When you find the person you love and want to share your life with, your next step may be to find an engagement ring. You may have a low quality diamond if you don’t know enough about diamond identification. Learning more about gemstone ratings may help you find a ring you can be proud of.
According to Good Online Shopping Sites, traditional gemstone ratings for a diamond include the four “C’s”: color, carats, clarity, and cut. You may wonder whether color or clarity is the more important criterion in judging a diamond. Color can be a subjective characteristic; although a clear diamond can be more valuable, a differently colored diamond may be preferred by the person you love. When a jeweler speaks of clarity, they are referring to how many flaws are in the diamond.
Since diamond imperfection may also be better determined by a diamond expert, it may not matter to the buyer. Although these gemstone ratings are important to gemologists, the diamond you choose may speak to your heart. If the store doesn’t have the ring you want, you should ask the jeweler if they can make a custom engagement ring.
Shopping for an engagement ring isn’t just time-consuming and a little bit stressful — it’s downright distressing at times, and it can make you wonder again if you really want to get engaged right now. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking around at jewelry repair stores or on websites for online jewelers — there’s only one number and one letter you need to remember when you’re out shopping for a diamond engagement ring: The Four C’s.
Carat
Carat refers to the weight of the diamond. A one carat diamond is pretty sizeable, but more affordable engagement rings have smaller stones. Diamonds smaller than a carat are usually described in a fraction of a carat — like 1/4 or 1/2 carat.
Cut
There are a number of different cuts of diamonds. This is the way the diamond is shaped. Traditional cuts include round cut, princess cut (which looks like a square), oval, marquis, per, emerald, and cushion. The way the diamond is cut affects the way the ring will look, how the stone will be anchored on the ring, and how light will reflect from it.
Clarity
The clarity of the diamond depends on how few flaws are in the diamond, either in the stone itself or in the way it was cut. There are 11 grades of clarity, which range from flawless to imperfect.
Color
The color of the diamond is also one of the most important things to think about when shopping for an engagement ring. If you’re searching for a traditional diamond, the more colorless the diamond is, the better. More unusual engagement rings, however, can have different colored stones or diamonds so if that’s what you’re looking for this C is perhaps less important than the others.
Custom jewelers can work with the four C’s to create the most affordable engagement rings and keep your purchase within your price range without skimping on design. Do you have any tips for finding the right engagement ring? Feel free to let us know in the comments section.
