imperfections (called inclusions) a diamond has, the lower the clarity. But number of inclusions is not the only measure of diamond clarity. Other inclusion factors that affect clarity include:
• Size – How large the inclusion is
• Number – How many inclusions are present
• Position – Where the inclusion is located. For instance, it may be more hidden in the inside lower facets, or more obvious on the surface of the diamond.
• Nature – Based on their size and location some inclusions may affect the durability of the diamond.
• Relief – Based on color, some inclusions may be more apparent than others. For example black inclusions are much more visible than white or clear inclusions.
Most diamonds contain inclusions (tiny mineral traces or flaws) often invisible to the naked eye. A diamond’s clarity is determined by the amount and severity of these inclusions. Flawless diamonds are very rare and more expensive. Commercial sellers often describe the clarity of larger, solitaire diamonds by referring to the industry letter grading scale.
The American Gem Society (AGS) has a scale to measure diamond clarity, ranging from 0 (flawless) to 10 (included). Most inclusions are not visible to the naked eye. Use our clarity magnifier below to see representations of the various levels of diamond clarity.
Know Your Diamonds–Scale to measure diamond clarity
Carat Info: Diamond Carat Weight–Diamond size is measured by weight in carats or points. Because larger diamonds are rare, prices rise considerably as carat weights increase. Here’s a tip for the saavy shopper: If your primary shopping concern is high carat weight, a moderate downgrade in carat size can save you a lot of money and still look beautiful.
Certified Diamonds-Many Commercial sellers include diamond appraisal (estimated retail value) and certification information in listings. Certificates, official documents issued by third-party gemological labs, include specifics about an individual gem (at least the four Cs) independent of market value. It can include information about diamond quality, validation that a diamond is organic, and the serial number on the girdle of laser-inscribed diamonds.
How To Buy A Quality Diamond
• Look for reputable gemological labs: Make sure a reputable gemologist or gemological lab issued the grading certificate. You’ll have trouble determining impartiality and stringency of no-name laboratories.
• Evaluate the grading certificate’s photo: Look for listings with a picture of the grading certificate and its serial number. Some labs offer online services where you can type in the serial number and verify that the lab graded the diamond and that the specifications are the same.
• Discover the origin of a diamond: Ask sellers for more information about their process for confirming the origin of their diamonds so you don’t end up buying a conflict diamond. Some Commercial sellers specify their diamond “Kimberly Process confirmed.” The Kimberly Process, formally launched in January 2003, attempts to certify international diamonds and identify the origins of each diamond.
Summary
Diamonds range from traditional round cuts to hearts, pears, and more. Your choice should reflect the tastes of the person who will be wearing the jewel. To help you in defining and deciding what your needs are and helping choose the perfect diamond, we offered this simplistic fact sheet as guide to making your buying decision. In summary, you need to have a basic understanding of the basics of cut, color, clarity and carat weight. You should know how to evaluate the quality of each diamond as you shop online or else where. Experts use four standard measurements to compare and evaluate diamonds: Cut, carat, clarity, and color. Once you get to know the Four Cs, you can make informed tradeoffs based on your style preference and budget.
Remember, it is impossible to put together a plan when the goal hasn’t been clearly defined. If you plan ahead and carefully consider exactly what you want to end up with, you should end up with a beautiful diamond that you will treasure forever that you can look back on whenever you wish and cherish forever–be it heirloom or for your special wedding or engagement ring.
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