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).
1.77 Carat Actual Size (Princess Shape)
The photo on this webpage illustrates the approximate width of a 1.77 carat size princess shape diamond on the thing that will ultimately be important - a female hand. When searching on the web for princess shape diamond sizes, you may pick up that the numbers are slightly different across different sites - this is because the size (7.4 mm for this 1.77 carat diamond) can depend on the cut, not just the carat weight.
Photos can sometimes be a little dependent on the viewer - I've tried to make this one as clear as possible, but remember seeing the stone in the flesh will give you a very different impression of size to viewing it on the web. Fingers can vary in terms of their apparent width and breadth, which should factor in to your decision regarding diamond size and shape.
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Months after you've purchased the diamond, you may be pleasantly surprised by how much larger the diamond appears on the female hand, than when seen in isolation.
