Finding Your Sweet Spot for Diamond Size and Quality

A question we get asked often is what color, clarity and cut is the best? The truth is that there is not just one right answer. Not only will the answer be different for every diamond shape, it will also vary based on someone's personal opinion and the way you perceive diamond quality to your eye. The main goal for your diamond is to maximize your budget. Maximizing your budget entails balancing the size, color, cut, clarity, and shape to be the best it can be without over spending. In general we don't believe you should work in extremes by focusing on just one category and over-sacrificing on another. Here are a few tips we suggest for you to aid you in the diamond selection process:

1) Do not devote your entire budget to get the biggest diamond only to forget about quality. On the flip side, you don't necessarily need to spend on getting the highest quality diamond like a D Flawless when you can get something equally nice with a slightly bigger size. It may sound good on paper to know you have this type of quality but it may not be distinguishable to you in person. It is all about balancing each category and making everything come together harmoniously that truly makes you happy!

2) An extremely colorless diamond that is heavily Included and imperfect to the unaided eye (cloudy, hazy, visible dark spots) that can be seen without magnification isn't going to benefit you much and will be noticeably flawed to yourself and others. Think the low end of GIA certified "included" range which normally has eye visible imperfections. If it is hazy or milky it will not have that sparkle factor while those with large black inclusions on the table will be very distracting to the eye.

3) A strongly yellow tinted diamond that is flawless may not be a good way to maximize your budget either because the color in the stone might dull the overall appearance and once again detract from its beauty. However, if you like the warmer tones of a lower color diamond this can actually make a nice option.

4) The cut, or make, of a diamond is perhaps the trickiest aspect to consider. Having grades of excellent in both polish and symmetry sounds great on paper but will not necessarily mean the diamond will have a great shine to it. Other factors to consider are how well spread out it is (especially for fancy shapes) because you want to avoid diamonds that are too deep or too shallow and find the ones that will have the largest face up appearance without sacrificing on the brilliance and sparkle.

So when all is said and done what diamond quality DO you recommend? This truly depends on the person!

We have many clients who come in and are very sensitive to color. They can spot a diamond that is low in color right away when compared side by side to a more colorless diamond. This person should balance their diamond by getting a higher color, bigger size, and opting for the Slightly included clarity range, granted the imperfections cannot be see without magnification once mounted in the ring.

Now there are also engagement ring shoppers who automatically say they want a diamond that is VS and better. In most instances, this is because they want a diamond that is "mind clean" and not necessarily "eye clean". Meaning, they want to know for certain in their head there are minimal imperfections even if they will never see them with their eye.

After looking through hundreds of diamonds weekly I have seen SI2 diamonds that look like VS2 and have even seen VS2 diamonds with an eye visible imperfection. Although this may not be the norm, we stress that every diamond is not created equal and that each person is going to pick up on the imperfections in a different way.

Finding the right diamond is about figuring out what is most important to you and not what any person or website says you should, or must have. Flexibility is key. That is why we highly stress having a diamond expert like one of our advisers at Lauren B help you select something that will be a perfect match for you. All of the nuances of a diamond are difficult and impossible to tell just from the certificate alone. At the end of the day you are not wearing the certificate, you're wearing the diamond, and the most important thing is that you should love the way your diamond looks regardless of it's grade! Because we take up close HD videos of every diamond everything about the diamond is magnified so you can really see each nuance.  Click here to see our exclusive loose diamond video gallery on www.laurenb.com

On the next blog post we will give you some general size, color, clarity and cut recommendations broken down by each specific diamond shape. Stay tuned!

Click here to submit your diamond request form or email us at info@laurenbjewelry.com so we can match you with the perfect diamond today!