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).
Prouds the Jewellers
Prouds the Jewellers have been around a long time in Australia - more than a century in fact! Their first store opened in Sydney in 1903 and they hve been going strong in Australia ever since. They have a very wide range of jewellery, watches and giftware, which is pretty evident as soon as you walk into one of their stores - it's not so focused on one particular type of jewellery such as engagement rings. They've got more 195 stores around Australia, which makes them about 4 times as large (in terms of number of stores) as Wallace Bishop.
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On the positive side, I and people I know have bought a fair amount of stuff from Prouds in the past with few problems, although one clock had to be returned three times for being faulty.
On the negative side, for diamond engagement ring hunters, there's not going to be a very wide range in store - when I went looking they had one measly 1 carat K color I clarity diamond which wasn't really worth looking at.
