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Diamonds are a well-known, yet little-understood commodity. Armed with 1% of all there is to know about them you can make an informed purchase.
Buying diamonds has been shrouded in mystery ever since the DeBeers family monopolized the industry and invented the ingenious marketing campaign that captured the hearts of women everywhere, along with the wallets of their men. No longer. The secrets of the universe (of diamonds) will be revealed below. Try not to cover your eyes.
While the finer points can be a bit tedious and the scales slightly odd there are really only a few things to keep in mind. To begin, you should know the shape of the diamond you want. Looking down on the stone from the top, the "square" diamonds are "princess cut" and the round ones are "round" or "brilliant". A teardrop shape is known as a "pear" cut, "emerald" cut is octagonal, usually oblong, while "Marquise" is an oval with pointed ends. "Oval" and "Heart" cuts are precisely what they sound like. There are other cuts as well, but these are the most common.
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 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.
Be sure to shop around. Many department stores will have uncertified diamonds at "reasonable" prices. They are not good values for the money, so shop around.