Diamonds are extremely precious gems which are tailor made for high-end jewelry. The image of a diamond invokes wealth, confidence, beauty, and style. It is also a lifetime investment because good diamonds are supposed to last from generation to generation. As with any investment, whether a diamond or a house, you must set a realistic budget and not allow yourself to be hoodwinked into purchasing a diamond of mediocre quality. When dealing with your retailer, you should ask about the 4 C's of diamonds: clarity, color, cut, and carat. All of these items should be on a printed document specific for the diamond.
Clarity
The clarity of a diamond refers to its purity or clearness. Diamonds are natural resources that are refined and processed; the result is the gem that you'll see in at the jewelry store. Sometimes these diamonds have inclusions or blemishes that may result from this refinement process. Therefore, each diamond is assigned a symbol denoting its clarity. The symbols range from "F" for flawless and free from all inclusions to "I3" for obvious inclusions that can be detected with the naked eye, often due to the diamond's cloudy appearance. In order to get a good diamond, one should purchase a diamond within the "F" to "VS2" range. "VS2" stands for very slightly included; these inclusions can be seen when magnified 10x but cannot be seen just by looking at the diamond.
Color
The color of a diamond can range from colorless white to light yellow. This characteristic is represented by the letters of the alphabet ranging from "D" (best color) to "Z". The retailer should show you the official letter assigned to the diamond by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). This ensures that the color was not enhanced by the dealer in order to maximize profit at your expense. Diamonds also come in rare colors such as blue and pink; these are more expensive.
Cut
The cut of the diamond refers to the shape. Symmetry and polish are factors that affect the cut. Unless you're having a diamond cut to fit a particular setting, it's a good idea to get the diamond with the most rounded cut possible because it reflects the most light to the visible eye, also known as "bling".
Carat
Finally, the carat refers to the size of each stone. The customer should note that the more carats the diamond has, the more expensive it becomes for your wallet. Diamonds of approximately 1 to 3 carats are good purchases for the average middle class person.
Although this may seem like an very complicated process, it really isn't. This process is in place because plenty of dealers across the country are just trying to make a sale by cheating customers. To decrease the likelihood of that happening to you on your next purchase, please follow the four steps listed above.
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