How to Choose Your Diamond

Finding the right diamond is anything but an exact science. Since buying a diamond for the first time can be a thrilling but anxious experience, how can you be sure you're making the right decision? It all starts with the right education.

Long's Jewelers has a unique philosophy that starts with the 4Cs - Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat - but also includes the little known 5th C: Certainty.

At Long's Jewelers, we'll teach you how to evaluate diamonds so you can be certain that you are making the right decision.

Cut

A well-cut diamond acts as a prism, splitting white light into a brilliant rainbow of colors. Because you want a beautiful diamond, avoid stones that are cut too deep or too shallow because they maximize size rather than light performance. We at Long's are passionate about cut because cut has the biggest impact on beauty, and we believe in showing only beautiful diamonds.

Color
Diamonds with less color are rarer and therefore more valuable. At Long's, our standards of color are very high and we typically carry diamonds within the D - J range on the GIA color grading scale. The difference between each color grading is very, very slight to unaided eye, and a well-cut diamond can appear to have less color than it actually does.

Clarity
The clarity of a diamond describes the inherent characteristics or birthmarks of the stone. While flawless diamonds are the rarest, a diamond does not have to be flawless in order to be stunning.

Carat
Carat is the measure of a diamond's weight, not size, and two 1-carat diamonds can look very different based on the cut of the stones. Diamond cutters are given the opportunity to cut a diamond as big as they can to maximize weight or as beautiful as they can to maximize performance. The trick is to find the right balance of carat weight and cut that works for you. Did you know that a 1ct and a 3ct diamond can look exactly the same from the top?

Certainty
The 4Cs give you a basic understanding of diamonds but are oversimplified. The 4Cs act like a compass pointing you in the right direction rather than a map leading you to the right diamond. At Long's Jewelers, we believe there is only one way to be certain: Get an education that includes learning how to trust your eyes. Remember, she won't be wearing a diamond certificate on her finger; she'll be wearing a beautiful diamond ring.

If you have researched diamonds and engagement rings online, you may have noticed diamonds with identical 4Cs selling at prices that range by 30% or more. How can that be? The diamonds are in fact different. Glance at the certificate and you'll see important terms like symmetry, polish, table & depth percentage, fluorescence, girdle and culet measurements and more. These factors greatly affect the beauty and value of a diamond.

Be wary of jewelers who concentrate only on the basics. At Long's Jewelers, we'll teach you to evaluate diamonds so you can be certain that you've made the right decision. At Long's, we encourage you to take as long as you need but we also can help you move quickly through this process.

We invite you to make an appointment to learn more at any of our stores or to start exploring rings right now by visiting our diamond education section of our website. Please call Judd at our Burlington location at 781.262.5835 with any questions you may have.