How to Purchase a Diamond


During every diamond purchase, you will hear about the "5 Cs".  These are:
Color
Clarity
Cut
Carat Weight
Cost

Color

If you hold a glass of water up and say, "what color is that?"  Ideally, that is what a diamond should look like.  Colorless.  Realistically, diamonds range from steel grey, light yellow, and dark yellow (which are less valuable).

Clarity

Diamonds were formed 60 million years ago under the Earth's surface out of carbon. When the diamond gets hot enough, it melts and becomes a liquid, then cools and solidifies.  If not all of the carbon makes the change to diamond, there are black crystals inside of the diamond. Also as the crystal grows it turns and shifts. Fewer of those makes for a better diamond.

Cut

Cutting was done a year or so ago in Antewerp, Belgium, Tel Aviv, Isreal, or New York City. How accurately, evenly and symmetrically the facets (flat sides) are put on the diamond will change how much the diamond sparkles. That decides how well they put the flat sides on the diamond.  Are they even?  Are they symmetrical?  Is the diamond angled too high?  or too low? When done perfectly, its know as the ideal cut diamond and if it is done perfectly (which is called an ideal cut diamond), it sparkles in an amazing way.  


Carat Weight

Carat weight is how much the diamond weighs on a scale, one carat is .2 grams, about the weight of a paperclip.  

Cost

Cost is always an important factor in any purchase. The internet and mega stores are not usually the best place to purchase a diamond. Unlike what you might assume, they don't usually have the best price, and almost not always the best looking/sparkling diamonds. A family owned, downtown store, where you get personal service by someone who knows diamonds and has the take in your satisfaction, in my opinion, is the best location to purchase your diamond.