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).
1.98 Carat Diamonds
Counter intuitively, a diamond that is twice as heavy as another diamond is a lot less than twice as big in terms of its diameter.
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He who finds diamonds must grapple in mud and mire because diamonds are not found in polished stones. They are made. Henry B. Wilson .
Many men when shopping for a diamond engagement ring will look at how big the diamond looks in comparison to their own hand, when they really should be looking at how big the diamond looks in comparison to a female shop assistant's hand who has a hand similar in size to their prospective fiance. A large diamond which has a huge crack down the middle, or alternatively a big yucky looking inclusion, is not a good look - it looks like someone has gone for size and sacrificed all the other desirable properties of the diamond. Clarity, for example, can be just as important in picking a diamond.
