Quick and Easy Buying Guide
Carat weight: 1 carat = 200 milligrams = 6.5 mm diameter. Doubling weight doesn't double diameter.
Diamond clarity: FL/IF/VVS/VS = super expensive, near perfect. SI = best value if you can check a photo for obvious inclusions (defects).
Color: D-G = colorless, expensive, only if you have money to burn. H-J = best value. Can go lower in gold metal settings than white metal.
Cut: Better cut ratings let more light into a diamond, making it sparkle more. Very important property, don't skimp here.
Set a budget and minimum cut (Premium). Go J color for gold and I/H for white metals. Go searching for SI1/SI2 clarity diamonds at James Allen. Pick a diamond with small/no inclusions. Choose a ring setting and buy it risk-free (60-day returns).
0.26 Carat Diamonds
If the diamond is described as being 0.26 carats in weight, it can also be described as being a 26 point diamond. If you're interested in the normal metric weight of a 0.26 carat diamond, it is 52 mg.
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The cost per carat value is a numerical number that provides you with a sense of how much the diamond is worth compared to other diamonds of similar properties.
0.26 carats specifies a certain size of diamond, but what about all the other properties of the diamond? Seasoned diamond buyers make sure to pay attention to all the properties of the diamond when the searching for that perfect stone, in order to make a balanced purchase which isn't just dominated by size considerations. One thing that surprised me when i bought an engagement ring, is how much bigger the diamond appeared on a female finger compared with when viewed alone.
Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect. Chinese Proverb .
Sometimes diamond searchers will switch to coloured diamonds in a quest to perhaps get a slightly larger stone, although coloured diamonds are not always cheaper than white diamonds. Huge coloured diamonds do exist, such as the red cross diamond, a 205 carat yellow diamond. In terms of diamond properties, the carat weight of the diamond should be considered alongside the many other characteristics of the diamond, in order to find a diamond which is balanced and hence not let down by being of poor quality in one of these departments.