Diamonds are not cheap. Especially if you want real, hand cut, authentic gems. It is common knowledge that a man spends two months of his salary on his bride-to-be’s engagement ring. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got rent, tuition, food, and other needs that I need to be working and paying for. And I am sure that all of the men out there have these obligations as well. It takes a lot of saving and frugality to work up to an investment like a diamond ring. But there is also a way for the every-day frugal person to get a diamond ring that isn’t as spendy as a two-month’s salary. These diamonds are real, yet they contain more authentic blemishes such as inclusions and exclusions, lower color grade, lower quality. But they are no Cubic Zirconia either.
Genuine Gems for Less
Photo by stevendepolo
When you are looking to buy a real diamond for less, the carat, cut, color and clarity will most likely be within a certain range that will differ depending on where you shop. When buying affordable diamonds, the buyer makes sacrifices between the 4 Cs. If he wants less color, it may be a smaller carat to get within the price range. If he wants a premium cut, he may have to sacrifice the diamond being near colorless instead of colorless. You give some and you take some when buying affordable diamonds.
The Carat weight of an affordable diamond will pretty much always be less, unless the other qualities of the diamond are low grade. Carat is one quality of a diamond that usually has a pretty heavy influence on the price of the diamond.
The Cut grade, ranging from preferred as the lowest, to premium and then hearts and arrows, will most likely be in the preferred range when buying a cheap diamond. This preferred diamond cut grade means that the symmetry of the diamond lets in less light, thus giving the diamond less brilliance. A properly cut diamond will bend the light that enters the diamond so that it returns through the top of the diamond, giving it that sparkle and shine that is most desired. The cut grade is honestly up to the buyer’s preference, and the brilliance cannot be strictly tagged to a scale from preferred to hearts and arrows. Whatever is appealing to the buyer in terms of cut grade is what is important.
Photo by Jenny Downing
In terms of Color it is easy to get a colorless diamond, which is more valuable, for a reasonable price. The reason that colorless diamonds are so highly valued is because the less color there is, the wider spectrum of colors that the diamond catches, which increase its brilliance and fire. The scale of color goes from colorless to near colorless to faint yellow to very light yellow to light yellow. A diamond with an E color grade is very attainable for an affordable price.
The Clarity of an affordable diamond varies greatly, depending on the other qualities of the diamond. The clarity ranges from the lowest of an FL all the way up to an SI2. But for an affordable diamond that is not quite two months worth of salary, around a VS1 clarity which is in the middle range of the scale, is an affordable option without having to sacrifice color or cut grade.
What is considered affordable is up to the buyer, but these are some guidelines to follow so that there is no confusion on what you are paying for when you buy cheap diamonds. I wish you well in your bargain hunting!
