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 2.71 Carat Princess Shape Diamond
This article has a useful illustration showing you the apparent size of a 2.71 carat weight princess shape diamond, when viewed in place on the hand of a woman. If you search around on the web to find the actual size of a 2.71 carat weight princess shape diamond, you may notice the numbers are slightly different across different sites - this is due to the fact that the size (13.0 mm for this particular diamond) can depend on the cut, not just the carat weight.
While this picture will give you some concept of how big a diamond will appear viewed on the hand, remember that the ring size you pick or need could be quite different in size to that shown in this image.
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A good tip to follow is to use pictures like this one to initially narrow down your size range, and then to go into stores and try diamonds out in person, armed with this prior knowledge. Digits can vary in terms of their apparent width and breadth, which should influence your decision about what shape and size of diamond to get.
Some of my readers are men - if this is you and you're trying to calculate the right diamond size to get your partner, don't forget that the diamond will usually appear much larger on the hands of a woman, which are typically smaller.
