Purchasing Diamond Earrings

The Right Cut

Cut describes how the diamond has been shaped and polished from its rough stone to final gem. Cut guidelines are set to reflect the maximum amount of light. The most common diamonds, called Round brilliant, are cut to these specific guidelines. Shape refers to a diamond’s ability to return and scatter light when viewed from above. A round brilliant has 57 facets, 33 on the crown or top half, and 24 on the pavilion or lower half. The thin unpolished middle is called the girdle.

Size Measured in Carats

A single carat is approximately 200 milligrams or .007 ounce. Price per carat fluctuates depending upon availability and increasing size. Prices are published weekly by Rapaport of New York. Total carat weight (t.c.w.) describes the total diamond weight in a piece of jewelry containing more than one diamond. The weight of the diamond you purchase may vary, actually weighing in at an amount more or less of its specified weight. The Federal Trade Commission has strict guidelines about the range of carat weight.

Clarity

Clarity describes a diamond’s internal structure. Inclusions are internal defects such as foreign material crystals, another diamond crystal, or structural imperfections like tiny cracks. Overall clarity is affected by the number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions. Inclusions are visible to a trained professional’s eye when a diamond is viewed at a 10x magnification.

Only 20% of all diamonds have a clarity rating high enough for use as gemstones. In these most have inclusions visible to the naked eye. Those diamonds lacking visible inclusions are known as "eye-clean" and preferred by buyers. Some visible inclusions are sometimes hidden under settings. Grading of diamonds is done on a scale ranging from Flawless to Imperfect.

Diamond color can detract or enhance its value

A perfect but extremely rare gem-sized diamond that’s transparent with no color is called a white diamond. Diamond color is affected by chemical impurities or structural defects in its crystal lattice.

Diamonds with higher color grades are rare and more expensive. Bright yellow diamonds are one example. Other colored diamonds are even more valuable, like the Hope Diamond. Intense coloration commands the highest prices. Combinations of a variety of impurities and structural imperfections create different diamond colors including yellow, pink, blue, red, green, brown, and other hues. These diamonds are sometimes labeled "fancy" by the diamond industry.

Diamond earring settings and designs

Diamond earrings are usually set in white or yellow gold or platinum. Twenty-four karat gold is purer than 18 karat gold and more expensive. Pierced ear earrings usually have a clip or a wire that holds the earring to the ear. Studs are the most common and least expensive because of the simplicity of style. Hoop and huggy styles are variations of ‘ring’ designs. Other fancy styles may include varieties of “danglers.” Factors that affect price are workmanship quality, intricacy of design size and the number and size of diamonds in the setting.

Warranties

Get a warranty for the earrings you buy and a certificate of authenticity for the diamonds used in the earrings preferably from Gemological Institute of America or the American Gem Society. Not all jewelers are honest. And sometimes even honest dealers have been fooled by gold and rough diamonds they purchased, thinking they bought higher quality that what they received.

Where to buy

• Tiffany’s
• Blue Nile
• Zales
• Daniel's Jewelers
• Sparkle N Dazzle Co.
• Yahoo Diamonds
• Helzberg Diamonds
• The Diamond Exchange
• Costco

More Related Jewelry and Watches Articles

• Diamond Bracelet
• Diamond Necklace
• How to Buy a Diamond Ring
• Diamond Wedding Ring
• Buying An Engagement Ring