Important Things to Know When Buying Diamonds
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The carat weight of a diamond is the standard unit of weight for diamonds. A lot of the time people mistake ‘carat’ to mean the size of the diamond, but this is not the case. When discussing the size of a diamond you are referring to the dimensions of the diamond the length, width and height. Therefore two diamonds both weighing one carat could be different sizes, and a diamond that has been cut well could appear larger than a diamond of a heavier carat weight.
The cut of a diamond refers to two separate factors, the first of which relates to the shape and style of the cut – for example, Pear, Round, Marquise, Princess, Brilliant Heart shaped and so on.
The clarity of the diamond describes how clear the diamond is, whether it has any inclusions (flaws) within it or on its surface. Inclusions on or in a diamond mean that some of the light reflected will be lost as the flow of light through the diamond will be disrupted. The colour, number, size, location and visibility of inclusions all affect the clarity of a diamond and its quality. However, having said all that the majority of inclusions cannot actually be seen by the human eye, but can be graded through the use of a Diamond Clarity Chart.
The colour of the diamond relates to rarity, value and quality of the diamond. There are natural coloured diamonds and treated colour diamonds, the latter of which are more affordable by far! Natural colour stones are unique, and like it says on the tin, completely natural. Fluorescence, high pressure, high temperature treatment and irradiation all affect the colour of the diamond. Treated diamonds are coloured by irradiation in a laboratory.
There are many different cuts and shapes of diamond to chose from when buying a ring, and it is just down to personal taste. However each cut is affected by the light differently, so different cuts have differing amounts of sparkle! Longer diamonds like oval, marquise, pear and heart cut diamonds tend to leak light out of the bottom of the stone, which is called the ‘bow tie’ effect. The most popular diamonds at the moment are round cut, closely followed by princess and emerald cut.
Marquise cut is an elongated shape, and is therefore good for women with short fingers. The pointed ends do tend to make it quite fragile.
Oval cut is a symmetrical shape with very good dispersal of light. The shape gives the illusion of length to the hand, and is so considered to be rather elegant.
Pear cut is shaped like a teardrop, and is a combination of the oval and the marquise. Its design tends to make it appear larger than a round diamond, and most complements small to average-length fingers.
The heart cut diamond is probably the most romantic of cuts, and is basically a pear-shaped diamond with a cleft at the top.
Emerald cut diamonds are rectangular with cut corners and is also known as the step-cut due to its stepped planes. The negatives about this cut is that inclusions can be a lot more obvious in this cut.
The Princess cut is a very modern, square or rectangular cut with numerous facets, and flatters long fingers.
The Trilliant is a triangular shape, with either pointed or rounded corners.
The Radiant is a square or rectangular cut which combines the look of the emerald-cut with the sparkle of the round-cut, and maximises light refraction.
Learn about the importance of
Diamond Clarity
when buying an engagement ring for your partner.
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