Quick and Easy Buying Guide
Carat weight: 1 carat = 200 milligrams = 6.5 mm diameter. Doubling weight doesn't double diameter.
Diamond clarity: FL/IF/VVS/VS = super expensive, near perfect. SI = best value if you can check a photo for obvious inclusions (defects).
Color: D-G = colorless, expensive, only if you have money to burn. H-J = best value. Can go lower in gold metal settings than white metal.
Cut: Better cut ratings let more light into a diamond, making it sparkle more. Very important property, don't skimp here.
Set a budget and minimum cut (Premium). Go J color for gold and I/H for white metals. Go searching for SI1/SI2 clarity diamonds at James Allen. Pick a diamond with small/no inclusions. Choose a ring setting and buy it risk-free (60-day returns).
0.35 Carat Diamonds
The apparent size of a diamond does not increase at the same rate as the diamond's carat size, leading to confusion quite often in stores.
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Ever looked at a similar carat size of diamond and another gemstone and wondered why the stones appeared so different in size? This is undoubtedly because different types of stones have different specific gravity densities, leading to this discrepancy in size. Some unethical store assistants will talk about average diamond size in trying to pressure couples into buying a diamond ring more expensive than they can afford - even though the average is around half carat, you should be buying a diamond based on what you can afford, and what you as a couple would feel comfortable buying.
Looking around the internet at online diamond stores, you may be tempted to think that a four or five carat diamond is large. You couldn't be more wrong - the golden jubilee diamond is an example of how big diamonds can really be - it is 545 carats, or a weight of more than 100 g, which is about a quarter of the weight of a can of coke.
A large diamond which has a huge crack down the middle, or alternatively a big yucky looking inclusion, is not a good look - it looks like someone has gone for size and sacrificed all the other desirable properties of the diamond. Clarity, for example, can be just as important in picking a diamond.
We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. Anton Chekhov .