You’ve been dating for a while. You really love this woman. You’re ready to take the next step and ask her to be your wife. This is a logical thought process when you’re ready to make the move towards marriage. And for many men, the next thought will be… how do I pick an engagement ring?
Or perhaps you’re already married but didn’t have the means to buy a quality ring the first time around and now you’re ready to upgrade.
Now lets be real, when most people look at the ring, they’re not starting at the band. They are staring at the diamond, that beautiful, glimmering, shimmering, rock. And hopefully, your bride-to-be/spouse hasn’t been desensitized due to reality TV and too many hip hop videos.
We want to make sure you come out like a winner by making sure you know what to look for when you go to select a diamond ring. Below we’re sharing the 4Cs of selecting a diamond; carat, clarity, color and cut. Follow me….
Carat
Whenever someone gets engaged on TV one of the first questions we hear is, how many carats is it? Carats denote the weight of the diamond, not the size like some people may believe. A carat is divided into 100 points i.e. 1/4 carat is equal to 25 points, 1/2 carat is equal to 50 points.
Note: Larger diamonds are more rare and therefore hold more value. For example, a 2 carat diamond will be worth more than two 1 carat diamonds. Click here for more info on Carats.
Clarity
Did you know that every diamond has it’s own fingerprint? Most diamonds have blemishes on the surface and/or inclusions which are found inside of the diamond that were created during their formation. A diamond with better clarity is more valuable and worth more money naturally. The most common grading system for diamonds comes from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and has ranges from Flawless (Shows no inclusions or blemishes of any sort under 10X magnification when examined by an experienced grader. Extremely rare) to Included (Contains obvious inclusions. Visible without magnification.)
Note: Clarity is important when it comes to determining your diamond’s value. Don’t automatically choose the larger diamond. Determine which grade your diamond carries. Click here for more details on Clarity.
Color
Another quality that effects the quality of the diamond that you’ll choose is it’s color or more specifically the lack of color when examining a white diamond. Colorless diamonds allow more sparkle than you would find in an off-white diamond because more light is able to pass through. The more colorless the diamond, the more rare and of course the more valuable it is. Like Clairty, Color is also graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) with letters ranging from D (completely colorless) to Z (light yellow).
Note: Colored diamonds like yellow, pink, blue, brown, etc… are the exception to this rule. These diamonds may hold a higher value because they are rarer. Click here for more info on Color.
Cut
The key factor to how diamonds appear is how they sparkle. And one of the biggest determining factors to a diamond’s sparkle is it’s Cut. The Cut is the only component of the 4 C’s that is determined by human hand, when a skilled diamond cutter attempts to reflect the maximum amount of light through the diamond and back out through the top of the gemstone.
Note: Cut can also refer to the shape of the diamond. Click here for more info on Cut.
This brief overview of the 4Cs hopefully will begin to arm you with more information to help you with picking out the right diamond ring whether it will be her first ring or an upgrade. You can’t go wrong when you pick a quality diamond.
For more information on the Diamond 4Cs and to start designing your own engagement ring, click here to visit Shane Co.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Shane Co. The opinions and text are all mine.