So you’ve decided to pull the trigger on a purchase but realized that like most of us, you have a limited budget. That means you’re in the unfortunate position of having to do research and find the best value possible for your dollar. Fortunately for you, there are a couple of ways to get a bigger rock.
Buy a lower clarity
Any diamond accessory you get will sit on you or the one you’re giving it to. That means nobody will really notice the clarity of a diamond unless it’s shown up close. One example would be your fiancée showing off her ring to her friends and co-workers.
With that in mind, you can use your own judgement and decide how flawless or how large you want your diamond to be.
From Flawless to Included (visibly scratched):
- FL
- IF
- VVS1
- VVS2
- VS1
- VS2
- SI1
- SI2
- SI3
- I1
- I2
- I3
At Stention, we’ve concluded that VS2 is the sweet spot for clarity to the naked eye which is why we only sell VS2 and above diamond jewelry.
But don’t take our word for it. If you’re at a physical store, have them bring you various clarities to decide which looks most acceptable for the price in your view. Maybe your standards are different from ours.
Skip the platinum
Platinum bands are beautiful but they’re also more expensive. Ask yourself, are you buying the band or the diamond?
If you’re buying the diamond then you can always get a jeweler to replace the band later. Don’t like the gold color? Go for the white-gold option. They tend to be the same price as gold.
Buy a cut that looks bigger
The last 2 options aren’t working for you? don’t worry, we have one more for you. How about optical illusion?
Obviously, in terms of weight, 1 carat is 1 carat but it doesn’t always seem that way. Different cuts have varying heights and widths which can make the same weight look larger on something like a ring. Refraction from the shape can also make a ring look bigger just from how much it radiates light on a silver colored band. So which cuts look biggest?
From smallest to biggest looking cuts at the same carat weight:
- Princess
- Round
- Emerald
- Oval
- Pear
- Marquise
But what about the other cuts?!
We don’t know, we haven’t had our hands on those personally to check. Again, this is what we’ve witnessed personally at Stention so if you’re at a store, you could have them show you side by side in order to fully appreciate the difference in size the shapes make.
Buy multiple smaller diamonds
If you’ve looked at all the options and are still not quite satisfied with what’s available, we suggest changing the approach altogether.
One last option is to buy a smaller diamond that’s surrounded by multiple small diamonds to make it look better. One great example would be to compare how our one of a kind 0.93 carat diamond ring with 0.28 carats of smaller diamonds looks next to our 1 carat solitaire. What you’ll notice is that the smaller diamond is of a higher grade than the single rock solitaire while adding 10 encrusted diamonds to the look for a lower price.
Final Considerations
A diamond may be forever but it doesn’t have to be your only one. If you’re looking to propose, give a graduation gift or reward yourself, it doesn’t have to be the last one you give. Circumstances change, finances change. But if you keep showing love, you will get another chance to give a better gift.