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).

3.00 Carat Diamonds

Each point in a diamond's weight is worth 2 mg, so a 300 points diamond weighs 600 mg.

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Something that can catch out men searching for a diamond for an engagement ring is forgetting to take into account where the diamond will eventually be displayed - on a woman's hand, which is usually quite a bit smaller than a man's hand.

A woman wears her tears like jewelry. Unknown Author. .

Image of 3.00 Carat Diamonds

You can trade carat size for diamond rarity by doing something like choosing a pink diamond. If you do this, perhaps you'd like to consider putting in a bid for the darya-ye noor diamond which is the largest pink diamond the world, or 182 carats of it. To get it, you'd have to go to iran however..

A major rookie mistake in buying a diamond ring is to get the total diamond weight (tdw) and the weight of the centre diamond mixed up - make sure you don't make this mistake. So how good do you think a 10 carat diamond which looks a horrible uneven black colour would appear on an engagement ring? Exactly - diamond buyers need to also consider other properties such as the colour of the stone, which is not picked correctly can negate any attractiveness of having a very large diamond.

Go to 2.98 carats | Go to 2.99 carats