Diamond Engagement Rings
Making an informed and knowledgeable purchase is the most important part of buying any piece of jewelry. Our goal is to explain exactly what you are getting so that you are completely comfortable with your purchase. If for any reason you have additional questions or are interested in a product you do not see on our website, we encourage you to contact us.
Diamond 101: Lesson One - Cut
Cut refers to the proportions, finish, symmetry, and polish of the diamond. These factors determine the fire and brilliance of a diamond. Well-cut diamonds sell at a premium and poorly cut diamonds sell at discounted prices.
The most common diamond sold at Leslie Jewelers is a round brilliant cut, which has 58 facets. Since the quality of the cut is directly responsible for the stone's beauty, the precision with which the facets are arranged is of prime importance. Cut is therefore the most important factor in choosing your diamond because how a diamond is cut determines the amount of light reflected to the eye, making your diamond stand out from others.
Diamond 101: Lesson Two - Color
Color describes the amount of color the diamond contains. This can range from colorless to yellow with slight tints of yellow, gray or brown. The diamond color grading scale assigns an alphabetical letter to each diamond. This letter grade reflects the amount of color in each stone and therefore affects the price of each diamond. A colorless white stone ranges from D – F and near colorless white stones range from G - I.
Diamond 101: Lesson Three – Carat Weight
Carat is the unit of weight for the diamond. A carat is subdivided in 100 points (0.01 carat = l point ) the same way there are one hundred pennies in one dollar. The value per carat increases with carat size because larger rough diamonds occur less frequently in nature. This means that 2 half - carat diamonds taken together will not cost as much as a one-carat diamond, because the one-carat stone is rarer.
Diamond 101: Lesson Four – Clarity
Clarity describes the clearness or purity of a diamond. This is determined by the number, size, nature, and location of the internal (inclusions) and external (blemishes) imperfections.
The clarity scale is broken down into the following grades:
Symbol |
Meaning |
Definition |
F |
Flawless |
Free from all inclusions or blemishes. |
IF |
Internally Flawless |
No inclusions visible at 10x magnification. |
VVS1 |
Very Very Slightly Included #1 |
Inclusions that are extremely difficult to locate at 10x. |
VVS2 |
Very Very Slightly Included #2 |
Inclusions that are very difficult to locate at 10x. |
VS1 |
Very Slightly Included #1 |
Minor inclusions that are difficult to locate at 10x. |
VS2 |
Very Slightly Included #2 |
Minor inclusions that are somewhat difficult to locate at 10x. |
SI1 |
Slightly Included #1 |
Noticeable inclusions that are easy to locate at 10x. |
Sl2 |
Slightly Included #2 |
Noticeable inclusion that are very easy to locate at 10x. |
I1 |
Included #1 |
Obvious inclusions. Somewhat easy to locate with the unaided eye. |
I2 |
Included #2 |
Obvious inclusions. Easy to locate with the unaided eye. |
I3 |
Included #3 |
Obvious inclusions. Very easy to locate with the unaided eye. |
At Leslie Jewelers we have been selling diamonds since 1975. Visit our store to see our large selection of diamonds and let us help you chose your perfect stone.
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