Proposing to your significant other on a special day (or night) might not be complete without a diamond engagement ring. But, looking through countless shops without knowing the specifics of what you want is a giant waste of effort and time. Make the engagement date extra special by buying the perfect diamond ring for the love of your life.
Here are some factors to consider while shopping for that ideal ring:
Clarity
A diamond’s clarity is its absence of flaws (or the lack thereof). This factor is a critical element to diamond grading as expert jewelers and veteran gem enthusiasts examine diamonds using 10x microscopes and a trained eye.
A diamond’s clarity can be classified into the following:
- Flawless Diamond (FL): No flaw is visible under 10x magnification
- VVS Diamond: Flaws are visible under 10x magnification, although these imperfections are still challenging to see under a microscope.
- VS Diamond: Imperfections are relatively visible under 10x magnification.
- SI Diamond: The SI category has two additional classes: SI-1 and SI-2: The former tends to be smaller than one carat, but might look flawless to the naked eye. Conversely, SI-2 diamonds tend to be of slightly higher quality than their SI-1 counterparts.
- I Diamond: Diamonds in this class tend to be at the low end of the spectrum. I-1 diamonds will have visible imperfections when seen with the naked eye from up close. I-3 diamonds, on the other hand, have flaws visible from across the room.
According to a blog post from Diamonds on Richmond, all diamonds are imperfect. But, some of these gems tend to hide their imperfections better than others. However, note that a diamond engagement ring might be more expensive if it can hide its flaws well, even when viewed under a microscope.
Color
Another essential factor to consider while shopping for the perfect diamond engagement ring is the gem’s color.
Note that diamonds that lean towards being colorless tend to be more expensive than colored variants. For example, a crystal-clear diamond may have a higher price than a pink diamond.
You can judge the stone’s color category by looking at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) D-to-Z Color Scale. The GIA organizes the different diamond colors into five groups, which are:
- Colorless (D-F): This includes the rarest and most expensive of diamonds.
- Near-colorless (G-J): A slight hint of color exists, but the tone might not be visible to the untrained eye.
- Faint (K-M): The diamond’s color is still relatively difficult to see by an untrained eye.
- Very Light (N-R): Subtle hues are now visible even to the untrained eye.
- Light (S-Z): The diamond’s color will be visible to both trained and untrained eyes.
You can get a GIA grading report for the diamond engagement ring you want to buy. This assessment should show you the gem’s accurate color grade, allowing you to purchase the ring’s correctly-colored stone.
Cut
A diamond’s cut determines the amount of light reflected by the gem. Simply put, a high-quality gem tends to reflect more light than poorly-cut stones.
You can examine some vital measurements, such as the girdle, culet, and depth percentage, to determine the diamond’s cut quality. But, if you think you need to see a simpler version of the ‘nitty-gritty’ details, you can ask the jeweler for the cut grades.
A diamond cut grade can be excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. But, you might see some jewelers follow different names for the cut grades. However, these classifications tend to follow the same principle.
Carat Weight
The diamond’s carat weight tends to be one of the best ways to determine the gem’s quality. You can check the stone’s carat weight by putting the gem on a weighing scale. But, what if you don’t have access to a weighing scale?
You can make a rough estimate on a diamond’s carat weight by measuring the gem’s diameter. Simply put, the gem will have a large carat weight if it has a lengthy diameter.
Here’s a quick list of diamond diameters and their corresponding carat weights:
- 4.1 mm – 0.25 ct
- 5.8 mm – 0.75 ct
- 6.9 mm – 1.25 ct
- 8.8 mm – 2.50 ct
- 10.4 mm – 4.00 ct
Note that one ct should be about 200 mg of diamond. You can also check the gem’s report to check the stone’s carat weight.
Conclusion
The essential factors mentioned above are the four Cs to consider when buying diamond engagement rings. Choose the diamond ring that coordinates these four factors with your preferences. But, most importantly, choose an engagement ring that you think your partner will truly love.
