How to Find the Right Diamond for Your Girlfriend’s Engagement Ring
Finding the right diamond for your girlfriend's engagement ring can make all the difference. Here's how you can get the perfect diamond for her ring.
Just because you want an affordable engagement ring to slide over your sweetie’s finger doesn’t mean you should go into the ring buying experience knowing nothing about rings and the diamonds that do often sit atop them. Here is a look at what determines a good diamond form a bad one, and more to the point, why some diamonds are so much more expensive than others.
By far the most expensive component of an engagement ring is the diamond. If you’re trying to keep the ring affordable, start with the diamond. Here is how you can choose a diamond that will make your girlfriend overcome with happiness, but keep from maxing out your credit cards. Strike the right balance between quality and size, and you’ll end up with an affordable ring that she’ll love forever.
Here is what to look for when selecting a diamond for her ring:
Diamond Color
The most expensive diamonds are pure white. As the color goes away from pure white and more towards a yellow tint, the price drops. Color in diamonds is rated using a alphabetical scale, where D is the highest rated, most pure white, with E and F close behind, and also colorless. Ar colorless diamonds are classified using the letters G,H,I, and J.
With each descending letter, the desirability decreases and the stones become more affordable. After the near colorless diamonds, you’ll find faint yellow diamonds, with the letters K,L, and M, just like Royal Dutch Airlines. Next down the chain are diamonds using the letters N, O, P, and R. These are termed “very light yellow”. The lowest rocks on the diamond totem pole of color are classed using the letters S through Z. These are various shades of dark yellow. They are probably not what you’d give in an engagement ring, but they are the least expensive stones.
Diamond Clarity
Diamonds are rated for clarity using an alpha-numeric rating system. The most prized diamonds are completely flawless, and are rated, appropriately enough “F”, for flawless. These are extremely expensive, as you may well imagine. Few average folks have ever seen one of these before. Almost as nice, but a step down the clarity ladder are IF diamonds, as in “If you have to ask….” The IF stands for internally flawless. Again these are relatively rare, and very expensive.
Coming down a bit into the land where most people live, you’ll find VVS1 clarity diamonds. VVS1 means very, very small inclusions (flaws) are present in the stones. These are still very, very nice diamonds, and are priced accordingly. The next step down in diamond clarity are VVS2 diamonds. These have flaws that are barely visible to a jeweler viewing with 10X magnification.
Below VVS2 are VS ratings. The flaws at this level are visible using magnification, but not really with the naked eye. They are still very nice rocks, ones you’d be proud to slip on your girl’s finger. They are commensurately less expensive than the VVS 1 and 2 diamonds. Like the VVS classifications, the VS classification has 1 and 2 also.
Following the VS classification are 3 levels of SI stones, SI, SI1, and SI2. The SI diamonds have flaws, but they are still not visible to the naked eye, so unless you walk around with a 10x jewelers loupe strapped to your eye, you’ll never see them. More to the point, neither will anyone else. You’ll also pay less for the SI rated diamonds than you will for anything with a “V” in it.
Below the SI grades are 4 levels of LI rated stones. LI stands for “large inclusions”. As you can imagine, the flaws at these levels are noticeable.
Diamond’s Carat Weight
This is one of there areas where she might not think that good tings come in small packages. When it comes to diamonds, if nothing else, most women will tell you that size definitely does matter. Diamond’s sizes are measured by the carat weight. The higher the number, the larger the stone. Since 1907, the year they took the cocaine out of CocaCola, the weight of a carat has been set at 200 milligrams.
Diamond Cuts
You’ve probably noticed diamonds come in different shapes. These are actually called cuts, which to make things even more confusing is really not the same thing as shape. The cut actually refers to the diamond’s proportion and the shape and location of the facets. There are main categories of diamond cuts; step, brilliant, and mixed. Within those general categories, there are different shapes.
Your gal probably has a favorite cut and shape. They make a difference in how the stone looks, and also in how much your diamond will take out of your wallet or add to your credit card balance. All else being equal, the more complicated the cut, the more expensive your ring. Keep that in mind when choosing her diamond.
If you want to give her an impressive diamond but not spend every cent you have to your name, think about one of the more value oriented cuts. All else being equal, you can get a larger diamond for the same money, or spend less for the same size rock.
Hopefully this can help get you the ring she loves at a price you can live with. That’s a great balance to strike.
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