| The average diamond engagement ring costs as | | | | "inclusion". All you need to know: SI1 or SI2 |
| much as several notebook computers, or | | | | represent the best value. The "slight |
| possibly a small car, yet many men know next | | | | inclusion" rating means the imperfections are |
| to nothing about how to make sure they don't | | | | obvious under magnification, but still |
| get ripped off when it comes time to tie the | | | | impossible to see with the naked eye. |
| knot. Luckily, although there is much to know | | | | |
| about diamonds there are only a few things | | | | Color is measured in letters which begin with |
| you need to remember, and I'm about to tell | | | | D, which stands for "Colorless" (don't ask). |
| you what they are. | | | | E and F are slightly less colorless to |
| | | | electronic color measuring equipment, but not |
| First, make sure you know the shape of the | | | | human eyes. G, H, and I are considered "near |
| diamond you want. The most common are | | | | colorless" and it goes on from there into the |
| "Princess" (which looks square from the top) | | | | yellows (and pinks, and more!). G is where |
| and "Round" which is also called "Brilliant" | | | | the best value is because it is technically |
| or "American" cut. Your jeweler can show you | | | | colored but appears colorless to anyone who |
| other popular cuts, but some of the ones | | | | isn't a color scanning machine built for |
| worth mentioning are "Pear", "Emerald", | | | | rating diamonds. |
| "Oval" and "Heart", all of which look pretty | | | | |
| much like what you would expect. | | | | You will notice I did not discuss "Carat". |
| | | | This is a measurement of weight and has |
| After deciding on a shape it's time to get | | | | absolutely no bearing on the quality of the |
| your hands dirty with the technical stuff. I | | | | stone. That being said, it has a LOT of |
| recommend looking at only GIA certified | | | | bearing to most girls hoping to wear one |
| diamonds so you can be sure of the quality | | | | someday. If you are one of the many men who |
| and compare different diamonds (and different | | | | feel the need to push your ring budget in the |
| prices) more easily. | | | | direction of rock-size then keep in mind what |
| | | | you've read above. No matter the size of the |
| We'll start with the most difficult factor: | | | | stone your best value will always be a GIA |
| Cut. And I'll start by telling you to ignore | | | | certified SI1 G stone. Just make sure the cut |
| it for the most part. Basically, if the | | | | isn't obviously too shallow or deep. |
| diamond is too shallow or too deep it will | | | | |
| affect how it "sparkles". Just make sure the | | | | Oh, and price around. There are three classes |
| diamond looks fairly normal and you'll be | | | | of diamond dealers, the most expensive of |
| fine. | | | | which is represented by department stores |
| | | | like Fortunoff, which carry a lot of |
| Diamonds, believe it or not usually have | | | | uncertified (read: low-quality) diamonds at |
| imperfections inside of them. These are | | | | prices near or at what a good quality rock |
| called "inclusions" and are measured on a | | | | costs. |
| scale of "very, very slight" to full-blown | | | | |