How much does a one carat diamond engagement ring cost?
Hello Danny, I want to thank you for the diamond education which you provide via your blog, I’ve read several articles and am beginning to feel more comfortable about buying a diamond online. One thing which I haven’t been able to accurately ascertain is how much does a 1 ct diamond engagement ring cost? There seems to be a broad variance in terms of price and the diamond qualities being offered, I notice that Brian Gavin seems to limit the quality of their diamonds to between SI-2 and Internally Flawless in clarity, and between D and M color, with varying degrees of blue fluorescence; however other producers of hearts and arrows diamonds say that their I-1 clarity diamonds face-up just as beautiful and eye clean as an SI-2, so I’m wondering if that is an acceptable option. Obviously I’m trying to buy the largest diamond possible for my budget of $5-6K, but I also want it to be eye clean and white, so with this in mind, how much does a one carat diamond engagement ring cost? – Tom S.
Are I-1 and SI-2 clarity diamonds eye clean?
I’m going to begin by addressing the manner in which the assessment is made regarding whether a diamond is “eye clean” and the odds of whether an SI-2 or I-1 clarity diamond is likely to be eye clean when viewed by the average consumer…
The standard industry practice for determining whether a diamond is eye clean, is to hold the diamond out in front of you, and look at it from a distance of 9 – 12 inches; if the inclusions are clearly and immediately visible without close scrutiny, then the diamond is deemed not to be eye clean; however if the inclusions do not appear to be immediately and readily visible, then the diamond is considered to be eye clean.
You’re not really supposed to examine the clarity characteristics of the diamond using a 10x diamond grading loupe prior to looking at the diamond to determine whether or not it is eye clean, but the reality is that I usually do just because I’m trying to determine the extent to which the diamond is eye clean, and I realize that our customers are more apt to scrutinize the diamonds beyond the extent which is considered to be standard industry practice.
I think that it is a bit of a stretch (to put it mildly) for a diamond vendor to suggest that an I-1 clarity diamond is going to face-up the same as an SI-2 clarity diamond, because the vast majority of I-1 clarity diamonds will not be eye clean and only a very small percentage of SI-2 clarity diamonds are likely to be eye clean, the number is so small that I can’t even recall the last time I saw one…
To put it simply, if an I-1 clarity diamond truly looked like an SI-2 clarity diamond, then the gemological laboratory which graded the diamond would have given it an SI-2 clarity grade… just saying.
Diamond carat weight vs diamond color:
There are two options which I feel confident recommending within your price range that are within the range of carat weight that you desire, the first is this 1.011 carat, K-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin round diamond which exhibits medium blue fluorescence when exposed to black light. This diamond is going to exhibit a high volume of light return and exceptional sparkle, but the K-color is going to give it a little bit of warmth, so I wouldn’t really call it “white” per se, but K-color diamonds fall within the classification of diamonds which are white in color, since the color grading scale for “white diamonds” begins with D-colorless and runs down to Z-faint yellow.
If you’re truly looking for a diamond which is going to face-up “white” then I’d go with this 0.908 carat, I-color, VS-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond, which might be a hint smaller than a one carat diamond, but that’s not a size difference that most people would be able to detect from across the dinner table.
