Making The Most Of A Diamond Color Guide and Our Recommendation for James Allen

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Buying a diamond is a serious financial decision. Regardless of the circumstances motivating you to buy a diamond, be it an engagement, a wedding, or just to make a piece of jewelry for another occasion or to show someone you love them, you need to be careful in your diamond selection process. Even though you are buying a diamond, you don’t actually have to spend an arm and a leg to get a good stone for your needs.

Some factors that go into the choice include what color stone you want and hDiamond Engagement Ring on Handow you are specifically going to use it. Diamonds are typically thought of as white diamonds, but you can find pinks, yellows, and even blues. However, most diamond purchasers are looking for white diamonds, and so this article discusses some of the diamond color guide considerations that go specifically into that decision. For most people involved in the diamond business, cut of the diamond is the most important characteristic, but the color of the diamond follows closely after as the second-most important consideration in terms of stone selection and price.

In terms of white diamonds, after cut, the price consideration comes down to how much (if any) yellow color is within the diamond. A totally white diamond reflects all colors and appears pure. As such, these diamonds are highest in price, but not necessarily the best stones to buy, as a diamond color guide has some sweet spots for efficiently price-pointed stones.

The Official Color Scale

Most of the diamond industry uses a scale called the GIA scale, which has its origins in a nonprofit organization. Not all diamonds are certified by the GIA organization, but most diamonds are measured on the GIA scale. If you visit or consult more than one diamond dealer, you’ll likely notice the same scale in use, which simplifies things for you as a buyer.

This diamond color guide basically assigns all ‘white’ diamonds a letter grade ranging from D to Z. Stones labeled D, E, as well as F all are “colorless,” while G and H, as well as I and J are all “near colorless.” K-, L-, and M-grade diamonds feature faint color.

N through Z stones have very detectable color, and so many dealers do not even deal with them due to lack of demand. If you find these stones in a retailer, only consider them if they are extremely cheap, as they should be!

Your intended setting of the stone matters greatly in deciding between colorless or near colorless diamonds. Since D through F stones are purely colorless, mounting them in or on yellow gold would actually betray their clarity and waste the diamond. Such stones should only go in platinum or white gold settings.

On the other hand, K through M stones are fine in a gold setting because they are already slightly yellow. A select few individuals find the yellow to be too much, but most people think they are still beautiful, so it’s a judgement call. However, a K diamond with a slightly noticeable tint can be had for around half the price you’d pay for a G stone!

Remember the mention of a sweet spot in pricing? It’s usually in the G, H, I, and J range. These stones technically have a little color, but usually only gemologists can tell for sure. Expect prices to drop from 10 to 20 percent every letter grade you go down, and with the abundance of I and J stones in the marketplace, these are often the best overall value. A diamond in this range, properly set, might look like a D-grade stone but only be half the price!

If you want to make the most out of your purchase, prioritize the cut over the color and keep the mounting always in mind. A great rule of thumb is that G or H stones are good choices for anything 1 carat or greater, and I or J diamonds are awesome selections for anything smaller.

Buying with James Allen

Also keep in mind that the cut of the diamond impacts how much color it actually reflects. Lower color grade diamonds, like the K range, can still reflect a lot of sparkle and shine if they have a round cut instead of a step cut. This can be a way to get a larger carat stone at a discount.

We actually found that James Allen might currently be considered one of the best diamond sellers because you can actually really see all diamonds in full HD videos in 360°. It basically looks like this:

Diamond Search at James Allen

Just be sure to read about other peoples’ experiences with James Allen. This way you can avoid the most common mistakes! My Diamond Ring Journey is a diamond blog that is dedicated to dealing with all kinds of questions related to diamond buying. Diamonds are a minefield especially for newbies so that it is always good to have someone around who has gone the path before you! When reading James Allen reviews you will quickly see whether diamond shopping online is something for you or not!

Choosing the right color of diamond is essential because stones are usually used for pieces of jewelry designed to last a lifetime. In cases like wedding rings, this is a truly momentous decision to get right. Also, color is increasingly important as you look for larger carat stones, as more light is passed or reflected. Now that you have read this article, you should be able to use a store’s diamond color guide to guide you through their selections and make the choice that is right for your situation, intentions, and budget.

What Is The Most Important Of A Diamond’s 4Cs?

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Diamonds are forever, or at least this is what the most important players in this industry want us to believe. Nonetheless, since they are for ever, we have to be very careful when shopping around for the best diamonds we can afford. It matters less if you want an engagement ring or an anniversary present or you are just seeking for a profitable investment, as diamonds can be the perfect choice in many such situations. Whatever the reason you need a diamond for, you have to study the influence of each of the 4Cs on the quality of the stone, in order to be able to find the best possible option.

First of all, you need to understand that the 4Cs are the factors that determine a series of further properties of a diamond such as brilliance, scintillation and symmetry. The 4Cs stand for carat weight, cut, clarity and color, each of them being measured on a specific scale with multiple grades. Each of them matters, but the most important of all is the combination between them, as the beauty of a diamond is rather an optical illusion than a mix of perfect features. You can obtain a perfect diamond to fit into your budget, but you have to be able to perform a thorough comparison of multiple gemstones, in order to find the one that shines more brilliantly than all others in the same price range.

Diamond Basics

Diamond ColorThe carat weight is the measure of a diamond’s size. The bigger it is, the more expensive the gemstone. Nonetheless, very small variations in diameter can provide buyers a great saving opportunity, as a viewer can’t see the difference with the naked eye, while the price difference can be huge. Many people prefer to choose a smaller carat weight, so that they can put more money against other features such as clarity and cut.

The clarity is a measure of the diamond’s purity. The more flaws and inclusions a gemstone has, the lower its clarity. However, it’s worth mentioning here that flawless diamonds are extremely rare, so you shouldn’t even think about getting one. Besides, you don’t need such a high level of purity, as diamonds graded SI1 or SI2 can also appear perfect to the naked eye of the untrained observer. Only experts can detect such inclusions and imperfections, and only under 10x magnification. If your goal is to find a gorgeous engagement ring for the love of your life, you may be just fine with a slightly included gemstone.

The cut is another factor that determines how a diamond looks. It is extremely important, because it is directly related to the path of the light through the stone. A perfect cut will give the gemstone its brilliance and scintillation that can attract all the looks. On the contrary, a poor cut may make even a diamond with great clarity and color grades appear foggy and dull, as the light reflects the wrong way. Remember that what our brain sees is always a reflection of the light on the surfaces it comes in contact with.

This is why we can’t see any thing in the dark. Our eyes work like this, and this is the reason why the cut is probably the most important element of a diamond. A good cut leaves room for lowering the clarity grade, thus enabling you to find a better looking stone for less money. Beware though, the cut has nothing to do with the shape of a diamond. It represents the precision with which the facets are polished and cut, so that they are perfectly symmetrical and they form the best angles for a perfect brilliance of the gemstone.

Don’t look for perfection!

Brilliance and Light ReturnSuch perfection may help hiding various inclusions, making them invisible to the naked eye. However, since these inclusions do exist, they determine the clarity grade of the diamond, and therefore its market value. At similar clarity grades, two stones can have huge differences in the way they look, due to their cut grade alone. This is why you should rather compromise on clarity, carat weight and diamond color than on the cut of a diamond.

The clarity is a measure of the amount of imperfections and inclusions of a diamond. It has its own grading scale. The flawless gems are extremely rare, thus being also insanely expensive. There aren’t too many people in the world wealthy enough to offer their fiancee an engagement ring featuring a flawless diamond. However, the lower grades are also good, as Very Slightly Included and Slightly Included stones can also look impeccable, yet cost only a fraction of the price of a flawless one.

The color is a measure of the white transparency of a diamond, and it also has its own grading scale. While it is also important, the color is more a matter of personal preference than a sign of good quality. Some people prefer a slightly yellowish color, as these stones look awesome in a yellow gold mount. As a matter of fact, the white diamonds on top of the scale should only be mounted in white gold or platinum. Mounting them in a yellow setting would spoil their charm, as they are going to borrow the yellowish reflections from the metal. Make sure to read all James Allen complaints before making a purchase though.

In conclusion, if you want to be a smart shopper, you have to know your evaluation tools very well. By learning as much as you can about the 4Cs, you are going to be able to know when to prioritize some of these Cs over the others, in order to find the best diamond within your budget. If you don’t feel you can master these concepts, you should probably ask a diamond grading expert to help you pick a good stone. These professionals can recognize an excellent gemstone when they see it, so they can help you achieve your goal of getting the best value for money. If it’s true that diamonds are forever, you should be ready to put some effort into this research. The reward is going to be worth the pain, that’s for sure. Go to this Social profile to stay up to date on the latest diamond developments.

A Primer On Diamond Color

Posted on by fushbu41

Diamonds are widely regarded as the most beautiful and also among the most valuable of the precious stones found in this world. Often used as the expected stone for weddings and marriages, a number of factors determine the value of a specific diamond. These factors include shape, cut, and size. The geographic origin of a diamond is also an influence, as there is a marketplace demand for conflict-free diamonds, or diamonds mined in ethical or sustainable manners.

The GIA Color ScaleHowever, despite all this, one single influence that has tremendous impact on price is the diamond color. And this is something that is actually quite elaborately established. Those not familiar with diamonds might assume that they are all white, clear, or crystal in color, but this is truly not the case. There is in fact a spectrum of diamond colors, ranging from light color to colorless, and in each of these ranges, there are often multiple subsections of diamond classes available.

The GIA Color Scale

The majority of the diamond industry and its sellers and dealers measure diamond clarity and color using the GIA scale. This is named after GIA, a nonprofit organization that is not owned either in full or partially by any businesses in the diamond industry. The GIA laboratory group is the trusted and objective independent authority in the world for professionally measuring diamonds, and even businesses that do not get their rocks GIA certified often use GIA scales and methods to determine measurements.

Diamond color possibilities run the spectrum. Most of the diamonds on the market are colorless or nearly so, as that is the demand of consumers, however some specific colors are actually quite cherished too, such as pink diamonds, blue diamonds, and yes even yellow diamonds. On the other hand, a consumer looking for a white diamond will not want even a hint of yellow, so a little color can truly tarnish the price of a diamond.

Diamond Color SamplesThe reason laboratories are used is not just to impress consumers. In fact, the actual color of a diamond is often impossible to detect with the naked eye under normal light. In today’s high tech world, the precision with which color can be measured is incredibly detailed and accurate, and so the market spread of prices is equally diverse and accurate.

GIA diamond grades often come on two different scales. Colorless through light color diamonds are graded using letters D through Z. All diamonds on the D-Z scale are considered to be white diamonds, even if they have a little bit of color. A different scale is used for fancy diamonds that predominantly have other base colors, like the aforementioned blues, pinks, and yellows. Since most of the diamonds in the marketplace are white ones, the rest of this article discusses the D-Z scale of diamond color. Other colored diamonds are typically specialty items that have to be specially requested or custom ordered, so if you see these in jewelry or diamond stores at high prices, be wary.

Colorless and Near colorless Diamonds

Colorless DiamondThe letters D, E, and F are reserved for truly colorless diamonds. There are minute differences between them, but they are typically only noted by a trained gemologist doing comparisons between multiple diamonds. If you ever purchase a D, E, or F diamond as a piece of jewelry, or with the intention of making a piece, consider that these should only get set in white gold or platinum. Anything yellow is going to be reflective of colored light, which will prevent the colorless effect of D-F diamonds.

Near colorless diamonds usually prove to be a better bang for your buck. These are typically graded G through J, and also work great in settings of platinum or white gold. I and J diamonds in particular are useful, because they are far more common than D, E, and F stones. While prices on the marketplace vary, you might find a J diamond for half the price of a D variant, but with no noticeable difference to the naked eye.

Faint color diamonds are rated K, L, and M, and this is where a slight tint of color is actually visible to an unaided or untrained eye. The tint is usually yellow, so setting them in a yellow gold often works well, and a K rock is typically half the cost of a G stone.

N through R stones are listed as very light color, but are often hard to find due to lack of demand. Light color stones listed as S through Z are also only available through custom ordering through most dealers due to low market value and demand.

Now that you know a few things about diamond color, you won’t be overwhelmed if a diamond dealer starts talking about the GIA scale, you’ll know what is going on and what price points are going to bring you value that really shines. It is this king of knowledge with which you can save money on diamonds.