Any diamond is always going to be a considered purchase so whether it’s for an engagement ring or even to be part of the design of a contemporary wedding ring, you need to know you’re going to get the best value for your money as well as the highest quality gem for your budget.
Know your 4C’s
Every diamond worth looking at is graded according the industry standard of the 4C’s. Knowing what this means and how to get a great deal on a diamond based on this knowledge will save you a huge amount of money. The 4C’s are:
- Cut
- Clarity
- Color
- Carat
Each ‘C’ has its own grading scale and when put together, you have a diamond with a price tag which matches accordingly. With a little tweaking of expectation however, you can buy a diamond for a ring which costs much less and is has hardly any less brilliance, lustre and quality than one which is much more costly.
Cut
The cut of a diamond can really vary the price and varies from stone to stone. This is because it’s all about how the diamond cutter decides to shape, facet and finally polish the diamond. Some diamonds are cut in a way so they are heavy for their size, some are cut to hide blemishes and some are cut to maximize the amount of light. The most important elements of the cut of a diamond are the brightness and fire and this is reflected in the grading which runs from Ideal to Poor.
Clarity
The clarity of a diamond refers to the blemishes in the stone; also called the inclusions. Perfect diamonds have none of these imperfections but this means that it will be expensive. Many of the inclusions aren’t visible to the naked eye and can only be seen under a microscope so knowing the scale they are graded by means you can select one which will look perfect even though it says it has inclusions. The clarity scale begins with ‘F’ for flawless and decreases downwards to three categories of ‘Included’ which are I1, I2 and I3. Nicely above this though are the diamonds which are graded as SI1 and SI2 and whilst this means there are ‘slight inclusions’ they really can’t be seen without specialist equipment and will be at a favorable price.
Color
The more clear the diamond, the higher it will be graded. As the quality decreases, the amount of yellow, brown or gray present in the stone will increase. The color grades start with ‘D’ which means absolutely clear and progresses to ‘Z’ where there will be obvious color. The best value diamonds are graded G-J; these are known as ‘near colorless’ and will appear perfect to the human eye but will be much less costly.
Carat
Often thought of as a measurement of size, the carat is actually the weight of the diamond. To be a savvy shopper, avoid carat weights such as 1, 1.5 and 2 as these are known as ‘magic’ numbers; those which are the most desirable and in turn have extra monetary value attributed to them. If you buy slightly smaller such as 0.9 or 1.4 carats, you’ll not notice the difference when it’s set into the ring but you’ll certainly notice the extra money still in your wallet as they are often significantly less expensive.
Once you have your engagement ring designed, look for wedding rings in Houston at Whiteflash.com where they have a huge selection of complementary jewelry for the big day. You’re then ready to set the date, arrange transport, find ‘the dress’ and book a honeymoon for the most important occasion in your lives together.