Help Buying Diamonds

Help Buying Diamond Rings Information Sheet

When buying diamond rings there are just a few things you need to consider.

Budget

Having a fixed budget in mind before you start shopping is particulary important when buying diamonds, as it is almost always a trade off between the size of the diamond and the qualityr. 95% of our diamond rings are made up of two things, firstly the diamond and secondly the metal which the diamond is then set into. Each element influences the price, if for example you choose to buy platinum diamond rings this is going to be more expensive than perhaps a palladium ring. What metal you choose is an important consideration because your wedding rings should also be from the same metal, especially true if you buy a platinum engagement ring. Since platinum is such a hard durable metal it has been known to scratch the softer metals (Gold, Silver, Titanium) so we always suggest you pair a paltinum engagement ring with a platinum wedding ring.

The Diamond

For the most of you looking on this page, you will be after a beautiful diamond engagement ring, that something special which really gives that wow! factor. When buying a diamond there are, after the price, four main things that you will need to consider these are the Cut or shape of the diamond (for example a brilliant cut diamond is round, emerald is usually square etc), the Colour of the diamond (how white it is), the Clarity which tells you the level of imperfections in the diamond and what size they are, and finally the Carat which is basically how heavy the diamond is and as diamonds are all of a very similar density it tells you more or less exaclty how big the diamond is.

To help you please find below are more detailed explanation.

The next consideration you may have is the certification of the diamond, which is the independent validation that the diamond you have paid for, measures up to the specifications we are selling it at. The main ones are GIA, HRD, IGI, AGI and EGL, more details of these are given below. Please note that for diamonds we sell that are 0.30 carat and above we only use GIA certificates as it is the strictest, and therefore the best guarantee of an accurately graded quality diamond.

One of the larget jewellery underwriters in the US has written: “The most reliable diamond certificates (also called diamond reports) come from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gemeological Society (AGS). These are the most respected labs, known for their accuracy and professionalism. These reports are not appraisals and do not carry valuations. 

1. Cut

The cut tells you what shape the diamond is and defines how it has been cut to that shape i.e the number of facets etc. A diamond that has been cut well will reflect light internally to bouncing the light from one face or facet to another and then reflecting through the top of the diamond. What you then see is the stones brilliance, which places diamonds that are cut well as higher quality than less well cut diamonds. Poorly cut Diamonds don't look quite as pleasing to the eye.

Cut is a reference to the shape of the diamond e.g. round our brilliant cut, square or princess cut. emerald cut etc. The most popular diamond cut for diamond engagement rings is the brilliant or round cut diamond. A round diamond is symmetrical and reflects virtually all the light that touches it, it is therefore the most brilliant of all diamond cuts which is where it gets its name.

Cuts of diamonds that are not round are generally called "fancy shapes", and have their own rules for being thought of as well-cut depending on the shape being worked for. The most popular fancy shape is the princess cut or square cut diamond. This is a particularly striking shape if you have the same shaped diamonds in your wedding ring. The Beautiful Company offers a full range of diamond solitaire rings with Brilliant (round) cut, Princess (square) cut, Marquise cut, oval cut, heart cut and pear cut diamonds all available. Diamond eternity and diamond side stone rings with a variety of cuts are also available, some also have a mixture of cuts within the same ring! If you have any queries or want a quote on a particular style of Diamond solitaire or diamond eternity ring, then "Contact Us".

2.Colour

The colour grading is basically how near to colourless the diamond is. Many people don't know that Diamonds are found in virtually every colour imaginable but the most sought after are the white coloured ones..
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA)  has basically defined how diamonds are colour graded and the range is from D which is the most colourless grade (colourless) to Z which would be jet black.

Colour grading is done under controlled and repeatable lighting conditions so that colour grading can be standardised and the customer can be assured of what they are getting. 
Our made to order rings tend to come with colour H as a minimum which is a good white colour. There are also diamonds in intense shades of blue, green, yellow, orange, pink or ­ rarest of all ­ red. These diamonds are called coloured fancies and are extremely rare and highly treasured.

Here's a table that will hopefully help you understand the colour grades of diamonds:

Colour of Stone                     Description

D                                             Colourless

E                                              Near Colourless

F                                              Near Colourless

G                                             Exceptional White

H                                             White

J                                              Slight Yellow Tint

3. Clarity

We would recommend for a diamond engagement ring either a  diamond solitaire ring or a multi stone ring to be of at least colour H as this colour represents the best value for money, giving a diamond ring with a nice colour for and affordable price. If you have any queries or want a quote on a particular quality of diamond then "Contact Us".

Clarity Refers to the presence of inclusions or imperfections in a diamond.

Like fingerprints every diamond is a unique creation, and is as individual as the person who wears it. Naturally-occurring features known as inclusions provide a special fingerprint within the stone. Inclusions are imperfections within the diamond caused by deposits or or flaws, appearing when the diamonds were created in the ground. To view these inclusions, jewellers use a magnifying glass called a "loupe". The position and the size of the inclusions can affect the value of a diamond. Flawless diamonds can befound in nature but they are very rare and therefore very valuable.

Diamonds are graded by a scale of flawlessness which was introduced by the  Gemological Institute of America (GIA), known as the diamonds clarity. This scale ranges from Included (I) to F (Flawless), and rates the amount of the inclusions and how easy they are to see using a magnification scale of 10x.

It is sometimes possible to hide inclusions with the ring mounting, which means you can appear to have a better diamonds than it would appear on paper, plus the inclusion doesn't spoil the look of a diamond to anyone looking at the ring. Any flaws in the centre or face of the diamond affects how the light reflects around the facets, if this happens it makes the diamond less sparkly

The higher the clarity, the more sparkly (fire) the diamond appears.

The Beautiful Company offers with all our made to order diamond solitaire rings all grades of clarity from P to VVS1 as we feel these clarity give the best balance of quality and affordability. For diamond solitaire rings with 0.5 carat weight or below I clarity is fine as the size of the diamond means that any inclusions would be very difficult to see. For solitaires of 0.5 carat or higher we would recommend moving up to at least SI2 clarity so that there is no chance of seeing anything with the naked eye. Any grade of diamond is available on request please "Contact Us" for a quotation.

4.     Carat

As previously mentioned the Carat is a measure of the weight (not size) of a diamond, it's also used to describe the total weight of diamonds the item has.
One carat is the same as 200 milligrams of weight. A single carat is also classed as 100 points. Therefore a .50 carat diamond is the same as a 50-points or 1/2 carat in weight.

Whilst you may expect diamond prices to go up proportionally ie a one carat diamond would be double the value of a 0.5 carat diamond and all other things being equal this is in fact not the case. Bigger diamonds are rarer and harder to find so the price of a diamonds goes up exponentially with the size.

5.      Certification

GIA stands for the Gemological Institute of America and is the leading independent diamond laboratory and sets the standards and grades to which others adhere to and obviously is primarily based in America. We only sell diamonds 0.30ct and over with certificates authenticated and graded by this organisation.

HRD is based in Antwerp.

IGI stands for the International Gemological Institute.

EGL stands for the European Gemological Laboratory and is regarded as being less prestigious than the others.

AGI stands for Antwerpse Gemologische Instelling in Antwerp

The Ring

Having decided what size and quality you want the next consideration will be what design and metal of ring you want your diamond to sit in. The diamond ring you are choosing must also go with any wedding rings that you are likely to choose. Many more people are choosing the wedding rings and diamond engagement ring at the same time so as to ensure compatibility.

Have a look on the site at the complete range of made to order rings and there is also another set of designs under the design your own diamond engagement ring section which can be delivered in 10 to 14 days.

We also offer a range of metals including gold, platinum and palladium.

Conflict Diamonds

You may have heard talk of conflict diamonds and are rightfully keen not to inadvertently buy a diamond ring classed in this way.

What are "Conflict Diamonds"

In 1998 it was discovered that UNITA, a rebel group in Angola was funding its war against a legitimate government by the control and sale of rough diamonds, these have since been known as "conflict diamonds" and rebel groups in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo also funded conflicts in this way. At its peak the trade in conflict diamonds was estimated to be less than 4% of annual rough diamond production and is now estimated to be less than 1%. But we believe that one diamond traded in this way is one too many, hence our efforts to get written assurances from all our suppliers that all our jewellery including our diamond solitaire and diamond eternity rings is conflict free. Also all the diamonds that have one of the certificates listed above are guaranteed by the laboratory not to come from a conflict diamond source.

I hope you have found our diamond ring buying guide helpful, if after reading this you still have some questions regarding buying your diamond ring then you can contact us through the site or call us on 01995606965.