How to Choose the Perfect Diamond
When choosing a diamond you need to consider the 5C’s -
a) Cost (Price)
Depending on what you can afford will determine the remaining 4 factors. If someone is looking to spend $5,000 and is looking for a 2.00ct diamond then their search is already unrealistic. You need to determine your budget in order find the perfect diamond for your price.
b) Colour
The colour of the diamond is how white the stone is. “D” is the whitest you can get and it goes down the alphabet from there. After “H” the colour starts to get noticeably off white and after K you will see it becoming yellowish. You must also remember that diamonds can contain florescence which is a good and bad thing. If it has strong florescence and you are out at a night club it will glow in the dark. However, the upside to this is that if your stone is “L” colour and has florescence it will help to make the stone look whiter and brighter.
c) Clarity
The clarity of the stone is how many imperfections or inclusions the stone has. VVS1 is one of the highest grades however you pay a very large premium to have a VVS1 or VVS2 stone. The more affordable stones are SI grades which are still clean to the naked eye. Again depending on what your budget is will depend on what clarity you look for.
d) Cut
This is the most important and most people are not aware of this grade. The reason why so many stones on the internet (etc.) are cheaper is because they have a poor or fair grade cut. When looking for diamonds you need to make sure that they are at least at a minimum a “good” cut, it is preferable to have a “very good” cut and to have “excellent” cut you will be paying a premium.
On a different note you will also have many different certified companies grading diamonds and depending on what company certifies the diamond will depend on what the actually grade is and some graders are more lenient than others.
e) Carat (Size)
This is the size of the stone and depending on your budget will depend on the size you search for. A good thing to keep in mind is that if you previously bought a 1.00ct diamond and you are now looking for a 2.00ct diamond it will not be double the price. It will more than likely be around triple the price.
You will also need to know what shaped diamond you want as there are many shapes to diamonds. There are Round, Princess, Radiant, Emerald, Cushion and Pear just to name a few.