Stop for a moment and consider something. You’re after an engagement ring. And you’re probably after a Diamond. You may have heard that it’s important to make sure it’s a good grade, and that the higher the grade, the better. But have you considered why you might think so?
DIAMOND MARKETING
The money spent on the marketing of Diamonds is eye watering. A vast amount has been spent trying to fool you into spending more than you really need to. The way that Diamonds are graded is part and parcel of this.
Here at Gemporia, we want to cut through the marketing hype, and explain how you can get a stunning Diamond without paying a small fortune.
SHOULD I WORRY MORE ABOUT CARATS OR CLARITY?
A lot of high end jewelers will say that you should get the very best Diamond grade, and then get the biggest Diamond that you can afford. But for most people, this will mean that they won’t get a very big Diamond at all.
However, we think that for the majority of people, the most eye catching engagement rings are those with the biggest Diamonds. So clearly, there has to be a compromise between the size and the quality of the Diamond.
HOW DOES DIAMOND GRADING WORK?
When you look at Diamond grading, you need to think about Color and Clarity.
CLARITY
Clarity is on a slightly complicated scale, which may seem daunting at first…
The most important consideration is that these grades aren’t judged with the eye, they are judged under 10x magnification. You cannot see any difference between the top four grades to the eye, and so there is no point splashing out on the very top grades. For this reason, we recommend an I1/I2 clarity Diamond. You may see one or two tiny blemishes if you look extremely closely.
COLOR
Color is on a scale from D-Z. ‘D’ is the highest grade, and most expensive of all.
Only a very highly trained professional grader would be able to tell the difference between a D-F graded Diamond and a G-H graded Diamond. Unless you are comparing them side by side, it is impossible to see a difference between these grades. For this reason, we usually recommend a G-H color Diamond.
HOW DOES THE GRADE AFFECT THE PRICE?
If you choose a G-H I1 Diamond rather than the highest grade possible, you should be able to buy a Diamond around twice the size, with very little difference in quality, and have change left over! That is how big the difference is in price between the very top Diamond grade, and a grade that will look virtually identical to the naked eye.
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