Diamond Ring Buying Guide
Diamond ring guide topics: how to select a diamond, diamond buying mistakes and scams, and ring size.
Engagement ring guide topics: budget, ring styles and ring metals.
Select a Diamond She'll Love
4Cs: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat.
We believe it is very necessary for you to understand the four Cs of diamonds, so you can select the right stone.
Cut: diamond cut refers to the angles and proportions of a loose diamond. A well cut diamond, with good angles and proportion, will internally disperse and reflect the light through the top of the stone to appear bright and sparkle. A diamond that is cut too deep or too shallow will lose or leak light through the side or bottom. More about Diamond Cut.
Color: diamond color grading was established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA); its scale ranges from D (colorless) to Z. D color diamonds are very rare and valuable; Z color diamonds are brownish. It's very hard for people to distinguish between neighbored color-grades with naked eyes. D, E and F color diamonds are all consider colorless to normal vision; G, H, I and J are consider near colorless. People usually choose diamonds with color J or better for their engagement rings. When a diamond's color is stronger than Z, it will be considered a "fancy colored diamond", and its value actually increases. More about Diamond Color.
Clarity: Almost all diamonds have natural inclusions during crystallization, and the clarity grade indicates how much inclusion a diamond has. If the inclusion is at the bottom of the diamond, it might also remain "eye-clean"; if the inclusion is at the side, it is possible for the setter to cover it with the prong head during setting. For the diamonds which have inclusions, the white inclusions are usually better than the black ones. Diamonds with color I1, I2 and I3 will easily be found with inclusion with the naked eyes, and they are usually not chosen for engagement rings. More about Diamond Clarity.
Carat: carat is used to describe the diamond weight. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or one fifth of a gram. When a diamond is below one carat, people also use points to express it. One carat is equal to 100 points. When the diamonds carat weight increases arithmetically, the price actually increases exponentially. With a given quality, a one-carat diamond is much more expensive than two 50 point diamonds. In that way, if a one carat solitaire diamond engagement ring is too pricy, you might consider buying a three-stone engagement ring which has a total carat weight of one carat. More about Diamond Carat Weight.
Certificate - the 5th C diamond certificate also called diamond grading report, comes from an unbiased third-party. It gives an independent expert opinion on the quality of a loose diamond or unset gemstone. Besides the diamond's 4Cs: color, clarity, cut and carat weight, it also describes the diamond shape, measurements, table & depth, polish, symmetry, fluorescence, etc. The most famous independent diamond grading institutions are: Gemological Institute of America (GIA), European Gemological Laboratory (EGL) and American Gem Society (AGS). Diamond certificate is very important to prove the diamond's identity. Many people call it the 5th C of the diamonds. More about Diamond Certificates.
Common diamond ring buying mistakes and scams
1. Didn't choose a right jeweler.
While shopping for the best deal, you always want to find the right jeweler so you can get the quality you expected and get it on time. Read our How to Choose the Jeweler to avoid the biggest mistake in diamond engagement ring purchasing.
2. Bigger diamond is always better.
With a budget, simply looking for the biggest carat weight might end up buying a bigger but ugly diamond. This is the same mistake like locking a specific color and clarity grade, and buying the lowest price diamond. It is important to strike a balance of carat size and the diamond's quality.
3. Assuming appraisal is a grading report.
An appraisal states a dollar value of the ring for insurance purpose, and it is not a grading report. DON'T buy a diamond without a grading report from reputable laboratory.
4. Assuming a diamond with a laboratory report is automatically a good diamond.
Diamond certificate or grading report gives an independent expert opinion on the quality of a loose diamond or unset gemstone. It describes the quality of a diamond, but does not guarantee that diamond has high quality.
5. Compare prices between diamonds with different certificates.
The top two grading laboratories are GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and AGS (American Gemological Society). They are the strictest laboratories in the industry, and their diamonds' quality is much higher than the ones from other laboratories, so are their prices. In this way, a lower cost diamond with a grading report from less reputable laboratory is not necessarily a bargain. You aren't paying less for non GIA diamonds, you are getting less.
6. Careless with the product description, like Total Carat Weight (TCW).
You should always read the description carefully. When the description states the Total Carat Weight (TCW) of the ring is one carat, you should know that they are talking about the sum of the carat weights of all the diamonds on the ring, not the center stone. Thus this ring should cost less than a ring with a one carat center stone, assuming all diamonds are with a given quality.
7. Center stone didn't match with the side diamonds.
This usually happens when a shopper purchases the setting from one store and the center diamond from another store. Make sure the side diamonds on the setting matches the center diamond in color and clarity.
How to measure my fiance' wedding ring size?
If you have a printer, please download our RingsRUsRingSizer.pdf, and follow its instruction to find out the approximate ring size.
Buy engagement rings online with confidence.
Read our diamond education to understand what you are buying; research online jewelry stores starting with our jeweler comparison chart; compare loose diamonds from different stores; browse a wide range of engagement rings from reputable online jewelry stores; before you make your purchase, check out our diamond coupons and save.