Make choosing a diamond easy by first determining your budget and what you’re comfortable spending. Once you’ve selected a price range choosing a stone can be much easier. Diamonds vary in quality and have a seemingly endless array of cuts, color, clarity and carat weight combinations.
Reference the Four C’s Guide below and speak with your maker about the various diamond options they have available within your budget.
The Four C’s Guide
Cut
The diamond’s cut determines how much light the stone reflects. A quality cut will deflect light off the walls of the stone, resulting in a clear, bright appearance. If the cut is too shallow, or too deep, light will not pass efficiently through the diamond, giving it a cloudy, or dull appearance. The scale ranges from excellent to poor, making it easy to understand the classifications.
The shape of the diamond must work in tandem with the setting. It is important to speak with your maker to find out what settings and shapes work best. Each shape evokes a different style and emits light in various ways.
Color
Part of the diamond grading process is the color scale. This scale ranges from D, which is colorless, to Z, which has a light yellow tint. The most common range available is D to J. The less color in a diamond, the higher the quality, making D the most rare, and the most valuable.
Clarity
As mentioned above, the cut of a diamond establishes how much light the stone reflects. A quality cut on a flawless diamond will deflect light off the walls of the stone, resulting in a clear, bright appearance. A quality cut on a slightly flawed diamond will not allow light to pass as efficiently through the diamond, giving it a duller appearance. The scale ranges from excellent to poor, making it easy to understand the classifications.
Carat Weight
The weight of a diamond is measured in carats with more carats being higher in price. View the image below to gain a better understanding of the size of a carat compared to the size of an average woman’s hand.
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