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).
2.19 Carat Diamonds
The width of a diamond with a weight of 2.19 carats is about 8.50 mm.
Sponsored Links
Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with. Thomas Carlyle .
The shallowness of a diamond, which depends on how the diamond has been cut, will affect the relationship between carat weight and diameter of the diamond - because of this reason, 2.19 carat diamonds will only average a width of 8.50 mm, but will not always be precisely this width.
A way of using numbers to help you compare diamonds is to calculate the cost per carat of diamond.
Walk into a diamond shop and wait around, and sooner or later you'll hear someone getting confused or frustrated about the fact that the carat weight of a diamond and the width of the diamond are very different things - most likely they will be confused or frustrated because a diamond with double the carat weight is only a little bit wider. Savvy diamond buyers have learnt to search for diamonds that do not have round numbers in their carat weight - for example, these buyers will search for a diamond with the carat weight just below one or two carats.
There are hundreds of thousands of diamonds available online, which can be quite a daunting prospect if you're trying to narrow your choices down. One tip is to add another property of the diamond to the phrase that you're entering into your web browser - you could enter vs1 clarity alongside 2.19 carat diamonds.
If you're in a store and you've found a ring which you're interested in, but only the total diamond weight is marked, don't hesitate to ask a shop assistant. They should give you the individual diamond weights, and if they don't just walk away - it's not worth your time dealing with unscrupulous sellers. First-time diamond buyers who are in a hurry often just focus on the diamond carat size, which is a big mistake - other properties such as the clarity of the diamond are important in getting a diamond which is attractive not just in terms of its size, but also its appearance.
