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Though buying a house and a good car are of more practical importance,
few purchases are as crucial to the health of a relationship as the acquisition of the diamond. Men will therefore want to take this seriously and be informed on the ins and outs of the subject before laying out any cash. There's no hiding it: buying diamonds is an intricate affair, and many are rightfully apprehensive. Armed with the following basic knowledge, however, even a newcomer to the market can make intelligent decisions about diamonds that insure his investment is a wise one. Using a guide that offers information about Diamonds and Jewelry is fantastic. Further if you're looking for comparable information the Gift Depot's guide to Jewelry, Watche's and Rings is a great authority web site about fashionable jewelry. Though appraising diamonds is a job for the experts, understanding diamond quality is not difficult if you have a grasp of the infamous 4Cs---loose diamonds are graded on four scales for various qualities: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. Of these, the latter is probably the best-known to beginners. Carat, not to be confused with "karat" (which refers to the purity of gold), is a measure of the weight of the stone and is equal to approximately 1/5 of a gram. Since weightier diamonds tend to be larger, this is the most visible of the four categories. The larger the diamond, of course, the more valuable it is, but prospective shoppers should be advised that fewer than 1% of all women will ever own a diamond that is more than 1 carat. That being said, carat weight will make the first impression, and one should never buy his beloved a diamond that is smaller than the average in her social circle!!! Clarity and color refer to internal properties of the stone. Clarity is a measure of the internal flaws present (only one in millions of diamonds is truly flawless), and color is just what it sounds like. Though almost all diamonds are "white" (meaning they range from truly colorless to some shade of very faint yellow), it is possible to buy diamonds that are other colors, with red being the rarest. Buyers should be aware that subtle category variations here are not visible to the naked eye, but that color is generally more visible than clarity. Also, the seriousness of flaws in the stone is lessened if they are in the right place: at the bottom of the jewel where they can be effectively hidden by the right mount. Perhaps the most important aspect of a diamond, and the only quality that is the result of human skill, is the cut. This refers to the shaping and polishing of the diamond done by a human expert. A good cut assures that the light is reflected off of the various surfaces properly. No single other quality contributes more greatly to a diamond's beauty. Indeed, first-time shoppers are well advised to take cut more seriously than carat weight, as a poor cut is more visible in larger diamonds. With these categories in mind, it is not difficult to come up with a good strategy for how to pick a diamond. Balance the aspects that appeal to you according to their importance, and budget your purchase accordingly! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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