How to Get a Quality Diamond

Do you want to buy the best diamond you can afford? Here's a practical guide to selecting the optimum quality in a diamond for your budget.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Decide how much you can afford to spend on a diamond. Give your budget a range of 10 to 20 percent, if possible.

2. Decide on the size range that will satisfy you. Understand that prices increase almost geometrically with size, and that a 1-carat diamond will be in the $4,000 price range at least.

3. Choose the shape you want--there are 10 basic shapes. Now you are ready to begin diamond shopping. There are several outstanding diamond vendors on the Internet. The best Internet diamond sources allow you to enter price range, size, shape, clarity, color and cut variables (see Resources below).

4. Familiarize yourself with the other variables that affect diamond cost in addition to size (carats), including color, clarity, and cut. Understand that there are seven principal clarity grades ranging from slight imperfections visible to the eye to flawless at 10X magnification. Each step upward on the clarity scale adds about 10 percent to the cost. Learn that the color scale ranges from Z (light yellow) to D (colorless), and that each step upward on the color scale adds 5 to 10 percent to the cost of the diamond. Remember that the quality of the cut also affects the price, but in a less predictable way than clarity or color.

5. Start narrowing your variables, now that you have decided on a price range, size range and shape. Decide on a range of clarity, like SI1 to VS1, and a color range like H to K, for instance. Check to see what diamonds are available in the sizes you are looking for. If you are still in your price range, raise the range of clarity or color in your search and try again.

6. Begin to narrow your choices further by reducing the range of clarity and color within your chosen size and shape range. The final variables to look at are the quality of the cut, polish and symmetry which are more esoteric than the other variables. You should have a manageable number of diamonds to make a final selection from, hopefully 30 or fewer. Try sorting on size, clarity and color sequentially to help make your final decision.

Tips & Warnings

• Internet vendor sites don't generally give a good idea what different colors and clarity grade diamonds look like close up--all the pictures look fairly similar. Shop some local stores to decide if an 'I' color diamond is suitable, or if you need a higher color grade to satisfy you. Shop local stores to experience the difference between an SI2 and VS1 clarity, for example, and get an idea of how high a clarity grade you will be happy with.
• You can use your on-line shopping results to help you choose a diamond from a local merchant, but expect to pay more at a jewelry store.
• Diamond is the birthstone for the month of April.
• Some diamonds are treated with lasers, heat or fillers to reduce the appearance of flaws. Check the certificate to find out if the diamond you are considering has been treated.

Resources

• Internet diamond source.
• Another Internet diamond source.