Carat Flawless Engagement Ring

7 carat diamond (not flawless) and worth 400 K

Carat Flawless Engagement Ring

Diamond Engagement Rings - An Introduction   by Mark Johnson

Each person who looks at diamond engagement rings, will go through the same difficult line of thought concerning where to purchase the ring, how much to spend on it, and which style to buy. Imagine if you were in a position to buy and expensive car, and told that this one vehicle would be driven the rest of your life. This puts it into perspective. It is therefore worthwhile spending a little time doing your research to determine the best style of diamond engagement rings, the most sensible budget that you can afford, and the right time to make the purchase.

First of all, a little about diamonds. Rather than go into enormous detail, we are not going to delve deep into a lesson on the scientific attributes of diamonds, but instead we are going to concentrate on the most important aspect of diamond engagement rings, and provide a brief insight into selecting the diamond. All diamonds are graded for their colour, or degree of whiteness; their clarity, or presence of natural marks within the stone; their cut, how well the diamonds have been cut to best handle light passage; and finally their carat weight.

Diamond colour grades run from D colour, this being the whitest possible colour that a diamond can possess. Everything up to J will be a gradually reduced shade of white, but below J, it will be possible to see a tint of yellow gradually strengthen as you move further to Z. Our advice for anyone wishing to gain a white diamond, without a premium for the highest colour, is to opt for anywhere between G to I colour.

Next week look at the clarity grades. These begin at IF, or Internally Flawless and all grades up to and including SI1 clarity will be clear to the naked eye. Below SI2 clarity, small marks are apparent until the very worst clarity I3 or P3 is reached. Since P3 is officially the lowest clarity, it is common to find diamond graded P3, that vary in quality, which has led some retailers to invent their own clarity grades for engagement rings, possessing diamonds graded below this, such as P4, P5 etc. This however is one end of the clarity scale you do not want to consider due to the very heavy inclusions present. As a compromise, and to ensure avoid a premium for the best clarity grades, whilst gaining a clear diamond, perhaps consider SI1 clarity.

Now, we will take briefly about styles of diamond engagement rings. First of all you have the classic diamond solitaire. This can be any diamond shape, but this literally means "one diamond" within the ring. Many simple designs exist, ranging from the more traditional cathedral style settings, to more contemporary four claw engagement rings.

Elaborate designs exist ranging from twisting shoulders, to diamond set surrounds. A nice complement is to choose delicate diamond set shoulders either side of a single diamond. This keeps the simplicity for diamond engagement rings, whilst providing interest with further diamond embellishments.

Multiple diamond engagement rings are now popular with three stone rings, four stone rings, five stone rings, and even diamond clusters remaining popular choices. By dividing the carat weight between multiple stones, the price of the diamond ring will be much less expensive than the same diamond weight with just one stone. Always worth considering if you are looking for that magic 1ct diamond weight without the solitaire price tag.

So to summarise, we need to consider the diamond colour, clarity, cut and carat weight which will determine the value of the diamond. This is the most expensive part of your ring, but the design itself will take a great deal of consideration also. Online retailers and information sites provide a wonderful opportunity for research nowadays and well worth the time and attention to study some information on diamond engagement rings, before considering a purchase.

About the Author

Mark is Managing Director of Serendipity Diamonds, based in Hampshire, England. A small and friendly company working to exacting standards with an emphasis on providing a responsive personal service.