Diamond Buying Guide

When purchasing a diamond, there are several things to look for before you purchase. These items will affect the value of the stone you choose, the cut, color, clarity and the weight of the stone. Let’s talk about each one.

Cut
The cut of the diamond is probably the least understood by the consumer. Most jewelers will not discuss the cut of a stone, other than the shapes that diamonds come me. When we refer to the cut of the diamond, we are talking about the proportions of the stone. The purpose of the cut is to allow maximum light to enter the stone, bounce off the back facets and reflect light back to the eye. When a stone is not cut to the right proportions, light is lost. This is the reason that some stones will not look quite as brilliant as others. This will also be reflected in the price of the stone. The poorer the cut, the less expensive the stone.

Color
Diamonds occur in various natural colors. When we think of a diamond, we are often talking about the stone with total absence of color. A clear transparent stone will be referred to as having D color, using the GIA scale of color grading. This means the stone has no tint of color. As a diamond picks up tints of color it will progress down the alphabet (E,F,G,H,I….). As a diamond goes down the alphabet scale, the price will decrease. The more color, the less light reflected back to the eye, therefore a lower price. The larger the diamond, the more important the color is.

Diamond Color

Clarity
Most all diamonds have some internal inclusions in the stone. The size, type and location of the inclusion will affect the price of a diamond. Again, any light blocked by an internal inclusion will affect its brilliance. The scale most often used is the GIA scale of grading. An internally flawless stone will be Graded F (flawless). The remainder of the scale is as follows:

  • VVS1-VVS2 (very, very slight inclusions, not visible to the untrained eye)
  • VS1-VS2 (very slight inclusions, visible under 10x when shown where to look)
  • SI1-SI2 (slightly imperfect, visible under 10x)
  • I1-I2 (imperfect, visible without magnification)

Diamond Carat Weight

Carat Weight
Diamond weight is broken down into points. 100 points is equal to 1 carat, 50 points is equal to ½ carat. Often shown as 1.00/100ct for 1 carat, .50/100ct for ½ carat….