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).
Canary Diamond Rings
What color do you think of when someone says the word “canary”? You probably think of the canary bird and how bright yellow it is. And that’s exactly what a canary diamond is – it’s a pure yellow gem. They’re also commonly called yellow diamonds. The color is natural which makes them all the more attractive.
Sponsored Links
Canary diamonds are often graded as belonging to one of seven color grades. These are, from darkest to lightest; fancy deep, fancy vivid, fancy intense, fancy, light, very light, and faint. The color is a result of the diamond’s history – when it was forming, there was some nitrogen present which gave it is yellow color. The more popular canary diamond rings are the darker more vivid shades – around fancy vivid.
When choosing a ring type and metal type for a canary gold ring, similar principles apply as for white diamonds. A black titanium ring will show off the white sparkle of a white diamond. In the same way, white gold or platinum rings highlight the yellow color of a canary diamond much better than a yellow gold ring.
Canary diamonds are quite expensive. You’ve got a few options if you don’t want to splash out on a big one. You can use smaller canary diamonds as embellishments to a central white diamond. Or you can go with cheaper but still pretty yellow stones, such as citrine (a type of quartz) or yellow sapphires.
If you’re filthy rich, you could go for a famous canary diamond such as the Tiffany Diamond – it’s one of the largest diamonds of any type ever discovered, weighing in originally at a massive 287 carats – that’s 57 grams or almost 2 ounces! It was however cut down to a “mere” 128 carats to make it look better. Most famously, it was worn by Audrey Hepburn for the photo shots in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.