THE LEAST DIAMOND INFO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Time is short.

You’re busy.

You want to buy a diamond ring without a lot of fuss or technical know-how.

It’s a fact. Most guys do not want to learn all about diamonds.

They want to learn the least amount of info in order to buy a good looking diamond and that’s that.

In other words:

The bare minimum. Just the small amount of diamond information that you really truly need to learn.

It’s simple. It comes down to two topics:

Color and clarity:

You must know at least these.

Let’s look closer:

Color:

The color range goes from D-Z. D is the best color, Z is the worst. Most of what you’ll find on the market it E-K. The average color is H-I color. I usually recommend the colors of E, F, G or H. These colors are white, bright and will look stunning.

See the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) color chart below.

Keep in mind, this is the bare minimum. If you get a color between D-H you’ll be fine. Below that could be questionable. J color or lower could actually look yellow.

Most people do not want a yellow looking diamond.

Clarity:

Clarity is broken down into 6 categories:

• Flawless (FL)
• Internally Flawless (IF)
• VVS1 & VVS2 (Very, Very Slightly Included)
• VS1 & VS2 (Very Slightly Included)
• SI1 & SI2 (Slightly Included)
• I1, I2 & I3 (Imperfect)

The average clarity on the market is SI clarity or I clarity.

See the GIA clarity chart below

SI1 clarity is the range I would shoot for. SI1 or higher (like these diamonds here).

SI1 is a good looking diamond that has no eye-visible inclusions. Most people are quite happy with SI1 clarity, and if you put them side by side with a flawless diamond, they’ll look the same, unless you microscope them.

Any lower than that (SI2, SI3, I1, I2 or I3) will have inclusions in the stone that can be seen with the bare eye (either looking straight down in the stone, or from a side view). Be wary of these. Women don’t want to look at flaws the rest of their lives, so SI1 is recommended.

Anything higher than an SI1 (VS and VVS), will get you into some truly awesome, clean diamonds, but it will also get you into some very expensive diamonds.

The bottom line:

So, the bare minimum is SI1 clarity and G-H color or higher, like the ones shown below…

James Allen has awesome diamonds at awesome prices.

CARAT WEIGHT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERTIFIED	PRICE	VIEW
.75, SI1, G, EXCELLENT, GIA	$2,600	VIEW
.85, SI1, E, EXCELLENT, GIA	$4,300	VIEW
1.00, SI1, G, EXCELLENT, GIA	$5,400	VIEW

Last bit of advice:

Don’t buy a diamond if it’s not certified.

I recommend GIA (AGS at second best) only. Nothing else.

And, if you can, do yourself a favor: strive for a cut grade of “excellent” (like the ones shown above). An excellent cut diamond will sparkle and shine like crazy. :)

There you go…

That’s the least you need to know.

Now, on the other hand. If you want to learn more about diamonds, what to look for and how to save money, check out my diamond guide section here.

It can be very helpful.

Cheers! :)