What does the word diamond mean?
Derived from the Greek word Adamas, the word diamond means invincible, and for good reasons too. Research shows the world’s youngest diamonds are about 1 billion years old, with the oldest ones dating back as far as 3.3 billion years!
Are you getting ready to buy a diamond for the first time? If you make the right choice, you’re setting yourself up for countless years of joy. However, if you buy the wrong diamond, you’ll be stuck with a lifetime of regret.
Don’t worry, though, after reading our diamond buying guide you’ll be able to shop with confidence! In this article, we’ll review what to look for in terms of quality and preference. We’ll also review the top buying mistakes, so you can avoid making them!
Read on to learn exactly what to look for when buying a diamond.
What to Look for When Buying a Diamond
First, our diamond buying guide wouldn’t be complete without going over the 4 c’s; color grade, carat weight, clarity grade, and cut grade. You can use the 4 c’s to assess the quality of a diamond you’re about to buy.
Diamond-Cut
The cut of your diamond can be shallow, ideal, or deep. The different angles of the cut will determine your diamond’s ability to sparkle.
Carat Weight
The carat weight doesn’t have anything to do with the size of the diamond. Instead, carat lets you know how heavy the diamond is. While carat is an important buying factor, your main focus should be on the cut, clarity, and color.
Clarity and Color
It’s hard to find flawless diamonds, however, you can find diamonds that have a crisp, clean look. The cleaner a diamond looks, the better it’s clarity is. Next, the color of your diamond should look either colorless or weight.
Diamond Buying Mistakes to Avoid
Buying a diamond is an emotional decision, and it’s easy to make a mistake if you’ve never bought one before. Here are some of the top mistakes you should watch out for:
- Choosing price over quality
- Only looking at colorless diamonds
- Dismissing melee diamonds
While it’s good to have a diamond buying budget, you shouldn’t let price dictate your decision. If you planned on saving 3 months’ salary, go ahead and save 4 months so you’ll have a little wiggle room. You can also shop for wholesale diamond jewelry to help you get the best deal, while still getting a stunning piece of jewelry.
Next, don’t obsess over getting a completely colorless diamond. Instead, consider buying a diamond that has a hint of color. As long as the color is subtle it won’t compromise the quality of the piece, plus it’ll cost a lot less.
Finally, don’t discount the impact of buying a melee diamond. While melee diamonds are smaller than traditional diamonds, they can still be stunning when you set them in the right band.
Different Diamond Shapes
The cut of your diamond is different than the shape of your diamond. You can split diamond shapes up into 2 main groups; fancy shape diamonds and round diamonds. However, within those 2 groups, there’s a lot of unique shapes you can choose from.
Here are a few of the different shapes you’ll have to choose from:
- Princess
- Cushion
- Asscher
- Oval
- Emerald
- Heart
- Pear
- Marquise
- Radiant
You’ll find that round diamonds cost more than fancy shape diamonds. You have to pay more for round diamonds because jewelers lose a lot of the rough stone during the shaping process. Round diamonds also cost more because they have a higher level of brilliance and sparkle.
However, fancy shaped diamonds are also a magnificent choice. Fancy shaped diamonds, like the princess cut or heart shape, can feel more personal, and they’re trending in the fashion world.
What to Look for When Buying a Diamond Ring
If you’re buying a diamond ring, you must see the diamond loose. When the diamond’s out of the ring band it’ll be easier for you to assess it’s quality. You should also double-check the ring size of the person you’ll be giving the diamond to.
What to Look for When Buying Diamond Earrings
If you already have a diamond ring, you can look for diamond earrings that echo the details of your engagement ring. For a more modern look, consider getting sleek diamond stud earrings with bezels in all metals.
Don’t Lose Your Earrings
Finally, 20% of jewelry owners state they’ve experienced the loss of fine jewelry when traveling. Luckily, you prevent putting yourself through the agony of losing your earrings by buying sturdy earring backs.
Read the Grading Report
Understanding the grading report is a big part of what to know when buying a diamond. The grading report will give you details about the diamond that goes beyond the 4 c’s.
Here are a few pieces of vital information the report will provide:
- Shape
- Carat weight
- Proportions
- Polish
- Symmetry
- Finish
- Light performance
If you’re getting a small melee diamond, you’ll likely be receiving a diamond dossier report, which is more compact. However, no matter what type of report you receive, it’s important it comes from the Gemological Institute of America.
Gemological Institute of America
Oftentimes the diamond grading report will come from a jeweler who was trained by the Gemological Institute of America or GIA. Working as a nonprofit organization, GIA’s is an impartial 3rd party interested in evaluating the quality of gems and diamonds.
The objective assessment is a must-have when you’re purchasing any type of diamond. If the jeweler isn’t able to provide you with a grading report, you should take your business elsewhere.
Shine Bright Like a Diamond
Congratulations! Now you know exactly what to look for when buying a diamond.
What’s 1 new thing our diamond buying guide was able to teach you? Were you surprised to discover that the cut of the diamond is a completely different thing than the shape? Or how about how important it is to see the diamond loose so you can truly assess it’s value?
By knowing what to look for, and what mistakes to avoid, you can be confident in whatever choice you make. For more tips like the ones in this article, check out the rest of this site.
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