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).
2.28 Carat Diamonds
In looking at the 8.62 mm width of a 2.28 carat diamond, remember that this width can vary quite a bit depending on the depth of the diamond.
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A way of using numbers to help you compare diamonds is to calculate the cost per carat of diamond. God forbid that this should be a problem for anyone, but it may be that the diamond, once it actually put on the fiance's hand, may appear to be too big and unwieldy. Make sure to take this into account when you're shopping around.
Treason is like diamonds; there is nothing to be made by the small trader. Douglas Jerrold .
For prospective buyers who are really focused on the size of a stone but not the material or quality, consider changing to a different gemstone apart from diamond. Some other gemstones are significantly less dense than diamond, which means for a certain carat weight they will have a larger volume and hence will look bigger to the naked eye. 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.
It can be humbling to compare the 2.28 carat weight with famous diamonds such as the akbar shah diamond, which came in at a final cut carat weight of 72 carats. Five small diamonds that add up to one carat are generally not as valuable as a single diamond that weighs one carat, so be short not to compare a single diamond of carat weight 2.28 with a ring which has a total diamond weight of 2.28.
Don't forget to think about other diamond characteristics such as diamond cut, which plays a critical role in determining the amount of light that gets into the diamond and the degree to which the diamond sparkles in light.