Tips for buying YOUR perfect diamond

Do you need some tips for buying an engagement ring or diamond stud earrings? Jive Jewelry compiled some helpful advice for buying a diamond. If you don't know what to look for, buying a diamond can be a stressful process. How can you guarantee you are getting a great diamond at a fair price?

Jive Jewelry wants to help you pick out the correct diamond for your diamond stud earrings. Before buying any diamond, you should consider the four C's of diamonds:

• Color
• Cut
• Clarity
• Carat
  

Colour

First, let's talk about a diamond's colour. Typically, a diamond acts as a prism and divides light into a spectrum of colours. The divided light is reflected producing colour bursts known as fire.
In a colourless diamond, all of this light would be emitted; however colourless diamonds are very rare. The colours in a diamond act as a filter, and stop the light from being emitted. A diamond with more colour emits less light.

Typically, diamond colour scale ranges from D to Z. A diamond with a colour grade of D is completely colourless. The following list outlines each colour grade:

D: This diamond is completely colourless and is very rare and
expensive.
E: This diamond is still classified as
colourless.Only a gemologist can see the colour and is still extremely rare.
F: This diamond is still classified as colourless.An expert
gemologist can detect the slight colour and is a very high-quality diamond.
G-H: These diamonds are near-colourless. High quality and a
great value.
I-J: These diamonds contain slight colour that
can be seen when you compare the diamond to better grades. Still a good value.
K-Z: These diamonds contain colour and are normally only used in smaller earrings or pendants when light refraction is not as important.

Diamonds act as prisms and divide incoming light into a spectrum of colours and reflect this light as colourful flashes known as fire. Any colour in a diamond acts as a filter, and diminishes the spectrum of colour emitted. The less colour in a diamond, the more brilliant the fire, and the better the colour grade.

Cut

A diamond's cut directly affects the sparkle (or brilliance) of the diamond. Even with perfect colour and clarity, a poor cut makes the diamond look dull. A diamond's roundness, and the depth and width determine the brilliance.

The width and depth have the greatest effect. If a diamond is too shallow, light is lost of the bottom. On the other hand, if your diamond is too deep, light is lost out of the sides and your diamond will appear dull.

Your diamond's proportions determine how the light is reflected and refracted:

• Depth: Height of your stone (measure from the culet to the
  table)
• Diameter: Width of the diamond when measure through
  the girdle
• Table: Largest facet
• Girdle: The narrow band around the widest part of your
  stone
• Crown: Top of the diamond that extends from the
  girdle to the table
• Culet: Facet at the tip of your stone
• Pavilion: Bottom portion of your diamond (measure from the
  culet to the girdle)
  

Polish

The polish describes your diamond's smoothness.

• Polish - If you surface is poorly polished, your diamond will produce a
  dulled sparkle
  

Symmetry

The symmetry of your diamond describes the alignment of the facets of your stone. Poor symmetry results in misdirected light entering and exiting your diamond.

• In ASGL graded diamond - look for a symmetry grade of ideal (ID), excellent
  (EX), very good (VG), or good (G).

• In GIA graded diamond - look for a symmetry grade of excellent (EX), very
  good (VG), or good (G).

• Avoid diamonds with symmetry grades of fair (F) or poor (P).
  

Symmetry Ratings

• Ideal: Reflects nearly all light that enters the diamond. An exquisite and rare cut.

• Very Good: Reflects nearly as much light as the ideal cut, but for a lower price.

• Good: Reflects most light that enters. Much less expensive than a very good cut.

• Fair: Still a quality diamond, but a fair cut will not be as brilliant as a good cut.

• Poor: These diamonds are deep and narrow or shallow and wide and lose most of the light out the sides and bottom.
  

Clarity

Flawless diamonds are the most sought after, and most expensive. When it comes to clarity, you do not need a flawless diamond. Many diamonds have inclusions (scratches, trace minerals) that detract from the beauty of the stone, but often these inclusions are not visible to the naked eye.
The following are a list of standards to describe a diamond's clarity:

• FL, IF: No internal or external flaws.
• VVS1, VVS2: Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification.
• VS1, VS2: Inclusions are not typically visible to the unaided eye.
• SI1, SI2: Inclusions are visible under 10x magnification, and may be visible with the unaided eye.
• I1: Visible inclusion, but still a quality stone.
• I2,I3: Visible inclusions (more pronounced than I1).
  

Best clarity

Jive Jewelry suggests you search for an "eye-clean" diamond when you buy diamond stud earrings. Purchasing a diamond with inclusion that can only be seen with magnification drastically reduces the cost, without affecting the brilliance of your stone.

Carat

Now that you have decided on the colour, cut and clarity of your diamond, you must decide the carat weight of your stone. This is best left until the end because after determining the other aspects of your diamond, you can simply pick a carat weight that fits your budget.

Small diamonds are found more frequently than larger ones. Therefore, a diamonds value increases exponentially with size. When diamonds are mined, large gems are discovered much less frequently than small ones, which make large diamonds much more valuable. In fact, diamond prices rise exponentially with carat weight.

Here are some helpful tips from Jive Jewelry for choosing a carat weight:

• If you have a set budget, explore all your options and you'll find that there is a wide range of diamond carat weights and qualities available in your price range.
• If you have already chosen a setting, make sure you choose a diamond to fit.

If you have any questions, please call us toll-free at 1.866.542.1750.