Diamonds are a girls best friend! Why do girls love diamonds? Why are they so precious? Is it because of their beauty and exquisiteness? Talk about buying. Purchasing a diamond can test the nerves of even the most astute buyer - what do you look for? What do the terms mean? What makes one diamond worth more than another?

When you get in the diamond shop and attempt to buy one, but do not know what the different between this one and that one. Even though those two have the same size and carat, the price can be completely different. Why? Here is a simple guide to the essentials of diamond grading.

Understanding these terms will help you discuss with the dealer the features most important to you, ensuring you get the very best diamond for your money. Diamond appraisers look for four qualities in a diamond when discerning its value. Commonly called the '4 Cs' they are: Cut, Clarity, Carat and Color.

CUT
There are 2 big aspects of CUT.

1. Quality of cut - affecting the brilliance of the diamond - the other refers to the actual shape of the diamond.

2. Shape - Diamonds are available in many shapes. Some of the more common are; round, oval, pear (teardrop shaped), heart, princess (square shaped), emerald (rectangular shaped), marquise (football shaped) and round. Of all the shapes available, round diamonds are the shape most capable of being cut to exude the greatest brilliance. The brilliance is determined by the ability of the diamond to reflect light. A quality cut diamond will have facets angled to reflect the greatest amount of light. Beware of diamonds cut to maintain a higher carat weight while sacrificing the cutting of a good angle as this will dramatically reduce the brilliance.

CLARITY
Diamonds from natural sources are subject to individual flaws including trace minerals and scratches. A diamond without such characteristics is called flawless and is the rarest kind. While these flaws are often not visible to the naked eye, they affect the light reflecting qualities of the diamond which affects the overall brilliance.

Diamond clarity is classified as follows: Flawless, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, SI3, I1, I2 and I3.

CARAT
Carat is the measurement of the weight of a diamond. One carat may also be referred to as '100 points'. This means that a half carat would be listed as '50 points' and so on.

The larger a diamond is the more costly it becomes. Since the larger diamonds are much rarer the cost will go up significantly with each increase in size. A one carat diamond will be more than just double the cost of a half carat, however, a ring with multiple diamonds that have a combined weight of one carat will be cheaper than a single stone of that weight.

COLOR
There are many diamond colors which called fancy diamonds. But the mostly found diamonds will be rated on an alphabetical scale from D to Z. A typical 'white' diamond should be as colorless as possible - a rating of 'D' being the rarest and most desirable. When choosing a colorless diamond it is best to stay within the D-J range or the diamond will have a yellow cast which lessens the value. The less natural color the diamond has the more colors will appear in the flashes reflected in the prism.

'Fancy' diamonds (diamonds with a rating over Z) come in a variety of shades and include some famous diamonds such as the Blue Hope diamond.

When decide to buy a diamond, please keep in mind of these 4 Cs as a factor of buying consideration. It takes years to gain a specialty in this area. Therefore, at least you should point out whether which features are of greatest importance to you and with a little knowledge select the diamond that will hold the greatest value and sentiment for your budget.

An emerald cut diamond can be an exquisite and beautiful diamond. For many people, this is the ideal cut diamond. It is classic in the sense that it will never go out of style but it is modern enough in the sense that it holds a hefty sparkle and is always beautiful. Here are some things you should know when purchasing an emerald cut diamond ring.

Some diamond cuts allow you to get away with purchasing lower quality diamonds. If you purchase a radiant diamond, for example, you can cover up the lack of clarity in a diamond with all of the other things going on with the cut. However, with an emerald cut diamond ring you cannot disguise any problems with the diamond. There is a pavilion cut into the rectangle of the diamond.

This pavilion gives a large and open, flat surface for the diamond with highlights the clarity of the emerald cut diamond. It goes to figure that if the diamond is not all that clear, this particular cut will highlight any imperfections. As such, many emerald cut diamonds are more expensive than other cuts because only high quality and clear diamonds are used in making the emerald cut diamonds.

You might think that all emerald cut diamond rings feature rectangle diamonds as the focal diamond. However, you might be wrong. Not all emerald cut diamonds are rectangles. Many emerald cut diamonds lean more towards square than rectangle, and it is important to talk to your jeweler about what you are looking for before you make a purchase. He or she will be able to explain things to you like length to width ratio and clarity ratings for diamonds.

In the end, the right choice for you will be whatever ring you feel right with. You might go into the store thinking that you are going to purchase your special someone an emerald cut diamond ring only to leave the store with a princess cut diamond ring in your shopping bag.

The bottom line is that you should get something you know your special someone will cherish for the rest of her life. Of course, if there are any particular cuts that your special someone absolutely hates, obviously do not purchase one of those. But do not feel locked in because you decided to buy one diamond cut and ended up buying another one that caught your attention.

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