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Whether you’re looking for the perfect diamond
engagement ring or a special diamond for that special someone in your life, the
hardest part is choosing the stone. You can always check out diamond shops for
perfect opportunities to create your own piece of jewellery and count on the
aid of their precious stone experts. Part of the entire process is choosing the
right diamond.
Here are our best tips for choosing the right diamond
for your budget and purpose.
The Budget
First, pick a budget. This is important as it ensures
you stay within a price range you can afford. It’s easy to go overboard, so a
budget helps you stay on track.
The Shape
The next step is to decide on a diamond shape. Shape
is different to cut. The cut is the facets and angles of the stone and is a way
of evaluating a diamond. Popular diamond shapes include cushion, princess and
round cuts, but there are plenty of different shapes available.
The Carat
Carat weight will depend mainly on your budget and
what you plan on using the diamond for.
Start Searching
Next, start looking for your perfect diamond. Start
off with the highest quality stone, which is a colour grade D and clarity
internally flawless (IF) or flawless (FL). As for cut, start with the highest
option available on the grade. Different wholesalers may use different terms
for the cut, such as Signature or Super Ideal. If you have a high budget,
you’ll have plenty of options. But if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll need to
make some adjustments to your search. There are diamonds in Sydney like
Australian Diamond Importers pieces that should fit the quality you want.
Here’s how to get the best results:
·
Adjust
clarity first so you can find a diamond you can afford. Lower the clarity grade
before any other factors. A clarity grade as low as VS2 is still clean to the
naked eye which means you won’t easily spot any imperfections.
·
Next,
lower the colour quality. You can slowly decrease colour quality from D down to
G all the way down to H before adjusting other factors. Keep in mind that you
should set colourless diamonds on platinum or white gold. It’s hard to spot the
colour difference between D and H grades when a diamond is mounted. You can
even limit the colour grade to E-F, and it will still look stunning.
·
Cut
is a diamond’s most important factor. It determines the stone’s brilliance, so
it should be the last thing you adjust.
·
If
you’re still struggling to find something, decrease the carat weight by around
10%. So, if you wanted a 1 carat diamond, start looking at 0.90 carats, it can
make a big difference to the price range.
If you use the above tips and still don’t find the
diamond you want, it’s time to make more adjustments.
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More Tips
·
For
diamonds between 1-2 carats, drop the clarity grade SI1. Imperfections are
still hard to spot with the naked eye. If a diamond is less than a carat,
clarity isn’t particularly important, so you can drop to SI2.
·
You
can even go as low as I-J in colour for diamonds less than 1 carat. The diamond
will look colourless when it’s mounted on white gold or platinum. If you want
to set the diamond on yellow gold, you can safely drop down to a colour grade
K.
·
Princess
and round cuts are the most brilliant because they have a high number of
facets. They’re also amazing at reflecting light and hiding yellow hues.
·
If
the weight of the carat is your main concern you could buy a shape that creates
the illusion of being bigger than it is, such as a marquise cut.
Use these tips to find the perfect diamond!
