Question 1

What Should I Look for When Buying a Loose Diamond?

Accepted Answer

Most high-quality diamonds are sold loose, not already set in a ring. That's because when you buy a loose diamond, you have more choice: you can get exactly the shape, size and quality you want.

You can then set your loose diamond in the exact engagement ring or jewellery design you want in your exact size. It's one of the few times in your life that you can commission exactly what you want.

Today you have thousands of loose diamonds to choose from online. And, thanks to online jewellery specialists like RockHer, you also can create engagement rings from scratch, either from an existing design tailored to your diamond or a unique custom engagement ring design.

Buying a loose diamond doesn't have to be complicated, but you do have many choices to make. Here is a buying checklist that will ensure you end up with the right loose diamond for you.

Make Sure the Diamond is Certified by GIA or AGS

It's impossible to shop for loose diamonds without an accurate assessment of diamond quality. To make sure that you know what you are getting, you must choose a certified diamond with a grading report from the Gemological Institute of America or American Gem Society Laboratories, known as GIA and AGS.

Choose Your Shape

The first step to finding the best loose diamond for you is choosing a shape. The brilliant round shape is the most popular. It has a classic look you've seen in a thousand solitaires. Thanks to GIA and AGS cut grades. Round brilliant cut loose diamonds are also the easiest diamonds to buy. If you choose a round diamond with an excellent cut grade from GIA, popularly known as an ideal cut, you're sure to own a beautiful and well-crafted diamond. You can also buy an even better-cut diamond: a glowing round hearts and arrows diamond that demonstrates superior light performance when evaluated with a viewer.

Set Your Budget

The next step to finding the right loose diamond is setting your budget. How many thousands of dollars are you prepared to spend? (You can buy a nice half-carat diamond for less than a thousand, but most people who are shopping for a loose diamond have a budget measured in thousands, not hundreds.

Be Responsible

Make sure you buy your loose diamond from a company that demonstrates a commitment to responsible sourcing. The diamond industry should go beyond it, sourcing diamonds directly from rightsholders and mines whenever possible. And we also believe your jewellery should be crafted from recycled gold and platinum too.

Question 2

Why Choose a Diamond for an Engagement Ring?

Accepted Answer

Many people steer towards a diamond engagement ring out of convention and modern tradition. As a result, diamonds have become synonymous with engagement rings.

There are many reasons why people do choose a diamond for their engagement ring. The following are just the reasons why some people prefer a diamond.

Hardness – A diamond will withstand wear, retaining the faceting and high polish for a lifetime. For this reason, many antique diamonds are re-circulated to this day, and some are even re-cut into better-proportioned versions. The eternal nature also reflects upon the symbolic permanence of a couple's relationship. A diamond ring will also withstand everyday wear to a greater degree.

Fire – Few stones have the exceptional fire produced by a diamond. When proportioned to give a very good or excellent cut, the round brilliant makes fire and brilliance as light refracts and reflects out of the stone.

Value – Diamonds trade on a worldwide market and carry very specific values. Both rough and polished diamonds will have an intrinsic value. Once cut and polished, a diamond's value lies within four factors. The colour (or whiteness), the clarity, the cut, and the stone's carat weight. Although there are levels of value (trade, retail selling price and value for insurance), a diamond will keep its value, will not perish, will not decay. For some, investing in diamonds proves far safer than investing with a financial institution.

Price – For some, the cost of an engagement ring itself represents a gesture of commitment. Whether the ring purchase comes out of finance or saved for, many feel that the modern tradition of purchasing a valuable engagement ring is an important part of expressing commitment, partnering for life.

The neutrality of Colour – This might not seem an obvious reason for a diamond ring, but worn every day, with a full range of clothing colours, a white diamond will be neutral to a certain extent against a varied wardrobe of colours.

Combined with the whiteness of Platinum, Palladium or White Gold, regardless of the value, sentiment and purpose, the ring remains an accessory worn daily. Just like the colour of metal, which becomes a consideration, the colour of the stone should be well considered.

Question 3

How to Tell If a Diamond Is a High Quality?

Accepted Answer

When your significant other has that ring on their finger, the quality is a reflection of the entirety of your time together. That ring encapsulates the entire history you have with them, and it should shine as brightly as your marriage will. However, it can be hard to tell at first glance if a diamond is real or how high its quality is.

We've broken down a few steps to help the untrained eye in knowing if your diamond will have the right sparkle:

GIA CERTIFICATION

The easiest method is to see if the diamond is GIA-Certified. It should have come with an official GIA certificate, and some even have the GIA number inscribed on them. The certification was developed partly because it is so hard to tell the quality of a diamond from a glance, and most of us aren't exactly specialised in determining a gem's brilliance.

CARAT WEIGHT / SIZE

Size is the easiest visual indicator, and weight can be accomplished with a scale. The price of a 1-carat diamond will be significantly more than, say, a .75 carat. However, it's important to consider all 4 C's, as they call them. Carat Weight, Color, Clarity and Cut. We'll view these below.

COLOUR

The idea with the colour is diamonds is simply this: we don't want any. Colour takes away from the quality of the diamond, and specific colours can hurt the brilliance more than others.

For example, brown and yellow tinges are common, but red colours will significantly decrease a diamond's value. There are special cases where they can increase the value, such as red diamonds, but these are rare. In general, unless you're shopping for a member of the royalty, you'll want as little colour as possible.

The GIA Certification uses a colour scale as follows. As mentioned, the goal is to be as close to (D-J) as possible:

Light (S-Z)
Very Light (N-R)
Faint (K-M)
Near Colorless (G-J)
Colourless (D-F)

CUT

Contrary to popular belief, the cut does not refer to the actual shape of a diamond. Therefore, terms like "princess diamond" and "pear" do not refer to cut.

When diamonds are cut, the cut needs to be performed in a certain way that lets light escape properly. This is very important because poor cuts can refract light differently and dampen the brilliance of your diamond.

We could go into brightness, scintillation and a bunch of other terms, but to keep it simple: if the diamond gives a bright, "sharp" appearance, then the cut is generally high quality. When viewing the diamond, make sure there is good lighting in the room or area you're in. A good diamond can only reflect a good light source, and if it gives that sharp, bright shine, then you're likely looking at a nicely cut diamond.

CLARITY

Finally, we have Clarity, which is more difficult to judge with the naked eye. This is where you look for imperfections, inclusions, and other faults.

Chips, in particular, are important because they can make the diamond more prone to cracking and shattering. Diamonds are strong, but there are still forces that can ruin your gem under the right circumstances. Everyone, at some point, is going to bang their ring into something or scrape it against a wall on accident. The better the clarity, the less likely something bad will happen from that.

There are some obvious faults that an unaided eye can spot just by looking closely, but clarity is usually gauged under a gem microscope. This is another factor where GIA certification will make your life a lot easier.

Question 4

Which of the 4Cs Is the Most Important?

Accepted Answer

Diamond cut is the single most important of the 4Cs when it comes to physical beauty. Why? Because a diamond's cut determines how much it sparkles.

The number of facets, the angle, and the symmetry and alignment of the shape will affect how the diamond returns to light. And the goal of the diamond cut should always be optimal light return.

However, because diamond crystals are among the most valuable items on the planet, most diamonds cut in the industry today are still cut for weight retention at the expense of beauty.

Achieving an Ideal cut involves both art and science, and neither should be sacrificed. For example, some diamond cutters tailor the cut, so the carat weight stays above 1.0 carats. But this isn't always a good thing.

For each diamond, there are specific proportions that will make the diamond sparkle at its best. It is far better to have an Ideal-cut diamond that is 0.90 carats than a poorly cut diamond with 1.00 or 1.10 carats.

A good cut will result in a better sparkle. That's why cut is the most important of the 4Cs—if a diamond is poorly cut, no clarity grating, colour grading, or carat weight will make up for it. The diamond will look dull and glassy. When a diamond is cut to the proper proportions and symmetry, it will return light out of its top.

If a diamond cut is too deep, the light will leak out the side, and if a diamond cut is too shallow, the light will escape out the bottom. Ultimately, the precision of the cut affects the value of a diamond by 50% or more. Next to carat weight in a larger diamond, it is the most important value factor for a diamond.

When you look at a diamond, all you're seeing is its sparkle. And that's a result of expert craftsmanship.

Question 5

Which diamond clarity is best?

Accepted Answer

You should always go for the best clarity you can afford. When we talk about diamond clarity, it has to do with how many inclusions and blemishes are on the diamond.

The fewer inclusions and blemishes, the higher the clarity will be. Most people think that a high-grade diamond means it's flawless, but that is not true.

The clearest diamonds are those with grade VS2 or better because they have few to no blemishes or inclusions.

These are usually more expensive, though, so you should try to save up as much as possible before buying one!

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