Choosing the right diamond: Any advice on finding out which diamond she’ll prefer?
Here are the Pros & Cons from some of our staff members:
If she knows you’re planning on proposing, talk to her directly.
Pro: you get the most accurate information
Con: you lose the romance
If she isn’t expecting it, ask her friends or a sister about her preferences and ring size. You can get her ring size by comparing one of her rings (without her knowing it, of course) and sizing up to our ring sizing chart.
RING SIZE CHART
Pro: it might be a very pleasant surprise.
Con: her friends or sister may give you up.
Try find out what her preferences are by bringing up the subject casually especially if a friend or family member has also been engaged.
Pro: when you actually buy the ring, it will be the ring of her dreams.
Con: she might be on to you
Diamond Cut shape/type of diamond?
There is only one way to find out what someone wants in this regard, ask them. But if you are sneaky, you can find out by having their best friend ask about it discreetly "just out of curiosity" and let you know what they prefer. Either way, you should definitely find out about this before you buy... because some people are very attached to certain diamond shapes, and anything else will only create disappointment.
Choosing the right diamond size and/or Carat Weight
The Following are some points to help you decide the budget and size for your diamond:
Many people budget between 1 to 3 months gross salary for a diamond engagement ring, depending on what will make you happy while keeping your bank account open. Only you can determine the right amount to spend. Set your budget, then continue to the next step.
The most popular sizes are 1/2 carat, 1-carat, and 2-carat diamonds.
Invest the time to learn about diamond prices. You will notice many rules that are unique to the gemstone market. For instance, a 1-carat diamond is much more costly than two 1/2 carat diamonds of the same quality.
You should find out what the wearer prefers for the size. Ask a friend to find out if necessary. For the optimal look, the size of the diamond should be matched to the size of the hand that will be wearing it. For example, long slender fingers look wonderful when adorned with a large (1ct to 3ct) diamond in a solitaire setting.
All in all, the best approach is to:
1. Buy the quality that will make your loved one happy, considering that this will be one of the most important purchases you ever make, as well as the third most expensive (after your house and car).
2. Budget enough to appropriately symbolize the moment of your life that you're commemorating, but not so much that the cost becomes a major stress.
To save money, many people try to get just under these size breaks (like a .95 instead of a 1.00 carat), but that does not always work. In fact, it can work against you sometimes, since a lot of people are trying to do that. Prices reflect the demand and often go up quite a bit for "short sizes." Also, cutters know they can get more profit for a diamond that breaks the carat marks, so they will cut the diamond a little differently to keep the extra weight and push it over the edge. It's common sense for them to do that actually. But demand forces the short sizes to sell for a slight premium, which often eliminates the whole benefit of going with a smaller weight in the first place!
2) Popular weights are more expensive and harder to find in specific qualities.
Each week, prices and availability fluctuate for certain sizes and shapes, along with the forces of demand and supply. As an example, at the time of this writing, diamonds have been harder to find in the 1.25 carat range as well as 0.67 and 2.50.
The scarcity of a certain size influences the price for those stones because the best possible discounts to jewelers are not offered on diamonds that are in limited supply. In other words, a jeweler who has stones of these hard-to-find sizes can just sit on them until someone offers to pay full price.
We recommend choosing sizes that are in good supply, to avoid unnecessary premiums. If you must go down a little in size and budget to get a better value, apply the rest to your honeymoon or wedding arrangements and enjoy the savings.
What's the real deal with Cut Grade?
In a properly cut diamond, all light entering, no matter from what direction or angle, will always exit out the top of the stone. This is what makes a diamond sparkle.
“Flash for the Cash” is crucial in diamond evaluation and diamond buying. Cut and proportioning can account for a 20 to 40 percent difference in price between diamonds that are otherwise equal. In other words:
Store A may offer you a SI1/H 1.00ct diamond for $6,500.00.Story B may offer you a SI1/H 1.00ct diamond for $5.000.00.
You may think that Store B is giving you a significant discount directly from the wholesaler or the diamond mines, but what they don’t tell you is that you are getting a shallow or deep cut diamond and not an ideal cut. Remember; when you shop for diamonds there is more to diamond grading/pricing than just clarity and color. There is also the cut grade.
Color Grades
If you choose a G or H color, you will be among a large number of savvy diamond buyers.
Why do so many people choose that color? Color G looks white without costing as much as a truly colorless D grade. Color G is very good, even if you are setting the stone in a white gold or platinum setting. F color would look the same to any unaided eye under normal lighting, but for a 1-carat diamond would cost you about $1000 more even if everything else remained the same!
If you follow the choices you made in the chapter on the 4 Cs, you would have already arrived at this color if it is right for you. If you want to follow the decisions of many other people, you might want to consider a G color (or F or H).
For more on color see our Color Section.
Clarity Grades
Many people start their search for a diamond with a VS2 or SI1 clarity grade. These are the grades that look flawless to the naked eye, but cost much less than stones that are truly graded flawless under a microscope by a trained gemologist.
If you follow the choices you made in the chapter on the 4 Cs, you would arrive at this clarity if it is right for you. If you want to follow the decisions of many other people, you might want to consider a VS2 or SI1 clarity grade.
Diamond Grading Certificate
The value of a certificate when buying a diamond is undeniable. If you do not receive a diamond grading certificate from an unbiased, independent, respected laboratory (GIA and AGS are the labs we trust most), chances are you are not getting the diamond you are being promised.
First, in our experience as former diamond dealers, we saw that almost every engagement diamond without a GIA, AGS, or EGL certification is exaggerated a little, over-graded by one color grade and one clarity grade, to make it easier to sell. This may not sound like much, but for a 1-carat diamond it can easily mean $1,000 or more in lost value for the consumer. A certificate from a respected, independent laboratory will give an accurate, unbiased assessment to help you avoid this common problem.
Second, every diamond is unique. This makes a diamond purchase very different from buying a brand-name automobile with a list of options you can look up in a price list. There is no comprehensive diamond price list because the list would have to include millions of possible combinations of weight, color, clarity, girdle thickness, etc.
The Fifth C - Some Practical Advice
If there was a fifth Diamond C, we'd like to think the 5th C as Choice. You have a choice! No one should ever choose a diamond based solely on its lab certificate. Would you pick your future spouse out of a stack of drivers’ licenses? Is that how you would choose someone you want to spend the rest of your life with? No two diamonds are alike; they each have their own characteristics that make them totally unique and different.
You can have two diamonds with identical clarity, color and basic cut dimensions and one could light up like the constellations while the other could be as dead as an ice cube. A diamond certificate does not tell you how brilliant and beautiful that diamond is. You should buy the diamond you feel is most beautiful. Don't get hung up on the certificate. Don't fall into the trap of someone else deciding what you should like, and telling you what you should buy. No one decided who you should marry, did they?
DeBeers actually ran a study of color once. They showed a selection of diamonds to regular people without informing them of the grade of color. The results? The majority of the people choose a warmer diamond in the G-H-I ranges than the D-E-F ranges.
The major grading labs use anywhere from three to five gemologists to grade a diamond because even they know, in the end, it is just an opinion, and not based on scientific fact. Don’t be surprised if you have a diamond re-graded and the color comes back a grade higher or a grade lower. It is not a science because it is not based on fact. You've heard it before; beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
|
