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Heart ShapeThe modified brilliant-cut heart shaped diamond is a unique and unmistakable symbol of love, popular in solitaire pendants as well as rings. Heart shaped diamonds less than .50 carats may not be a good choice, since the heart shape is more difficult to perceive in smaller diamonds, especially after they are set in prongs.
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Marquis Shape
The marquise cut diamond is a football-shaped, modified brilliant-cut. Because the marquise diamond is long and narrow, it can also create the illusion of greater size. Carat for carat, the marquise diamond has one of the largest surface areas of any diamond shape, making it a good choice when trying to maximize perceived size.
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Oval Shape
Because the oval diamond is a modified brilliant-cut (like virtually all round cut diamonds), the two diamond shapes possess a similar fire and brilliance. However, oval cut diamonds have the added advantage of an elongated shape, which can create the illusion of greater size.
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Pear Shape
The modified brilliant-cut pear shaped diamond is a combination of a round and a marquise shape, with a tapered point on one end. Ideally, a pear shaped diamond should possess excellent or very good symmetry. The point should line up with the apex of the rounded end. The shoulders and wings (the upper and lower curves on the right and left side of the diamond) should form uniform, symmetrical curves.
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Princess Shape
The princess cut diamond, first created in 1980, is the most popular fancy diamond shape, especially for engagement rings. Like round cut diamonds, princess cut diamonds are a good choice for their flexibility in working in almost any style of ring.
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Round Shape
The round cut diamond is the most popular diamond shape, representing approximately 75% of all diamonds sold. Due to the mechanics of its shape, the round diamond is generally superior to fancy shapes at the proper reflection of light, maximizing potential brightness.
DIAMOND BUYERS CHECKLIST
1. Learn as much as you can about Diamonds!!!
2. Decide which properties of Diamond are most important to you. Write down, in order of importance, which of the 5C's you care most about: Cost, Carat, Color, Clarity or Cut. Most people want BIG. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But we'd like you to be aware of what you may be giving up in exchange for a big stone. When we show people two stones with similar properties, one a bit smaller with a better cut and the other a bit bigger, but not as good a cut, they will usually prefer the better cut. If you find a Jeweler who will be willing to show you the difference, it may be worth your time.
3. Go to Jewelry Stores and get the market price for the type of Diamond you are looking for. Look at the quality of the stones they are quoting you. Note, please make sure when comparing prices that you compare apples to apples. This is actually very hard to do. For example, minor differences in cut, in proportions can have a severe impact on a stone's price and beauty. A most important point to remember is not to compare the price of a certified Diamond with a price of a Diamond which is not certified, or is only certified by a no-name brand Laboratory. You may be in for a surprise.
4. Ask for a certificate. There are several Independent Laboratories out there. The most well-known is GIA, the Gemological Institute of America. GIA has done a great service by providing the public a metric to compare Diamonds and Diamond prices from different suppliers / jewelers / dealers. Nonetheless, if you don't know the rules of the game, even this won't help you. For example, you should be aware of the differences between an appraisal by a G.G. (GIA Gemologist) as opposed to a GIA GTL Certificate. Read more about it in "Certificates vs. Appraisals". Beware of no-name brand Laboratories, no-name brand Certificates and no-name brand Appraisals. You may wind up with something "less" than agreed upon. There are respectable non-GIA Laboratories out there. For example, EGL, the European Gemological Laboratory. Please note that EGL has several Labs all around the world, each is independently owned, and may have different procedures and even grading. If you have any doubts, feel free to post a message in DiamondTalk.com where a fair number of Jewelers and Appraisers hang out..
5. The Rapport Diamond Report (Rap Sheet). There is a standard report of Diamond Prices known as the Rap Sheet. This officially lists high wholesale diamond prices in the NY market. The reality is that usually wholesalers speak to each other about prices in terms of the percentage discount to the Rap Sheet. How much of a discount to Rap? It really depends on the quality of Diamond you are looking for. On the wholesale market, Diamonds of some qualities are sold at a deeper discount to Rap than other qualities. There are market fluctuations which change according to supply and demand. The best way to know prices for the specific Diamond you are looking for is to shop around for a Certified Diamond of a quality range you desire, within your budget.
6. Look for corresponding Color and Clarities. In other words, don't buy a High Color/Low Clarity or High Clarity/Low Color Diamond. In a similar vein, why pay a premium for an Ideal Cut Diamond, and then accept a lower color and clarity? You pay a serious premium for getting say an E Color Diamond. What's the purpose of paying that premium and then buying an SI2 Diamond? Why not go down a color or two and increase one or
7. Is it safe to buy a Diamond on the Internet? Good question. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If you make sure you know who you're dealing with, it can be. Just because you found a good supplier on the Internet, it doesn't mean you can't make an effort to visit them in person. Of course sometimes distances make it impractical. In those cases you have to judge for yourself if it's safe to do business with them. If you do decide to take the risk, make sure that you only buy a certified stone, and make sure they offer a guarantee that if you don't like the stone after viewing it, that you can return it. By the way, buying a Diamond "off" the Internet is not necessarily safe either.