Diamond Rings

Greatest Collection of Diamonds and other Jewelry

Engagement rings are an expensive but necessary part of the process of getting married. This guide for buying diamonds will help you get value for money.

Experts usually judge the quality of diamonds based on the 4 C’s; Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat. We can tell the quality of the diamond in engagement rings by closely examining the 4 C’s. This guide to buying diamonds will attempt to ensure you know what kind of diamond you are purchasing and hopefully justifying the massive price-tag that comes with buying diamonds.

Diamond Cut

The cut of the diamond refers to the shape, proportion and finish of the stone. A badly cut diamond will not refract light properly, making the stone look lifeless. If you want to buy a shining twinkling glittering diamond for your fiancee then this will be reflected in the price of the engagement ring. The most common cuts include brilliant (round), princess (square), emerald (rectangular), and oval but diamonds come in all shapes and sizes.

Diamond Colour

Ironically enough the colour grading for diamonds alludes to the lack of colour in the stone. A D grade diamond colour is the whitest diamond type while Z is the most tinted diamond type. You should be aware of all the colour grades as these are a big factor in the price of the engagement ring diamond. D,E & F are referred to as exceptional white, G,H & I as white, J & K as slightly tinted, and below that as tinted. Flourescence also has an influence on the colour of a diamond, it can decrease the value of exceptionally white diamonds while it can increase the value of tinted diamonds. A special “dialite” light is used to examine the colour quality of diamonds.

Diamond Clarity

Clarity is the amount of inclusion in the stone (internal marks). These can be black or clear and are refered to as IF, VVS1-2, VS1-2, SI1-2, P1-2-3, depending on their size and position. Too much inclusion will block the flow of light through the diamond making it duller and lowering its value.

Diamond Carat

Carat tells us how heavy the stone us (1 carat = 0.2 grams). Obviously the higher the carat value the more expensive the engagement ring will be.

Certificated Diamonds

After you have purchased the diamond you will sometimes be given a certificate depending on what diamond company you purchased from. There is a perception that unless you get a certificated diamond then all you are getting is a pretty stone but that is not the case. There are many beautiful diamonds that have never been certificated and unfortunately some companies will certificate diamonds that are not of a very high quality. the secret is to deal with a reputable company and a highly trained diamond salesperson.

Conflict Diamonds

Some diamond consumers worry about the prospect of buying conflict diamonds which are illegal to trade. The profits from selling these conflict diamonds are often used to buy arms and fund war efforts. Therefore many diamond traders are advertising their diamonds as conflict free and have letters from their suppliers stating that the diamonds are not sourced from areas of conflict.

Engagement Rings

The metals used to set diamond engagement rings are usually gold and platinum. American and Continental setting are often 14kt gold whereas in Europe 18kt. Pure gold is 24kt, which is never, despite popular belief, used to manufacture jewellery, as it is way too soft. 18kt gold is a mixture of 18 parts gold to 6 parts other metals to give it strength and colour. White gold is 18 parts gold and 6 parts of metals such as palladium, which gives it a whiter appearance.

Buying Diamonds

After all this information and detail relating to the diamond and engagement ringtry rings, we’ll finish with some practical advice. Trust your instinct with regard to the salesperson, if you have doubts go elsewhere. Try a lot of different engagement rings until you see one you like on your hand; don’t have any preconceived notions of what type or ring you want before buying. It may sound trite but instead of you choosing the ring, let the ring choose you.