Diamond Wedding Engagement Rings: The Facts

Many men put off getting married for the obvious reasons, but some really just don't know how to buy a diamond. There is a lot to know about diamonds, but luckily you don't have to know all of it to make a smart buying decision. In fact, if you print out this article and keep it in your back pocket at the jeweler for reference, you'll probably do pretty well.

Firstly, select the shape of the diamond you want. The most common are "Princess" (which looks square from the top) and "Round" which is also called "Brilliant" or "American" cut. Your jeweler can show you other popular cuts, but some of the ones worth mentioning are "Pear", "Emerald", "Oval" and "Heart", all of which look pretty much like what you would expect.

After deciding on a shape it's time to get your hands dirty with the technical stuff. I recommend looking at only GIA certified diamonds so you can be sure of the quality and compare different diamonds more easily.

We'll start with the most difficult factor: Cut. And I'll start by telling you to ignore it for the most part. Basically, if the diamond is too shallow or too deep it will affect how it "sparkles". Just make sure the diamond looks fairly normal and you'll be fine.

Clarity is a measurement of internal imperfections within the diamond, often called "inclusions". FL or IF means Flawless, or Internally Flawless. VVS1 means a very, very slight inclusion (these diamond guys are real technical, you know?) and VVS2 is a slightly larger one. Both of those require high magnification to see the imperfection. VS1 and VS2 (very slight inclusion) are still difficult to see under 10x magnification and SI1 and SI2 are right on the border of "visible to the naked eye". If you're looking for your best value, SI1 or SI2 is it. After that it goes I1, I2, I3 which represent progressively larger inclusions which can be (in the case of I3) quite obvious to anyone who looks at the stone.

We often think of diamonds as colorless, but in fact many of them are not. Some are valued for their unique color, such as the fictional "Pink Panther" diamond of movie fame. All you need to know: Diamond coloration is measured on a scale of D to Z with D being completely colorless. The best value for your average diamond-buyer is F, G or H. F will always appear colorless to the naked eye (just not the diamond-measuring scope thingy), G is very difficult to tell and H is just slightly less colorless (but still difficult to tell).

You will notice I did not discuss "Carat". This is a measurement of weight and has absolutely no bearing on the quality of the stone. That being said, it has a LOT of bearing to most girls hoping to wear one someday. If you are one of the many men who feel the need to push your ring budget in the direction of rock-size then keep in mind what you've read above. No matter the size of the stone your best value will always be a GIA certified SI1 G stone. Just make sure the cut isn't obviously too shallow or deep.

Oh, and price around. There are three classes of diamond dealers, the most expensive of which is represented by department stores like Fortunoff, which carry a lot of uncertified (read: low-quality) diamonds at prices near or at what a good quality rock costs.