5 Tips For Buying Wedding Ring Diamonds
What You Need To Know Before Purchasing A Diamond
Sep 28, 2008
Wedding ring diamonds come two ways, loose or already set. Often, you can get a better deal by purchasing wedding ring diamonds loose and having them set into a ring of your choice by a jeweler. However, there are a few things you need to know before buying wedding ring diamonds, regardless of how you purchase them.
Learn your ABCs
Well, particularly your Cs. You might have heard of the all important 4 Cs of wedding ring diamonds, but you really should know them backwards and forwards before you start shelling out the bucks. The 4 Cs are cut, color, clarity and carat. First, you need to decide what is most important to you in wedding ring diamonds – is it the size of the diamond or the clarity?
Knowing what you're looking for can help make it easier to choose a diamond in the long run, because you'll have to prioritize. Flawless and perfect diamonds are rare and almost impossible to find, but you certainly can find a great diamond that is exactly what you're looking for.
The Cut
For many people, the cut of wedding ring diamonds is the most important of the 4 Cs. You can have a diamond that isn't very large or clear at all, but if it's cut right, it will sparkle like the most perfect diamonds. A poor cut on a large, beautifully clear stone will make the diamond look dull and sometimes even fake, even though you've put a lot of money into it. Choosing wedding ring diamonds with a great cut can help you get the most for your money.
Natural and Ultraviolet Lighting
When purchasing wedding ring diamonds, make sure that your jeweler allows you to inspect the diamond in both natural and ultraviolet lighting. Both types of light will allow you to see imperfections more clearly than with just one type of lighting or the other. This will allow you a more complete evaluation of your diamond.
Comparing Diamonds
When shopping for wedding ring diamonds, ask your jeweler to let you compare diamonds of an equal weight that are graded both higher and lower than the diamond you are looking at so you can compare the sparkle, clarity and cut of the diamond to the others. Doing so lets you truly see for yourself what truly makes the diamond in question unique, especially in comparison to both superior and inferior diamonds of the same weight.
GIA Certification
There are a number of laser and heat treatments that can be used on wedding ring diamonds to make them appear clearer, with fewer imperfections than they had originally. This can significantly weaken a diamond, but it will still look great to the naked eye. Only a written GIA certification can prove that wedding ring diamonds haven't been treated in any way and are 100% natural, so you get the best deal for your hard earned money.
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