There are several elements in choosing the best diamond. They pertain to the quality of the diamond. The general topics to look into before purchasing a diamond are cut, clarity, carat, and color. There can be other factors in the diamond you would like to buy. For example, where it comes from; there are always stories in the news about the poor conditions for mine workers. Some people are conscientious about the plight of their fellow man and would not like to buy a stone from a mine where the workers are not treated well or are put in danger.



There are also nice alternatives to the mined diamond. There are many man made diamonds on the market today that are very comparable to the mined ones in the overall look and only an expert can really tell the difference. These synthetic diamonds can be much cheaper and serve the same purpose. The man made diamonds can have the same brilliance and fire of a real one and it is impossible to tell the difference with the naked eye.

The aspects of selecting a diamond are very personal. It is determined by the purchasing and what is most pleasing to them. The cut of the diamond is one of these personal determinations. Some cuts are not appealing to everyone, for example, an emerald cut has the least facets and brilliance, and some people would prefer to have the shinier round cut. This is the first thing to think about when purchasing a diamond, what type of cut you would like the best. There are 13 different shapes that diamonds are cut. A few examples are: round, princess, heart, teardrop, emerald, and marquis. The question of cut can also be determined by the use of the stone and the intended recipient.

The color of the stone is determined by how far it is from clear. The clear diamonds are considered the best because they reflect the most light. There are some jewelers who might try to trick you with the use of lighting or background colors that can make a colored diamond appear to be clear.

Clarity is the overall clearness of a stone. There can be major flaws in a diamond and these are usually cheaper because the flaw is noticeable to the naked eye and they don't reflect as much light. There are some jewelers who use a laser to eliminate some these flaws or inclusions but when they cut into the stone it can be weakened.

Carat describes the weight of the stone, since stones are so light it is hard to weigh them with conventional methods. A carat is considered the standard weight and anything less is weighed by the point. So a diamond that is .50 is a half of a carat.