Tips for First-Time Diamond Buyers

Buying a diamond to set into a ring or piece of jewelry is so much more exciting than letting someone choose the stone for you, but you need to know enough about diamonds to make a smart purchase. Starting with the four Cs, you can learn about a diamond’s ratings as well as look at it through a loop to get an idea of its true appearance. From heart-shaped or colored diamonds to passion cut diamonds that sparkle brilliantly, you can select a diamond that will continue to amaze you for the rest of your life, so read on to learn about more diamond-buying tips.

July 6th, 2018

Size

The weight or carat of a diamond is often the first thing people think about when diamond shopping. While size does matter, it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. A diamond can be massive, but if it isn’t cut to the right dimensions or has too many inclusions, it won’t catch the light in the same way as a smaller, higher-quality diamond.

Color and Clarity

Diamonds are rated according to their colorlessness, with D being completely colorless and Z being quite yellow. Colorless diamonds look better against white gold, and you can get away with a little more color with yellow or rose gold settings.

Clarity refers to the inclusions or imperfections found within the stone. More imperfections can take away from the appearance of the diamond, and the clarity scale ranges from Flawless to Included, with sub-ratings in each category.

Shape and Cut

Diamonds come in many different shapes, with round, square, marquise, heart-shaped, pear-shaped, rectangular, and a few others being the most popular. Cut refers to the ability of the stone to reflect light based on the dimensions and facets of the individual stone. Diamonds are typically rated from Excellent down to Poor. If a diamond is too deep or shallow, it won’t have the same level of sparkle. You can also find specialty diamonds with even more brilliance, like the passion cut diamond with its 81-facet arrangement. If you want your diamond to sparkle like fireworks on the 4 ^th of July, one of these might be the right stone for you.