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).
1.04 Carat Diamonds
Each carat in a 1.04 carat diamond is equivalent to 104 points, so a 1.04 carat diamond is the same as a 104 point diamond.
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If you're interested in the normal metric weight of a 1.04 carat diamond, it is 208 mg. Girdle thickness is a diamond property which many people never even think about, but which can critically affect how big the diamond appears to be.
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.
A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure. Henry Kissinger .
Depending on personal preference, people may choose to get a smaller diamond in order to get a higher colour grade, such as d, e or f. It's heartening to know (if you're a billionaire) that there are actually very large diamonds which are colourless, such as the centenary diamond, which is a grade d colour diamond that comes in at the whopping weight of 273 carats. 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.