There are many things you should know about diamonds before investing in one. You should begin your research by getting to know the 4 Cs – cut, colour, clarity and carat weight.
Cut
The cut of a diamond relates to how well the diamond is cut to reflect light. Each certified diamond is graded from excellent; very good; good; fair; poor. We ideally recommend diamonds with an ‘excellent’ or a ‘very good’ cut only.
Colour
The colour scale of the diamond starts at D and continues down. The further down the scale you go, the more yellow the stone will be. The less colour a diamond has, the more rare it is and the more expensive it is.
Carat
The carat of a diamond relates to the weight of the diamond. Roughly, this relates to the size of a diamond. Generally, the larger the carat the more expensive. There are, however, clever ways to get the most out of your diamond carat. For example, you can find diamonds which are ‘well spread’. This means the carat weight may be low but it gives the appearance of a larger diamond. It is important to keep an eye on the ‘cut’ grade of a diamond which is well spread as it may not reflect light. Many diamonds we source are well spread and also excellent cut resulting in the best of both characteristics.
Clarity
Clarity relates to the number of inclusions in the diamond. It is important to have a diamond which is ‘eye clean’ which means that there are no visible inclusions to the naked eye which is ideal.
There are also a few other things to keep in mind, beyond the 4 Cs which can be useful to consider before buying.
Diamond Certification
It is important to make sure your diamond is certified so you can be sure the diamond is of the spec that the jeweller has claimed it to be. There are 3 main bodies that certify diamonds that are by far the most reputable – GIA, IGI or HRD.
Fluorescence
This is about how well the diamond interacts with UV light. On a sunny day, a diamond with high fluorescence may look cloudy due to the sun’s UV rays. And even in say, a nightclub lighting, the diamond may even look blue which is just not a good look. So, ideally get a diamond with nil fluorescence as this will completely avoid this problem but slight is also acceptable. This is an element that is seldom discussed when it comes to buying engagement rings but can be very important & you definitely don’t want to find out your ring has fluorescence when it’s too late!
Other factors to keep in mind:
- Insurance ~ the best thing to do as soon as you get the ring is to insure it! Just in case something bad happens you don’t want to be left short.
- Wedfit ~ if it’s important to you that your engagement ring and wedding ring sit flush together, you should consider halos that are set higher, side stones, highly set multi-stones or solitaires.
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