For men, buying diamonds is like solving a puzzle. With so little information and such enormous pressure, the project of buying a diamond jewelry quick turns into an onerous job. But shirking is not a good option either. So, what do you do when you want to surprise your partner or propose marriage to the woman of your dreams? You go shopping, but before that, you take a moment to learn everything you need to know to make the purchase a success. Here is a short diamond quality chart for men who are wrestling with the job of finding a standalone wedding ring or a diamond jewelry for their significant others.
Diamonds are graded by four qualities namely, carat, cut, clarity and color, also referred to as the 4Cs. These 4Cs substantiate a diamond’s quality. So, you want to start by learning more about these 4 parameters.
Carat appears first because it is an important aspect of a diamond and the most important thing for some buyers. Diamonds of all sizes are sold in the market, from grain size to chunky ones. For solitaires, carat matters a lot. If you browse the gallery of a jewelry store, you will see that solitaire engagement ring features diamonds of all sizes. From 0.25 to over 30 carats, you can pick anything you can afford for your solitaire ring. Ideally, you want to go for diamonds over 2 carats for a solitaire ring, but if you are on a budget, there are plenty of good options below that too. 0.5 to 1.5 is a great range to buy affordable and stunning diamonds from.
Cut is about the most important aspect of a diamond. It has a direct bearing on the appearance and sparkle of the stone. The better the cut, the shinier it appears. There are three main grades of cut, shallow, deep and ideal. Ideal cut has the best light performance, in that it catches more light and reflects all of it seamlessly. As a buyer, your aim should be to pick a diamond that has the ideal cut. But oftentimes, it’s not possible to afford an ideal cut diamond because of price concerns. In that case, you should aim for the best cut you can buy on your budget. Good, Very Good and Excellent are some of the grades where decent-looking to stunner diamonds can be found.
Clarity is another quality that you absolutely want to make a priority when buying a solitaire engagement ring. Clarity refers to the presence of flaws in a diamond. The higher the clarity, the fewer its flaws and vice versa. Sometimes, a small diamond does not show its flaws the same way as a large one does. So, clarity is interlinked with carat. The cut is also another thing that makes a difference in making a stone appear clearer or cloudier. Regardless, VS2 is the sweet spot where diamonds are eye clear and not extortionately pricey. Whatever your budget is, make sure that the diamond you buy is eye clean.
Every diamond has a color of its own, even the translucent ones. The most colorless diamonds are those that are graded D. Between D and Z, the color deepens with the alphabets. So, the most colorless stones are to be found in the grades D to F. Alternately, S to Z is the most colored range. G to J is where you get the best bang. So, unless you are set on a flawless quality diamond, the mentioned range is great for picking seemingly colorless and decent-quality stones at affordable prices.