Things to Consider when Buying Diamond Jewelry

June 22, 2010 by cattleto
Filed under Diamond Tips

Diamond jewelry is the definitive ornamentation of the human species. It is something that will take you beyond the sphere of time. It is a timeless classic embellishment which can never go out of vogue. Diamond jewelry will always be the benchmark when it comes it all kinds of jewelry. With that said, when looking to buy diamond jewelry, it is always important to keep some factors in mind. First is the history of the diamond, second comes the shape of the same.

Basically, diamonds come in a wide gamut of shapes. In fact, they are the most varied category of gems when it comes to shapes. Diamond jewelry featuring amazing center pieces come in round, heart, emerald cut, marquise, pear, oval, radiant, princess, and trillion. Those come as accents are available in baguettes and tiny rounded shapes while popular earring will usually feature princess cut or come rounded.

The most common diamond shape however is the round brilliant as many people believe that it is the most ‘ideal cut’ and helps accentuate the most sparkle and brilliance in a piece of diamond. The round brilliant design further allows the piece of jewelry to conceal imperfections and flaws. However, advancement in technology has made other shapes of diamond jewelry just as brilliant e.g. the trillion and princess cuts. As such, it would be very rare to find an ‘ideal cut’ today when talking about diamond jewelry.

The next consideration is the diamond carats which can simply be described as the unit of measurement used to measure the weight and size of loose diamond pieces. Clarity of a diamond piece is another consideration which can simply be described as the clearness of a piece of diamond. Be advised that the most valued diamonds are those which are ultra clear. Generally, when looking for diamonds, you should buy those ranging from grades FL to S12 and as for the stones, those ranging from VS1 to S2. These are the best as they are affordable with minimal inclusions.

The color of diamond is another important consideration to make wherein the most valued pieces are those that are colorless or near colorless. The Cut too has a significant role to play wherein a poorly cut diamond looses light through the bottom and sides hence you shouldn’t expect any radiance. In diamond jewelry, the diamonds are set in different kinds of settings. Some of these settings commonly used in diamond jewelry are-

Bar – Some metal bars which securely help hold all loose diamonds pieces in a channel-like setting
Prongs – whereby a number of prongs hold the pieces together to allow light pass through with no interference
Invisible – whereby a piece of diamond is set in a furrow with no visible prongs
Chevron – these are V-shaped prongs that normally hold a princess-cut or marquise cut diamond in order to hold solitaire shaped rings
Bezel – where the metal holding loose diamond pieces together is customized to fit around the diamond i.e. cupping the metal in its right place
Channel – a lineup of tiny diamond stones set in a furrow in the diamond rings
Pave – small stones are entrenched to like the piece of diamond has been paved with loose pieces.

Even though diamond jewelry is known to be the hardiest jewelry on earth, even the strongest of them will succumb to a hard blow and end up chipped and ugly. If good care is taken though, rest assured your piece of diamond jewelry will outlive you.