The Quick and Dirty Guide

to Buying a Diamond

DataOfDiamonds is based on my research on what to look for in buying a natural diamond. It tries to educate on the basic principles that effect the price of a diamond and help you to develop an understanding of trade-offs and value. Also, feel free to skip ahead to start at the end…

Basic math, yo

Introduction

First off, let me say that this guide is based more around the idea of learning how to buy a natural diamond, and not focused on the many, many great diamond alternatives (short explanation), including lab-made or artifical diamonds, as the diamond industry is hoping we'll call them. "Is our love artificial, too, baby?"

At the end of the day, the people who will buy a diamond ring are still probably going to buy one, so it is best to be an educated buyer and make the best decision that you can within the available marketplace.

General Tips

Here are the top recommendations:

Most local jewelers are going to have better service and much shorter turn around time for sizing and actually getting the ring, but will come with on average a 30% markup. The 30% markup is on a good day. Buy the diamond loose and have it set in a ring separately. Don't go for the higher color and clarity rated stones; instead look in the less expensive tiers for "eye clean" stones. This is the focus of our guide. You should never go into any real debt for a ring - or any debt at all. That just doesn't make much sense, given that money problems are the main stress factor for relationships. Always set a reasonable budget and stick with it.

Terms to know

Here are the terms you should familiarize yourself with:

Inclusions - Inclusions is the name for any small flaws found inside the diamond. It's usually little black specs of carbon or sometimes different minerals. There is a whole section below on Inclusions, as it's important to understand how they fit into diamond buying.

Eye-clean - A diamond that is "eye clean" is one that may have some flaws, but that they are positioned in such a way that they aren't noticeable generally or at all.



This means the diamond will be technically rated as a lower clarity grade, which is also a large factor in how diamonds are bought and priced. Taking advantage of this is one of my main recommended buying strategies. Some diamond rings that have already been set in a placement may be hiding inclusions under the prongs of the setting. See, we're already getting our money's worth of this vocabulary.

Stone Cuts

This guide focuses on the two most popular cuts, accounting for 89% of diamonds sold.

1) Round Brilliant Cut - A round cut has been the main style of diamond shape for hundreds of years. Maximizes brilliance and fire in higher quality stones.



Click for example

2) Princess Cut - Growing in popularity due to their square main angle and exceptional colors from side views, as well as being less expensive carat-to-carat vs a round brilliant.



Click for example

The princess cut is also more economical from a diamond cutter's perspective, as you can usually get two cut stones from one raw diamond, due to its pyramid shape and square lines. Prices are lower than Round Brilliant due to that.

The rest of the diamond cuts are more specialized. You can read more about them in the Addendum section

4 Cs - Color and Clarity vs Size and Shine

Much the same way that the difference in sun blocking power between SPF30 and SPF50 sunblock is 1%, there is a huge "diminishing returns" aspect to some diamond stats.

Diminishing returns: Clarity and Color

These are two of the Cs you can slide on, unless you want to send your diamond to the Best in Show awards.

First a quick note on these ratings. Color is a scale from D (whitest, highest) that flows through M (yellow) all the way down into the darkest shades of brown. Clarity is a measure of inclusions in the diamond which goes from Flawless to Included, based on how visible the specks are inside the diamond at varying degrees of magnification .

They are also the biggest factors (beside carat) in the price of a stone and the most vulnerable to the law of diminishing returns. For example, the price between a D-color diamond and an F (same color group) can be more than 1/4.

Clarity has similar price differentials.

The thing is, in blind tests, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference from a D stone to an J stone, two color groups down.

Clarity is the same - an Internally Flawless diamond vs. a VS2 (Very Slightly Included 2) isn't noticeable without 10-20x zoom.

Takeaway: Unless you're looking for diamonds as an investment, where only the top clarity and color stones are traded, there is absolutely no sense in trying to max out color and clarity - when you can instead focus on the size and shine - cut and carat - and have an immediately more noticeable effect on the stone's "quality".

Color Grades

Diamond Color Chart:

1st Colorless: D,E,F

2nd Near Colorless: G,H,I,J

3rd Slight yellowish: K,L,M

4th Very light yellow: N,O,P,Q,R,

5th Light Yellow: S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z

Note: Look online and compare two diamonds from the same color group. When you use an online diamond viewer from a side angle, you'll notice that even two diamonds in the same color group will have one that is noticeably more yellow than others

IMHO, it's important that you take some time and look for a stone that looks whiter/cleaner to you (the eye clean idea here). Compare D-F stones to some I-J or Ks and see if you can find some in the less expensive tiers that still look clean.

Clarity Grades

The measurements are as follows: Flawless - FL - No blemishes, at 10x magnification by an expert, inside or on surface. Internally Flawless - IFL - * just minor surface marks

Very Very Slightly Included- VVS1 & VVS2

Very, Very Slightly Included category (VVS) diamonds have minute inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification

Very Slightly Included - VS1, VS2

VS has visible inclusions that a recently-trained grader can see under 10x magnification

Slightly Included - SI1, SI2

Noticeable inclusions under 10x by a trained grader

Included - i1, i2,i3

Some inclusions that can be seen the naked eye

Another note on Inclusions

Unless you're carrying a jeweler's loupe around, you'll never notice the difference between an IFL and a VS2. And the price difference is huge.

However, diamonds in the VS1,VS2,SI1,SI2 will have some inclusion and, depending on the color and location of these inclusions, could end up with a diamond that has lots of black shadows in it. Sometimes this is referred to as the "fun-house mirror" effect, as one large inclusion could be bounced around eight times back to the eye. Again, most inclusions won't be very noticeable unless you're using a 10x-20x zoom.

The best way to avoid that is to compare a lot of stones using a good diamond viewer and settle on one that is eye clean to you in the clarity grade you're buying. There will be a lot of stones in the SI1 & SI2 brackets that still look great.

Size and Shine - Focusing on Carat and Cut

First, a note about carat-size. I don't have much to add here, but there is an old trick of buying slightly downsized carats for a better deal. This means buying a .94 carat instead of a 1.00 carat, because

1) Nobody in their right mind can notice a .06 difference in carat size in a diamond in its setting.

2) There is pressure for stones to be above or at 1 carat (since it's a big deal to say you have a carat stone) that can cause some bad quality cut stones to show up at or just above 1 carat.

The C that Does Matter - Cut

The diamond's cut is important to how it shines and sparkles. The basics of it are as follows.

The measurements of a diamond that most affect its shape and bling-ability are Table Width and Total Depth percentages.

The "table" being the widest topmost part of the diamond allows light to enter the diamond and the Total Depth is how far it travels down and affects how it's reflected back out to the eye.

When you know the ideal ranges for these ratios for the cut of diamond you're shopping for, you can estimate to fair degree that the diamond will in fact be extra shiny.

Round Brilliant Cut: table width 53% and 64% and a depth between 58% and 64%. rule of thumb- 60/60

Princess Cut: is a little more generous between 65% and 80%

This is a great page that explains the various codes you'll see next to diamonds while shopping in fuller detail: http://4cs.gia.edu/EN-US/diamond-clarity.htm

Choosing the Ring Setting

As stated, it's recommended to buy the diamond and the ring setting separately, but from there -- it's mostly about your partner's personal taste preferences, so I won't have much to add there.

I can tell you that platinum is expensive and white gold is a lot more affordable and has a similar color. And yellow gold means you could go a bit warmer on the diamond color.

Recommended Retailers - Where to Buy Online

If you are planning to buy online, here is a little review of the major online diamond retailers. There are also of course local places, where you get that friendly neighborhood experience and even a thriving market on Etsy.

James Allen - They have the best diamond viewer online bar none and their prices are competitive and low for online retailers.

http://jamesallen.com

Blue Nile - Pros: One of the largest and longest running online diamond retailers and about as cheap as you can get. Cons: They invented a model for selling online but it's mostly based on buying site-unseen based on the diamond's certification. Most of their inventory can have pictures by request, but not a "eye clean" diamond hunters ideal setup for online browsing.

I recommend JA because they have a good rep, good prices and they are the only company that seem to actually take pictures of every stone in their system. I'm sure the others will catch up, but other sites are very spotty with their actual photos of diamonds.

http://bluenile.com

Brilliant Earth - This site focuses on extra-conflict free diamonds

http://brilliantearth.com

WhiteFlash - Long running website that focuses on finding diamonds that have a great cut and shine.

http://www.whiteflash.com

Recommendations Summary Max out on Cut over Clarity and Color

Buy stone and setting separately

Learn what an "eye clean" stone is (hint, diamonds are tiny and specs in diamonds are even tinier)

Make sure Table Width/Height Ratio is good

Buy a Princess Cut for a little more carat per dollar Examples Best Color/Cost balance: J,I,H; Clarity: SI1,VS2,VS1, Cut

For Princess cut (Table width and total depth between 65%and 80%)

Round Brilliant Cut (Table width, Total depth around 60% (Table width between 53% and 64% and depth between 58% and 64%, if you want to get technical))

Click Here for Round Cut Search Based on Above Settings

Click Here For Princess Cut Search Based on Above Settings

Setting: Yellow Gold - Best Cut: Round Cut- Best Color/Cost balance: K- M color , Clarity: VS1-VS2, Cut: (Same as above)

General advice would be to play around and compare a lot of stones against your price range and try to find the one that looks eye clean to you, while taking into account the color and clarity grade.

Addendum

Cuts

These ones are lower in popularity but by no means ones that should be ignored completely. There are more unique styles that might go well with a vintage or more intricate ring setting. Also more "antique" cuts like the pear shaped cut could be a better deal, if you poke around.

3) Marquise Cut A unique shape that gives the effect of a more slender finger.

4) Cushion Cut Rounded corners and larger facets that work well with larger diamonds.

5) Emerald Cut Emerald cut give a diamond more facets because of the "steps" up to the table (top level) of the stone.

6) Radiant Cut Similar to Emerald cut but with rounded "steps".

7) Pear Shaped Combination of marquise and round cuts

8) Oval Cut Popular in engagement rings and matches well with other jewelry. Most similar to Rounded Brilliant Cut

We monetize with a referral bonus from JamesAllen, but you can apply the principles anywhere... I just like they have 360° images of every diamond, which helps you find eye clean stones.

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