How To Select Superb Diamonds For The Engagement Ring

Learning how to choose the diamonds is essential so that you will get the superb diamond engagement ring for your money. People who are looking for diamond engagement rings should start with the Four C's of diamonds since these are the benchmarks on how diamonds are graded and valued.

The Four C’s of the diamond industry are the Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat of the diamond. When purchasing a diamond engagement ring, it is now a common practice to choose the diamond first before selecting the base and the settings for the engagement ring band.

The Cut

The first C that you need to consider when purchasing that important diamond for the engagement ring is the Cut. Many mistake cut for the shape of the diamond which comes in variations. Shapes of loose diamonds include marquise, pear, heart, emerald, princess, cushion, and round brilliant. Among these shapes, the common choices are the princess and the round brilliant. However, as mentioned earlier, the shape of the diamond is not the criteria for grading the cut.

The Cut of the diamond refers to the expertise and skill involved in the actual cutting and polishing of the diamond. This also refers to the degree of symmetry the diamond has in relation to its table (the flat surface area of the diamond) and the depth (the length from table to the tip). Furthermore, a diamond’s cut is also valued on the number of angles and facets which can affect the brilliance and sparkle of the diamond.

A diamond with a excellent cut grading is one that will be able to show an excellent light performance. Light performance refers to the way light ‘dances’, refracts and reflects as it passes through all the facets of the diamond. Diamonds with symmetrical and well-angled facets will exhibit an excellent light performance. This performance of light will show the diamond’s brilliance, fire, and sparkle (collectively known as "bling" or "the gaga factor").

There are a number of scientific ways to measure a diamond’s ‘bling’ or light performance. Diamond traders are currently administering a wide variety of visual scopes to know the brilliance and sparkle of the diamond. Substandard cut diamonds are usually unsymmetrical and can leak light which makes it appear duller than diamonds of high quality cut.

If you are going for a diamond engagement ring with more "bling", the round brilliant diamond is right for you.

The Clarity

A diamond’s clarity scoring is a measure of the number of blemishes and inclusions (also known as flaws) that a diamond has. Although, the clarity of the diamond does not greatly influence/affect its brilliance, the greater the blemishes or inclusions a diamond has, the poorer is its value.

However, a diamond that has minimal inclusions is still a beautiful diamond if the inclusions cannot be seen by the unaided eye. Remember that there is no such thing as a perfect diamond and that most loose diamonds in the market nowadays possess inclusions or blemishes. As some jewelers point out, the inclusions of diamonds is one way of identifying a diamond because the patterns that these inclusions form act as the diamond’s fingerprint.

When purchasing a diamond for an engagement ring, it is ok to choose one that has a few inclusions just as long as these are only visible under magnification.

The Color

Colorless diamonds are scored using a letter scale which starts from a D rating (truly colorless) to a Z rating (brownish). A top quality diamond is one that is close to being colorless as possible. This means that it is graded within the D-F color bracket.

When you choose a diamond within the D-F color bracket, you should have it set on white gold or white platinum to further enhance its colorless quality.

The Carat

The carat weight of the diamond is one of the critical considerations in how a diamond is priced. Most diamonds that are used for engagement rings average from .50 carat to 1.25 carat. However, there are people who desire their diamond engagement rings to stand out and therefore buy a stone with a higher carat weight.

You must remember that a high quality diamond does not necessarily have to be a larger stone. The size of the diamond is not an assurance of its quality. The quality of the diamond for your engagement ring is rated by the combination of all the factors that were discussed in this article. It is up to you, as the buyer, to determine which of these grading criteria you are going to prioritize and base your buying decision.

No matter what diamond you choose with, as long as you made an educated decision and used the diamond wisdom given you, you will still end up with an attractive diamond engagement ring.