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).

What Does a 0.18 Carat, Princess Shape Diamond Look Like on a Hand?

Carat weight doesn't mean much until you see it in context - this page provides a hand as "context" for the apparent size of a 0.18 carat size diamond of princess shape. A princess shape stone with a carat size of 0.18 is usually about 3.2 mm long on the side, although this can depend on the depth of the cut. In order to provide you more of an idea of what the picture is showing, the ring pictured is a size six in the US sizing system, which is the same as an L 1/2 ring size in Britain or Australia.

Some advice for how to use the information on this page is to initially narrow down your size range, and then to go into stores and actually try a few different sized princess shape diamond rings on, armed with this prior knowledge. Fingers can vary in terms of their apparent width and breadth, which should factor in to your decision about what shape and size of diamond to get.

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There's no need to freak out if diamonds and the dollars involved are getting you down; since a diamond will most likely appear bigger on a woman's hand, the diamond size you need may be smaller than you think.