The key to making your diamond purchase with complete confidence and ease is understanding the fundamental properties of a diamond, how each affects its beauty and cost, and determining what balance is just right for you.

• The Four C's
• Color (Famous Colored Diamonds)
• Clarity
• Cut
• Carat
• Shapes and Styles
• Choosing the Ideal Setting
• Putting It All Together
• Diamond Certification
• Caring For Your Diamond
  

  Shapes and Styles

Today we can choose from many different stone shapes (also referred to as "cuts") ranging from the classics to newer silhouettes that appear as diamond cutters endeavor to create new looks. Listed below are the eight most popular and traditional cuts.

Round Brilliant - the most classic cut

Marquise - an elongated brilliant-cut stone with a point on each end

Princess - typically a four-sided square to slightly rectangular brilliant cut

Radiant - typically a slightly rectangular to square diamond

Emerald - a traditional octagonal cut usually rectangular

Pear - combines the brilliance and form of a round stone with the elongated elegance of a marquise

Oval - reminiscent of the round brilliant cut, both in sparkle and shape

  Choosing the Ideal Setting

A diamond's setting will enhance the stone's appearance and delight the wearer. It will also ensure that it is mounted safely and securely.

Choosing the ideal setting will depend on the piece of jewelry, the diamond you've selected, and of course, your personal tastes and budget. Usually, there are two main decisions regardless of the type of jewelry you are creating - what type metal to choose for the mounting and how the stone is secured in the mounting.

  Putting it all Together

Now, it is time to put it all together to balance and prioritize which diamond qualities matter the most to your individual purchase.

First you should set your budget. We have all heard the "two to three months' salary" guideline for an engagement ring, however only you can fairly assess your comfort level. We would, however, recommend investing as much of your budget as possible into the feature diamond in your jewelry. A better quality, larger diamond that could be reset in future years will continue to be a classic symbol of your love forever.

Decide the relative importance to you of size versus quality. Do you have a minimum specific size in mind? Do you want the largest stone or the best quality stone for your budget or somewhere in between? Given how you feel about size versus quality, here are suggestions for how you should balance the four "C"s. In each case, if you determine your budget and search by the qualities shown -- the results will show you what size diamonds are available that meet your budget, size, and quality criteria. You can then narrow down your choices by understanding how the small differences between grades in each "C" affect the beauty and the cost of the stone. You may want to print out these pages for reference and to take notes as you search for your diamond. Please keep in mind that earrings and pendants do not generally receive the same scrutiny as the feature diamond in a ring. For that reason, you might consider sacrificing a little in quality in exchange for greater size.

  Diamond Certification

Today, most fine diamonds weighing one carat or more are carefully evaluated prior to being set, by a respected laboratory such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or the American Gem Society (AGS) and are issued a diamond grading report.

The diamond grading report, or "certificate" both certifies the diamond as genuine and describes it in detail, providing such important information as color grade, clarity grade, carat weight, cutting and proportioning, etc. If you are considering the purchase of a fine diamond weighing one carat or more and it is not accompanied by such a report, we strongly recommend that you have the stone evaluated by a respected laboratory prior to purchase. You should do so even if it means having a stone that is already set removed from the setting and reset. Given the significant difference in cost that can result from a grading error in the more rare grades, this procedure may well be worth the inconvenience and expense.