Jewellery News and Reviews

This time I’m going to take a look at one of the “4 C’s” of how diamonds are graded. In case you don’t know, diamonds are graded in 4 main categories or groupings - cut, color, carat and clarity. Let’s take a close look at one of the biggies – clarity.

The clarity grading scale goes from IF (the best) down to I3 (the worst). In total, there are ten grades that a diamond can fall into.

Clarity refers to the number of “inclusions” that are found in the stone. Basically, inclusions are small blemishes or imperfections. These occur naturally when the rock is forming in the earth and they can be found in almost all diamonds.

When grading the diamond, a gemologist looks at the diamond under magnification to look at the inclusions that are in the stone. The grading is then decided on the number of inclusions, and as well how noticeable or large they are.  Keep in mind that this is done under strong magnification.

As an example, a diamond that has an IF or flawless grading has no inclusions at all. This is extremely rare, and understandably, this type of diamond carries a huge price premium attached to it.

A diamond graded VS2 will have “very slight” inclusions – these are only noticeable under a microscope and aren’t noticeable with just the naked eye. These diamonds are priced for significantly less that an IF graded diamond.

Make sure to understand the different ways diamonds are graded. Pick up a diamond buying guide – this will make a huge difference in the end and will make it possible to save some huge cash on your purchase. It can be the difference between finding an affordable engagement ring instead of overpaying and making your jeweler richer.

If you are someone who is in the market for a diamond engagement ring, a proposal to your special someone must be on the horizon.  First things first – Congrats!  Getting engaged is an exciting time in anyone’s live and is a moment that every woman has dreamed of since she was a young girl.

Now, on to the important part – hunting for an engagement ring!  Many guys think that this is the most stressful part of getting engaged.  We all know that women love their diamonds!  Unfortunately, most guys have never shopped for a diamond so they have no idea what to look for.

It’s easy to get a little intimidated when you first walk into a jewelry store.  You see all these shiny diamonds and some very big pricetags!  And as you can probably guess, the salesperson is most likely going to present to you the most expensive diamonds first!

Don’t get stressed out  Trust me, you will find a fantastic engagement at a fantastic price.  Ignore the pricetags that are presented to you in the shops – the costs are NOT set in stone.  There’s plenty of wiggle room and more importantly, you can hunt for a diamond with certain characteristics in order to get the most bang for your buck.

The most critical part of shopping for an engagement ring is to get educated on how these things are graded.  Look for a diamond buying guide to help you out here.  Understand the “4 C’s” and how the labs grade diamonds.

Once you do this, you will have a clearer understanding of what is considered when pricing a diamond.  With this knowledge, it’s up to you to select which grading characteristics are important to you and your special someone when selecting a ring.

The idea is to set a budget, and try to stay in that pricerange.  You can increase the size of your diamond simply by going down a notch in one of the .  For example, by changing from a “F” color diamond down to an “I”, you will conserve lots of cash or be able to bump up the size of the rock by a good amount.

Good luck and enjoy this time of your life!