A diamond is one of the largest purchases most people make after their home and car. Just as with any major purchase, you must understand exactly what you are purchasing, and what makes diamonds that may appear similar, have greatly different values.

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has established a standard system for grading diamonds, commonly known as the four C's. This grading system judges a diamond by four distinct factors: Cut, Carat, Color and Clarity. This system is the best way to assure the quality and value of a diamond. It can only be accurately applied when the diamond is loose.

IDEAL DIAMOND has added two more C's to the buying process: Confidence and Customer service.

When choosing a diamond, consider the following:
 
 

	Know the four C's of the diamond you are looking at to ensure that good quality comes with a fair price.
	Select the Cut or shape that pleases you. The proportions of the diamond will determine its brilliance.
	As for Color, the difference in ratings is very slight, however, variance of only one grade can change the price by 10% or more.
	Regarding Clarity, most diamonds have some blemishes and inclusions. Choose diamonds that hide these imperfections down deep in the stone or where the imperfections are to the side and can be hidden by prongs or bezels. Always inspect the diamond before mounting.
	Get a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certificate or a European Gemological Laboratory (EGL) Certificate of the diamond you are buying. This ensures honesty and sound investment.
	Get a life time warranty. If you want to upgrade your diamond after couple of years be sure to have the option of getting your full money back. IDEAL DIAMOND gives such a warranty.

Diamonds are fashioned into a number of shapes, depending on the nature of the rough stone. The eight most popular shapes are round, marquise, pear, oval, emerald, princess, radiant, and heart.

A well cut diamond is beautiful because it's very brilliant. Of all the variables affecting the value of a diamond, the cut is the most crucial.

The choice is largely a matter of personal taste. Whatever your preference, a well cut diamond is the work of a master diamond cutter, since it is the cut that enables the diamond to reflect light, creating scintillation and sparkle. When a diamond is well proportioned, light is reflected from one facet to another and dispersed through the top of the stone as rainbows of color.

Every diamond regardless of its shape gets it brilliancy and scintillation by cutting and polishing the diamond facets to allow the maximum amount of light that enters through its top to be reflected and dispersed back through its top.

A correctly cut, "Ideal cut" stone is pictured in diagram 1. As you can see if the angles are correct the light that enters is dispersed properly back through the diamond's top facets. When a stone is cut too shallow (diagram 2) or too deep (diagram 3) the light that enters through the top is allowed to escape through the diamond's bottom and does not allow the maximum beauty of the diamond to be realized.

Carat is actually a measurement of weight, NOT size. However, it should be relative to size. One carat is divided into 100 points. 1.00 ct is equal to .20 grams. Two diamonds of equal quality can have different values depending on their cut, color and clarity.  Carat is the easiest of the 4 C's to determine. One carat is divided into 100 "points," so that a diamond of 75 points, for example, weighs .75 carats, 50 points weighs 1/2 carat etc. Fine quality can be found in diamonds of all carat weights. If a diamond is cut for beauty, and not maximum yield in weight, it is more desirable than a heavier weight and lumpier stone, and will have the appearance of a larger stone.

Diamonds are found in a range from colorless to yellowish, and judged according to a color grading scale from "D", which is totally colorless through "Z" which is vivid yellow. It is the colorless diamond that is most valued because it is the most rare. The difference between one color grade and another is very subtle, particularly to the untrained eye. Although increasing shades of yellow reduce the value of a diamond, they do not necessarily reduce its beauty. If a diamond is well cut, its refraction and dispersion of light will often disguise certain degrees of coloration. The average stone bought carries an I or J grading for its Color. In addition to diamonds listed from D to Z, there are twelve other colors called Fancies, and as the name implies, they are expensive.

Most diamonds contain tiny natural birthmarks called inclusions. Most are not visible with the naked eye but can be seen with 10X magnification. Inclusions interfere with the dispersion of light and therefore the diamond's brilliance. The fewer and smaller the inclusions, the rarer the stone and higher the price.

While inclusions do not generally affect the diamond's beauty and usually cannot be seen, their presence reduces the price. Clarity is graded on a scale with a range from internally flawless (IF), very very small inclusions (VVS1-VVS2), very small inclusions (VS1-VS2), small inclusions (SI1-SI2) to imperfect (I1-I2-I3) with eye visible inclusions. 

When you buy your diamond or jewel from IDEAL DIAMOND, you have a life time FULL money back guaranty ! You are buying absolutely risk free. You can't get this kind of warranty anywhere else. 

IDEAL DIAMOND has been in the diamond business for many years. We are proud of our excellent  reputation. Unlike others, we are not interested in just selling you a diamond. We are looking forward to having you as a regular client for all your jewelry needs. If it is for your diamond ring, tennis bracelet, diamond earrings or diamond necklace, we would love to help you in each step of the way. 

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