Diamond buying tutorial 4Cs.

Highest-quality color grade a diamond can receive. A D-color diamond is extremely rare and emits unrivaled brilliance.

Containing very minute traces of color, an E or F-color rated diamond emits a high level of brilliance and sparkle.

Containing noticeable color only when compared to higher color grades, G or H color diamonds provide an excellent value.

Whereas an I or J-color diamond typically appears colorless to the untrained eye yet contains slightly detectable color.

Faint color is noticeable. Even with the presence of color, these grades of diamonds can emit fire and beauty.

Consider selecting a lower color when setting in yellow gold as color will be not as apparent.

Internally Flawless (IF) diamonds may contain external characteristics (also known as blemishes) that are extremely difficult to view at 10x magnification on the stone's surface, if at all, whereas Flawless (FL) is the best clarity of a diamond as it does not contain any inclusions or blemishes, under the scrutiny of 10x magnification.

Although the name is seemingly redundant, Very Very Slightly Included (VVS1, VVS2) diamonds earn this grading because, unlike their Flawless or Internally Flawless bretherin, they do contain inclusions that are so minute that they're extremely difficult to locate under 10x magnification used by expert gemologist to determine a stones clarity.

Like their higher graded counterparts, VS1 and VS2 diamonds also contain minute inclusions, such as clouds, crystals, or feathers, but, unlike Very Very Slightly Included diamonds, Very Slightly Included stones' inclusions, though miniscule are only just difficult to locate with 10x magnification, rather than being extremely difficult.

Even without 10x magnification, Slightly Included diamonds (SI1, SI2, SI3) contain inclusions that are noticiable to the human eye such as clouds, knots, crystals, cavities, and feathers. However pronounced and numerous there are without magnification, thought, is what determines a diamond is either Slightly Included or fully Included.

Diamonds that are graded as Included (I1, I2, I3) contain very obvious inclusions that can usually be seen with the naked eye, and even more underneath 10x magnification. Included diamonds sometimes display poor transparency and lack of brilliance due to excessive clouds, feathers, knots, cavities and crystals large and deep enough to be confused for smudges or cracks. Inspite of these blemishes, Included diamonds are still able to sell well enough, inspite of being considered undesirable as compared to a higher clarity graded stone.

Diamond pricing is determined by carat weight, and broken down in half-carat increments. Therefore, assuming factors like cut and clarity are equal, a diamond weighing one carat will cost more than a diamond weighing slightly less than one carat. However, if the cut and clarity are not equal, it is possible that a diamond with a one-carat weight will cost less than a smaller diamond. For this reason, it is important to consider all of these factors, including the cut, color, clarity, and carat, when choosing a high quality diamond.

Many people believe that the carat weight is a measure of the diamond’s size, but that’s not exactly true. The carat weight is a measurement of the diamond’s weight. While its carat measurement indicates the weight of a diamond, its length and width measurements indicate the actual physical size, or how big the diamond will appear when viewed from above. Diamonds of the same carat weight can vary in size depending on how they are cut. For example, a one-carat round diamond could measure 5.9 mm in diameter, while another one-carat round diamond could be 6.5 mm wide. Both of these diamonds are the exact same weight.

The price of a diamond typically rises as the carat weight increases. If carat weight is the most important factor in your search, consider a diamond with a clarity grade of Slightly Included (SI1-SI3) and a color grade of Near Colorless (G-J). By choosing a slightly lower clarity and color grade, you can find a larger diamond within your budget.