For a lot of people, the world of jewelry and diamonds is completely unknown. This makes sense. If you’ve never bought a diamond before, there’s a very good chance that what separates typical engagement rings from amazing engagement rings has never crossed your mind.
However, you know a great ring when you see one. An engagement ring that truly sparkles is a dazzling sight to see.
If you’re planning on getting engaged, that’s the kind of ring you want!
But how do you know which rings are amazing engagement rings that sparkle and take her breath away? And how can you spot them in a jewelry store that is filled with rings?
The secret is to know what makes an engagement ring sparkle.
Learning The Secrets
If you just run out to the store and buy a ring that looks nice, you could get lucky and find an amazing engagement ring. However, there’s also a good chance that you’ll pass over some even more incredible rings while you’re doing it. In a jewelry store, a lot of rings look great. There’s often lighting installed in the store that is designed to make rings look their best.
So how can you tell if the ring you’re looking at will really sparkle once it’s out in the real world? To figure this out, you’ll need to learn a few things about diamonds.
We know that you’re busy and that you clearly don’t have the time required to learn everything and become a diamond expert. The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert. You just need to be aware of a few key points.
What Makes Diamonds Sparkle
One of the most important factors in a diamond is its cut. In this case, we’re not talking about the shape of the diamond (round, princess, emerald, etc.). Instead, the cut of a diamond refers to its proportions and how well it was cut.
A well-cut diamond will sparkle much more and look much better than one that is poorly cut. The cut of a diamond affects:
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The dispersion of light coming from the diamond. This is sometimes called “the fire.” Basically, it refers to the way that a well-cut diamond separates light into the various colors of the spectrum. If you have ever seen flares of color coming from a diamond in the light, you know when this looks like.
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The brilliance of the diamond. This is when white light reflects off of the surface and the interior of the diamond.
- The scintillation, which is often called the “sparkle.” These are the flashes of light that you see when the diamond or the light source is shifted.
All three of these factors combine to make a diamond look incredible in the light.
If a stone isn’t cut properly, it will look dull, even if it is an otherwise high quality stone. You can have a diamond is that is a good size, an excellent color, and very clear with few imperfections, and still have it look dull and boring if it was not cut correctly.
A diamond that is cut properly will reflect the most light. It will be cut symmetrically, so that light reflects more beautifully. If a diamond is cut too shallow or too deep, it will reflect less light or the light will be reflected out of the sides or bottom of the diamond, where it won’t be as easily visible. This results in a diamond that does not look as visually stunning as one with a high quality cut.
Do how do you know when a diamond is properly cut? The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) created a standard in the early 1950s that measures the quality of diamonds and makes it easy to compare them with one another. One of the aspects of this grading system is cut.
There are many different cuts, including:
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Damasci Premium Cut (only the top 1% of diamonds fall into this category)
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Ideal Cut/Excellent Cut (the top 3% of diamonds)
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Very Good Cut (the top 15% of diamonds)
- Good Cut (the top 25% of diamonds)
There are also other grades such as fair cut and poor cut. However, these do not reflect light as brilliantly and Damasci does not deal with these lower quality cuts.
For more information on diamond cut, please visit the 4 Cs section of our diamond education center. This information will help you find amazing engagement rings that dazzle and delight.
