Finding An Affordable Diamond Engagement Ring

Buying a loved one an engagement ring is for many people one of the first major expenses they incur during their life. Often this comes at a time when not much money is available, and as we all know jewelry is expensive especially if we want to impress. Luckily it is possible to find an affordable diamond engagement ring. The first step is to know exactly what you are buying, you should definitely arm yourself with some knowledge before you hit the jewelry stores.

Diamonds are graded according to what is known as the 4C'S. Namely color, cut, clarity and carat. These are not as simple as they initially appear, but to help here is a little more information on each. It's important you know before purchase what the C's are. That way you know exactly what you are buying and will be able to get the best value for your money.

1. Color -- Most diamonds are in a range of pale yellow or browns this is known as the "normal color range" diamonds that are of intense yellow or brown, or any other color are called fancy color diamonds and are very rare and expensive. Diamonds that are of the very highest purity are totally colorless, and appear bright white. The degree to which diamonds exhibit body color is what this particular "C" refers to and is written as a letter from D which is totally colorless to Z which is a pale yellow or brown color. Anything greater than Z is a fancy colored diamond with  F to I being the normal range that you will find from most high street jewelers.

2. Cut -- This is the most important of the four C's. In it's rough state, a diamond is fairly unremarkable in appearance usually dull and grey. It is the cut that uncovers its brilliance and beauty. Some of the more common you may encounter are round or brilliant cut, Princess cut, emerald cut, marquis cut and the less common asscher cut.

3. Clarity -- Diamonds are a natural item and therefor can suffer from natural inclusions or blemishes, surface scratches, marks or Pitts. Clarity grading of a diamond reflects the type and severity of these natural flaws and is graded on a scale ranging from FL or flawless to I3 which is severely included. Most mass market diamond jewelry has stones rated SI1 or SI2, which stands for slightly included with the number denoting the amount. Other grades you may encounter are VS or VVS  standing for very slightly or very very slightly included, or IF which is internally flawless, but the budget conscious diamond buyer is unlikely to find these within their price range.

4. Carat -- This refers to the weight of the diamond, a carat being an ancient measurement originally equal to the weight of a carob seed but today it is standardized at 200 milligrams.

Now you are familiar with the 4C's of diamonds it should be obvious that to buy an affordable diamond engagement ring you need to play around with the quality of the stone itself. Assuming you want to buy a stone between 0.33 to 0.75 carat settling for a stone of lesser clarity or color will bring the price down dramatically, and providing the cut has been done professionally there is no reason your loved one will ever notice or know how much it cost.