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).

F Color VS2 Diamonds

F color diamonds are almost universally known as colorless diamonds, unlike their neighbor G color which is sometimes classed into one camp, and sometimes into the near colorless camp. So there’s no ambiguity or confusion when you buy an F color diamond – you’re getting, very much so, a white diamond.

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In fact, you’re only 2 grades off the top color grade D, where prices get ridiculous and it’s pretty much for bragging rights only, or to show that you have a lot of money and can spend it.

Back down in the F color range, things are quite expensive still, but not at the stratospheric heights of the D color diamonds. You’re paying a large price premium over the near colorless range. Whether you get any benefit is going to depend on your personal preferences and the type of jewelry you’re planning to put the diamond into.

Once again I’ve gone through a number of diamonds that possess both F Color and a VS2 clarity rating. The results of my labors are shown below, grouped by the day the diamond was examined:

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