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).
2.02 Carat Diamonds
When someone describes a diamond as being 2.02 carats, they mean it is a 202 point diamond. Although there is a strong correlation between the carat weight of a diamond and its width, this does not guarantee that every 2.02 carat diamond is 8.27 mm wide.
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It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Mahatma Gandhi.
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. The width of the diamond grows much more slowly than the carat weight of a diamond.
One trick for saving money when buying a diamond is to choose a diamond which has a carat weight just below a popular number, such as buying a 0.98 carat diamond instead of a one carat diamond.
One thing to consider that may stop you overspending on a diamond is how large the diamond will appear when it is finally placed on the woman's hand. Often the buyer of the diamond is happily surprised by how large the diamond appears when it is finally placed on the hand.
It's interesting to note that while the small carat diamond (by small i mean one or two carats) may have only been discovered relatively recently, many of the spectacular large diamonds were found many hundreds of years ago, such as the regent diamond of france which was used by two of the king louis's, with a mighty size of 140 carats.
If you're in a diamond store and you see a diamond with its carat weight marked and it looks wrong, don't hesitate to ask, and walk away if they won't give you a straight answer. Carat size is only one that property out of a number that you should be considering. You should also consider a diamond other properties such as cut, because this will have a drastic effect on how well the diamond sparkles.