Passenger side engagement: Choosing the right diamond

Passenger Side Engagement:  Choosing the Right Diamond
So, by now you have completed your snooping around on what style ring and shape of diamond she may like. You have also been in a couple of jewelry stores to speak with their gemologists, and completed some general research online.  Now, to the fun part!  

Selecting the right diamond is key to making the ring the one of her dreams, and the envy of her friends!  I suggest selecting the diamond first then the setting.  I like to do this for a couple of reasons.  

First, selecting the diamond is fun and educational.  The experience can seem overwhelming, but it is rather simple once the shape is chosen.  Secondly, choosing the diamond first will help with selecting the exact ring, and you can see the proportions of the diamond with the ring you are about to select.  Lastly, selecting the diamond first will allow you to focus on getting the best diamond for the budget you are setting for the ring.  

So...to the nerdy stuff!  Diamonds have been traditionally segmented to the 4C's.  You will see a lot of variance on people having a 5th C.  I think this can be addressed without confusing people with an additional C that changes of the website or jeweler.  The traditional 4C's are as follows:
Color 
Clarity 
Cut
Carat Weight

Color...The color of the diamond is determined by grading the diamond in filtered white light.  The diamond is turned upside down on white paper and examined.  The color ranges from D to Z with the letters of our alphabet, and get more yellow or brown as the color approaches Z.  D, E, F are colorless. G, H, I, J are near colorless.  The typical person can begin seeing color in the diamond while it is in the setting at I color or J color.  Some people are more tuned to variances in color and can see color in G or H. 

Clarity...The clarity is more complicated, but don't worry,  I will make it really easy.  Clarity begins with Flawless, and is grouped in four groups after.  VVS, VS, SI, and I.  Each of which have two degrees except for I which has three.  To make it easy and not too nerdy, if you would like a diamond and not be able to see the inclusion with the naked eye (commonly called eye clean) go for VS2 or better.  Many SI1 can be can be eye clean.  I recommend viewing each diamond with a loupe and locating the inclusions.  Please note...inclusions are just a characteristic of a diamond, and they will help with identifying a diamond as yours.  

For the nerds...the GIA clarity scale goes as follows: Flawless (FL), Internally Flawless (IF), Very Very Slight (VVS1, VVS2), Very Slight (VS1, VS2), Slightly Included (SI1, SI2), Included (I1, I2, I3).

Cut...The cut of the diamond is critical to creating the most amount of brilliance the diamond can have.  The cut is determined by many different factors.  If you do the slightest amount of research online, you will find many places claiming to have "Ideal Cut" diamonds, "Signature Ideal", and maybe even Super-Duper-Ideal cut diamonds!  Man! That can get confusing.  I know I want the most brilliant cut so I am going to buy the Super-Duper-Ideal cut diamond!  Now, THE TRUTH, there is no such thing as an "Ideal Cut" diamond!  Say what Mr Amir?!  Yes, I didn't stutter, there is No ideal cut diamond.  GIA, AGS, and other labs have proved there are many different ways to achieve the same brilliance and hence disproved the notion of the ideal cut?  

So how do websites call diamonds Ideal cut? Because it sounds good to consumers and resonates quality.  However, they set their own parameters on what their ideal cut entails.  So Mr. Amir, what do you recommend?  I recommend looking at the diamonds yourself and seeing which diamond you like.  Some people prefer smaller tables, thick crown, polished girdle, etc. These all determine what your perfect diamond is.  You can get an expensive diamond by getting too technical, but dummy it down and look at which diamond talks to you and gets you excited.  To me, that is what it comes down to.

Carat Weight...The last on the list is Carat Weight.  This one is easiest to explain and self explanatory.  It is the weight of the diamond based on the unit of measurement, carat.  The system is derived by ancient traders using the carob seed to determine weight. This is now exact and equal to 1/5th of a gram.  

Generally, as the weight of the diamond increases, so does the price.  The price for the same color and clarity diamond rises exponentially based on the weight.