Diamond buying guide - Find the best quality diamond for your budget

UPDATED:

An easy step by step tutorial for those who want only what is best!

Everyone has an approximate budget in mind for that special ring!

If quality is your priority, please note that you may have to compromise on the diamond´s size to get the best quality stone in your budget.

Note: How to read a diamond card?

Before getting started, please familiarize yourself with our diamond cards. They display the stone´s most important information: Carat, Color, Clarity.

Diamond card best quality
  • 0.45 CT - refers to the carat weight of the diamond. The higher the carat weight, the bigger the stone.
  • E - color grade. The closer to the letter D, the whiter the stone.
  • VVS - clarity grade. FL (flawless), IF (internally flawless) and VVS (very very slightly included) are the highest clarity grades. The higher the grade, the purer the diamond.

Note: the cut grade is not indicated in our diamond cards but most of our diamonds have an excellent cut grade. You can always open the GIA diamond certificate of each diamond to double-check its cut grade.

1. Step 1: Set your desired budget range

Example: 1.000 – 2.000 euros

2. Step 2: choose the best quality attributes in the filter

The quality attributes of a diamond are its color, clarity and cut.

  • Color: for best color, select "D,E,F" in the filter

Our filter groups diamonds with a D, E and F color in the same category because they all are colorless - in other words - EXTREMELY WHITE.

Expert tip: No need to go for a D color. An F diamond will look just as white and could save you a lot of money.

  • Clarity: for best clarity, select "F, IF" or "VVS" in the filter

The clarity determines how pure a diamond actually looks like. When a diamond appears to have "stains", the clarity grade is low.

For best clarity grade, choose "F" (flawless) / "IF" (internally flawless) in the filter. We grouped both of them as they actually look the same. Moreover, actual "F" flawless diamonds are almost impossible to find. The filter will most likely display only "IF" graded diamonds.

Expert tip: Downgrade the clarity grade to "VVS" (very very slightly included). Only a diamond expert and a 10x magnification can see the difference between VVS and F/IF graded diamonds. They are also less expensive than F/IF diamonds.

  • Cut: check that the cut grade is "Excellent"

We offer many different cut grades for a range of budgets.

If you choose a "D,E or F" color and an "F,IF" or "VVS" clarity, you will most definitely have a diamond whose cut grade is also the best: "Excellent". You can always double-check it by opening the GIA certificate of the stone you are interested in.

3. Step 3 - maximize the size (if possible)

It is very likely that only one size (or carat weight) will be available for your budget if you go for the color and clarity grades mentioned above. But not always...

Sort out the available stones by "Biggest Diamonds First".

You might be lucky enough to have smaller diamonds (ex: around 0.25 ct) and bigger ones appear (ex: around 0.50 ct). If that is the case, we always suggest going for a bigger size!

You haven´t found what you are looking for?

Get expert assistance! Write us at office@mydiamondring.com to let us know what your requirements are and we will come back to you shortly with suggested diamonds!

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