The Diamond Buying Guide

Beauty of diamonds magnetizes people to have this amazing gemstone. There are hundreds of diamond jewelers both online and offline and you can purchase perfect one according to your penchants and budget. But you require proper knowledge about diamonds before you make a deal. These days, market is full of fake diamonds and there are great chances to lose your hard earned money for such phony diamonds.

Before making a diamond purchase one must know the 4 C's first; carat weight, diamond clarity, diamond color and diamond cut. Other advanced characteristics of diamonds include diamond fluorescence and diamond enhancements. By understanding what all the diamond characteristics are and what to ask when purchasing a diamond, you are much more empowered when it comes time to make your diamond investment.

Cost:
When looking to buy a diamond, first determine what your price range or COST is. One commonly asked question is how to figure the prices per carat of diamonds. The price of a diamond will reflect rarity factors as well as overhead expenses of the seller. Some rarity factors depend on size (larger is rarer than smaller), clarity (less imperfections are more uncommon), color (colorless is less frequent) and cut (good proportioning gives greater brilliance).

Clarity:
The CLARITY of a diamond describes the inclusions or imperfections in the stone. Items such as carbon spots, clouds, take away from the overall value of the diamond.
It is extremely rare to find diamonds without inclusions. Diamonds without any inclusions are called flawless. The fewer and smaller the inclusions are, the less likely that they will interfere with the passage of light through it, making the diamond more beautiful.

Color:
The COLOR of a diamond can range from while to yellow to brown. The whiter the diamond, the scarcer it is and, therefore, the more expensive it is. Most diamonds, even though they appear to have no color, actually have slight tones of yellow or brown. The difference from one color grade to the next can be very subtle, but affect its value tremendously. As the color becomes easier to see, the less rare and valuable the diamond becomes.

Carat:
The size of diamond is given in CARATS. The word "carat" originated from a natural unit of weight: the seeds of a carob tree. Diamonds were traditionally weighted against these seeds until the system was standardized to one carat at one-fifth of a gram. The carat is divided into 100 "points". So, a 25 point diamond weighs a quarter carat.

So it is vital to put diamonds under following test before you buy diamond jewelry. With the help of fog test you can find out whether the diamond is real or fake. Hold the diamond and blow some air from your mouth on it. If the diamond is real then the fog will vanish instantly. But on a fake diamond, the fog will stay for few seconds.