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).
0.32 Carat Diamonds
The shallowness of a diamond, which depends on how the diamond has been cut, will affect the relationship between carat weight and diameter of the diamond - because of this reason, 0.32 carat diamonds will only average a width of 4.44 mm, but will not always be precisely this width.
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Another property of the diamond which is important in determining how big the diamond will appear to the naked eye is the girdle thickness of the diamond. A thick girdle well store a lot of the diamonds mass in a place which does not help the diamond appear large. How big a diamond appears does not scale linearly with the carat weight of the diamond, which catches many people out.
Odd carat weights are carat weights which don't form round numbers, for example 1.97. Often diamonds with odd carat weights are quite a bit cheaper than diamonds with round number carat weights. If you're considering a number of gemstones, not just diamonds, bear in mind that different types of stone have different densities, so a one carat diamond may appear quite different in size to a one carat emerald.
Profits on the exchange are the treasures of goblins. At one time they may be carbuncle stones, then coals, then diamonds, then flint stones, then morning dew, then tears. Lope de Vega .
If you're in a diamond store and you see a diamond with its carat weight marked and it looks wrong, don't hesitate to ask, and walk away if they won't give you a straight answer.
First-time diamond buyers who are in a hurry often just focus on the diamond carat size, which is a big mistake - other properties such as the clarity of the diamond are important in getting a diamond which is attractive not just in terms of its size, but also its appearance.