How to pick the perfect diamond.

A well cut diamond is designed to reflect light that enters it through the crown/table, down to the pavilion, and then back up through the crown/table, this is how you get a quality sparkle. The more symmetrical a diamond is, the better it will be at doing this. Symmetry is pretty easy to spot if you look closely enough, the sneaky thing gem cutters do that is less noticeable is the depth of the diamond itself.

The Basics

There are four important factors when it comes to picking out the perfect diamond, these factors are known as the four C’s, Colour, cut, clarity, and carat weight. These four characteristics of a diamond are all you need to know to make an informed decision on the type of diamond you are wanting to purchase. (For those who just want my recommendation for the perfect diamond without knowing how I got there, section titled “The Perfect Diamond!”).

Colour

Colour (or lack thereof) has the strongest influence on price besides carat weight. We are going to be focusing on colour as it pertains to trace amounts that cause undesirable discoloration. Stronger hued “fancy” diamonds are another topic entirely, which I may touch on in the future.

Colour in diamonds is ranked on a scale from D to Z. These letters can be further broken down into three categories

. Colourless (D-F) Near Colouless (G-K) And noticeable colour (L-Z). Since we are not dealing with fancy coloured stones, the further down the scale you go, the more…