Buying a diamond can be a significant purchase both emotionally and financially, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. This GIA Diamond Buying Guide can help you determine what is the best quality diamond for you. Here are four basic steps to ensure that the journey to find your perfect diamond is as pleasurable as admiring the diamond you finally select.
You can buy coffee by the pound. You can even buy deli meat by the pound. Even if you’ve never bought a diamond, the correlation between weight and price is a concept that we can all understand. Therefore, the general perception is that a larger diamond is more valuable than a smaller one. (more…)
Even the slightest change in diamond color can affect the quality and value of a diamond. Although most diamonds are thought of as colorless (that is, not fancy-colored), most colorless diamonds actually contain hints of brown and yellow. These differences in color are often very subtle – so subtle that an untrained eye can’t tell the difference between a nearly colorless diamond and a colorless one. Yet these minute variations in what color a diamond is can have a significant impact on the purchase price of the stone. (more…)
It has been said that few things in nature are absolutely perfect. The same holds true of diamonds. Part of what makes a diamond unique is what is commonly referred to as a diamond’s clarity characteristic. (more…)
When browsing for jewelry, one might be captivated by the glimmer of a diamond’s sparkle, and assume that most diamonds are colorless. And while it’s true that certain diamonds have colors so blindingly brilliant that they take on beautiful hues of the rainbow, truly colorless diamonds are actually quite rare. (more…)
Few things in nature are absolutely perfect. This is also true with diamonds. As touched on in the first part of the clarity series, diamonds have internal features called inclusions and surface irregularities called blemishes. Together, inclusions and blemishes make up a diamond’s clarity characteristic. (more…)
Diamond clarity is one of the four quality factors (the 4Cs) that describe and determine the value of a diamond. By definition, clarity means “a gemstone’s relative freedom from inclusions and blemishes.” These two terms are locational- blemishes are found on the outside of the gem and inclusions are located on the inside. Both of these clarity characteristics can dim the brilliance of a diamond, though some are so minute that they are invisible to the naked eye. (more…)
When a diamond interacts with light, every angle and every facet affects the amount of light returned to the eye. The sparkle of a diamond, then, has everything to do with how well the cut of the diamond was planned and executed. Although a diamond’s value is based on its unique combination of color, clarity, cut, and carat weight (the 4Cs), a diamond’s cut is the most complex to assess, and it’s the only component that can be directly affected by the diamond cutter. (more…)
Most consumers don’t realize the long, complicated, precarious journey a diamond takes from its humble beginning amidst tons of rock in the Earth to its sparkling transformation in a jewelry store counter. An especially critical point in the diamond’s journey is its time with the diamond artisan, who must cut the diamond to maximize its beauty. (more…)
When men and women really start looking into diamond grading, a common question is, “Why does the GIA color grade start with a D?” (more…)
When you oooh and ahh over a sparkly diamond, to a large extent you’re reacting to its cut. What you want is light to enter through the crown table (the flat part at the top) and go to the pavilion (the pointy part at the bottom), where it reflects from one side to the other, and then back out of the diamond through the crown table. This ensures maximum sparkle and brilliance. Think spectacular laser show! (more…)
Purchasing a diamond is a big step and finding the right one can be pretty intimidating. However, it doesn’t have to be. Before you make your purchase of a lifetime, make sure to ask the following 5 questions to your jeweler. (more…)
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