Fine Jewelry Tips & Knowledge Part One: Diamonds.

I wanted to talk to you guys a little bit about jewelry and diamonds. I worked in a jewelry store for around 4 years and learned a lot in that time and there are a few tips and tricks it's important to know. Today's post is about the basics of diamonds. First of all, when looking at diamonds there are 4 important things you need to know, they're called the 4 C's of diamonds; cut, clarity, color, and carat.

Cut: The shape of the diamond.

In my experience the most popular cut among women under 30 in the last 5-10 years has been the Princess cut which is a square cut. Then there is the classic Round cut also known as Brilliant cut. There is the Marquise (pronounced mar-key), the Trillion which is a triangle, the Pear, the Oval, a Heart shape, and an Emerald cut. These are all beautiful but I highly suggest you take a look at some less well known but easily ordered cuts such as the Asscher and Cushion cuts. They are two of my favorites and are incredibly beautiful. All of these cuts have a different number of facets which will affect the way your diamond sparkles. The more facets, the more sparkle. In most cases, a round diamond is the sparkliest you will find but trust me, they're all gorgeous and they are sparkle beautifully.

Clarity: Clarity measures how clear your diamond is.

Every diamond has inclusions. Diamonds are made from carbon, they will have little black carbon spots inside them (unless you're rich and spending celeb kind of money on a stone). The thing that matters is whether or not you can see that inclusion with the naked eye or a microscope. There are other types of inclusions as well, such as feathers, which can make your diamond look cloudy.

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As you can see, the chart not only has letters that correspond to how many inclusions there are but numbers that indicate where on the diamond the inclusions are. The thing about inclusions is, as long as you can't see them without a 10x loupe, it's not really that big of a deal. In fact, some diamonds are even mapped as to where the inclusions are to help you prove that that diamond is yours when it comes back from being worked on. Personally, I'd stay above or in the SI range. Anything in the I range is visible to the naked eye.

Color: How white/yellow are your stones? You think this would be easy to see for yourself but sometimes it's not.

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So basically, unless you are purchasing a true yellow diamond (which are incredibly expensive) you do not want your diamond to be yellow/brownish at all. You want to get as close to white (clear) as possible. Anything in the D, E, F range will be more expensive but I'd say you can go down to I and still have a beautiful diamond. Once you get to J-K though, it's getting a little iffy.

Carat Weight: How much the diamond weighs.

This is expressed in points. 100 points is 1 carat. It would be written like this: 1.00, a half carat would be a 50 pointer or .50. It's really easy to understand because it's just like how 100 pennies make a dollar. Another tip to know is that when they say "total weight" that is the weight of all of the stones in the ring added together. Also, there are ranges for carat weights. Let's say a jeweler tells you that a stone is 1 carat, it could be anywhere from .95 to 1.05 points be sure to ask so you know if it's a "light" carat. You want to be sure to get what you are paying for.

The problem with diamond weight is that you can have two 1 ct. diamonds side by side and one will look much smaller than the other. This is because they have different dimensions. If you're wanting a stone that looks huge, you're going to want to find one that has a large table (the flat top part you look down at) and isn't very deep.

Any reputable jeweler should be able to tell you the color, clarity, carat weight and cut of any diamond in their store. They should also be able to order you an appraisal after purchase. If they can't tell you the color or clarity, it's because it's not good and they don't want to tell you.

Prices of diamonds vary widely based on these specs. You could pay double or triple or more for a very clean diamond.

My advice would be, to get a diamond that you find beautiful. If you aren't sure where to begin, focus first on which cut you like and then go from there. That makes it a little bit easier. Then decide the size you want, and then compare what they have in that size for color and clarity. Don't just take their word for it, look at the rings side by side, which looks nicer to you? It's all about finding a piece that you love.

Check back on Friday for part two on metals (gold, platinum, tungsten, etc.)