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).

Diamond Carat Size on Hand - Three Carats - 2.51 to 3.0 Carats

When you get into the 3 carat range for round diamonds, you really need to start considering whether (assuming you can afford it) a diamond of this size is going to be too big for your purposes. A three carat round diamond is on average a whopping 9.5 mm in diameter - basically a centimeter in diameter.

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If the woman wearing the ring lives an active lifestyle doing sport or has a career that involves using her hands, they may find the giant stone more of a hindrance than a benefit. Of course they can always take the ring off when they’re doing such activities, but every time a ring is taken off there is a slight chance of losing it or having it stolen, so this isn’t an ideal solution for many.

Then there’s simply the issue of whether a diamond this large is going to look too out of place or too garish for your likes. That’s where the pages linked to from here come in handy – they show you what a diamond of a certain size in this size range is going to look like when viewed on a typical woman’s hand. Check out a few examples around where you were thinking, size-wise, and see if it matches your expectations.

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