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).

Actual Diamond Size of a 2.15 Carat Princess Shape Diamond

This page gives you an idea of how big a 2.15 carat size princess shape stone will look when viewed on the female hand. When searching on the web for princess shape diamond sizes, you may pick up that the numbers will vary slightly - this is because the size (7.9 mm for this 2.15 carat diamond) depends on things like cut as well.

To give you more of an idea of what's in this image, the ring shown is a US size 6, which is equivalent to an L 1/2 ring size in Britain or Australia. Some advice for how to use the information on this page is to initially narrow down your size range, and then to go into stores and try diamonds out in person, armed with this prior knowledge.

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Digits can vary in terms of their apparent width and breadth, which should factor in to your decision regarding diamond size and shape.

Diamonds are often magically "bigger" when you move them onto a woman's hand - so try to ask a female shop assistant to put one on instead of putting it on your hand, which is probably much larger.