To learn more and to avoid common costly mistakes read our detailed guide on shopping for a 3 carat diamond.
Best value diamond color clarity.
Best clarity for your money bottom line.
When si1 diamonds are the best value.
The best value color grade for round cut diamonds.
It depends on what you are looking for.
How diamond prices are calculated.
Pear diamonds show more color than many other shapes so color should be your priority.
The vvs1 diamond on the left vs the si1 diamond on the right.
An si1 or vs2 clarity grade will typically give you an eye clean diamond.
They are up to 40 cheaper than big box jewelers and their large selection lets you choose the exact cut and color you want.
For the best value we recommend a 3 carat diamond with color h and clarity vs2 which will cost around 35 000 50 000 depending on the shape.
Higher clarity diamonds are cleaner but this is visible under magnification.
The less body color in a white diamond the more true color it will reflect and thus the greater its value.
However in a white diamond the presence of a yellow tint will lower the price of a diamond.
James allen is one of the best places to shop for a diamond ring as they offer a wide selection of high quality diamonds and interactive 360 videos for you to see exactly what you are buying.
How diamond clarity affects what your stone looks like.
The pricing process becomes emotional.
To the naked eye a vs2 diamond for example looks as clean as one of a higher clarity grade.
Above you could see a d colored diamond on the left and a g colored diamond on the right.
Depending on where you shop prices could fluctuate wildly.
For instance the price difference between a diamond of vs2 clarity color h 1 carat and that of vs2 clarity color g 1 carat is 1000.
The most popular color grade for round cut diamonds is the g color which is very closely followed by the h color.
So what is the best diamond clarity rating for your purchase.
A 3 carat diamond can cost anywhere from 20k to 200k.
Here s a breakdown of the shapes that will usually be eye clean at the si1 clarity grade.
Round cut princess cut diamonds.
Right the difference is hardly noticeable.
Look for a pear shaped diamond that has a clarity grade of si1 or si2 for the best value.
Gemologists use sophisticated tools including 10x magnification to determine the clarity of diamonds but most of us simply look at it sparkle to determine which diamond clarity is best.
When it comes to choosing clarity you will get the best value by picking a stone graded vs2 or si1.
But the price difference of the identical vs2 f and 1 carat and a 1 carat g vs2 is only 500.
Could you see the difference.
In order to the get the best value you should check out online retailers like james allen.
Diamonds come in a variety of colors some of them highly prized pinks blues even yellow.
Typically the more sparkle the diamond has the higher it rates on the clarity scale.
