If you are in the market for a brilliant diamond tennis bracelet, there’s a lot to learn to find the best piece. There’s no denying that diamond jewelry is the crème de la crème when it comes to jewelry accessories but finding the perfect piece takes a lot of hard work.
For the best diamond jewelry, you have to buy the perfect diamond, and this means in-depth research on the 4Cs (cut, color, clarity and carat). Most buyers get confused by all the technical jargon and end up buying the wrong diamond. To avoid this mistake, you need to prioritize the most important diamond quantities.
This article explores different diamond characteristics and pinpoints the most important to help you buy the perfect rock for your piece. Read on.
1. Diamond Cut
If you have tried shopping for a diamond, you most likely came across the mention of a diamond cut. When shopping for a diamond, cut is the most crucial characteristic and the more you learn about it, the better your chance of buying an excellent rock. Cut is the characteristic that determines the brilliance and sparkle and outward beauty of the polished diamond and if you get it right, your piece will dazzle.s
A high cut grade gives your diamond the sparkle and fire you desire in your piece. Even with the best color and clarity, a poor cut will ruin the overall appearance of the stone. If you want your diamond jewelry to dazzle, you have to invest in the best cut and you will never regret the decision.
The diamond cut GIA grading scale is as follows:
> Ideal or near ideal
> Very good
> Good
> Fair
> Poor
The Ideal and Excellent grades will give maximum brilliance and fire depending on the diamond shape chosen. The cut grade represents a range of proportion sets and appearances which work together to give the stone the perfect sparkle. If the diamond cut is not precise, you will end up with a dull stone and this makes the diamond cut the most important characteristic.
2. Diamond Color
When shopping for the best loose diamond, color comes second after the cut. The highest quality of diamonds are colorless and very rare. You have to pay top dollar for such a stone. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) color grades for diamonds is as follows:
> D (colorless) to Z (light yellow or brown)
The thing with color is that it all boils down to your preference. However, the color grade you choose determines the overall appearance of the stone making an important choice. For the best colorless diamond, consider D-F Color Diamonds (highest quality) and for near colorless stones, go for G-H Color Diamonds (best value) and I-J Color Diamonds which work well with yellow gold.
Intensely colored diamondsare rare and expensive.On the other hand, colored diamonds are in vogue today and some are more expensive than white diamonds.
3. Carat Weight
Carat is the unit of measurement used to weigh diamonds and a carat equals 200 milligrams or 1/5 of a gram (0.2 grams). Small differences in carat can lead to a huge price difference and this makes it an important consideration when shopping. For instance, it is hard to tell between a 1.1-carat and 1.2-carat diamond with the naked eye but your jeweler will surprise you with a difference in price that can go into thousands of dollars.
To find the best diamond, always consider carat and cut together. When you combine these, it is easier to buy the perfect stone. For instance, if you choose a larger carat diamond with a poor cut grade, it will appear smaller which is not what you have in mind. On the other hand, you can scale down on the carat and increase the cut grade to get a more impressive diamond which looks bigger.
By playing around with the carat and cut grade, you can buy the perfect stone for your diamond jewelry. It is advisable to buy carat weight slightly below the whole and half-carat marksto maximize your budget and get good value for your money, For instance, a 0.95-carat diamond will cost far less than a 1- carat diamond and this will save you a lot of money. There’s no noticeable difference in the size of the two stones and no one will ever know the difference.
4. Clarity
This is an important diamond quality but in the order of importance, it falls last. Diamonds are natural stones and they have flaws as expected of any natural thing. Clarity in diamond valuation refers to the presence or absence of these flaws or inclusions. Look at the GIA scale for diamond clarity below:
> F: Flawless diamond in and out
> IF: Internally flawless, with blemishes on the surface but not inside the stone
> VVS1 and VVS2: Very, very slight inclusions
> VS1 and VS2: Very slight inclusions
> SI1 and SI2: Slight inclusions
> I1, I2,and I3: Has inclusions
IF stones have no inclusions and are flawless and very are. Most diamonds on the market fall in the middle range where you can’t see the inclusions with the naked eye. Clarity is important because the size, location, and darkness of blemishes and inclusions affect light penetration through a diamond which in turn affects the sparkle. To get the best diamond in terms of clarity, look for an eye clean stone. If you can’t see the flaws, most likely they can’t affect the brilliance and beauty of the diamond.
When shopping for a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet, you have to start with the best diamond. By considering these crucial qualities and balancing them, you will find a dazzling diamond for your bracelet.