Learn > The Four Cs > Carat

• Sparkly User Guide
• The Four Cs
     1. Carat
     2. Cut
     3. Color
     4. Clarity
• Shapes
• Certification
• Settings
• Wedding Band Styles
• Metal Colors

Carat

Okay—most of us know what carat means, but there’s a lot of idiosyncrasies and details that go into what actually makes carats matter in the scope of The Four Cs.

First off, it’s important to note that carat is actually the WEIGHT of the stone, not the size of its physical appearance (although they obviously can go hand in hand).

Next, it’s good to know that there are certain instances that can make a diamond look bigger or smaller than the carat size suggests. For example, there are some stones that look tall, but a big portion of the weight is in the part of the stone people typically don’t see (like the part that rests in the setting).

Additionally, there are some cuts and shapes where the weight is toward the top of the stone and will make the diamond appear larger. When this happens, we say that a diamond faces up bigger. This can be a great hack to make your diamond look bigger than it actually is, but again, we highly encourage you to pay special attention to cut quality as we typically encourage having the most sparkly ring possible vs. the largest.

Just so you know: The average carat size for the center stone in engagement rings in 2017 was 1.2 carats.

The Sparkly Sum Up

Remember this: If you lower the clarity and color to the point where it won’t be noticeable with the naked eye, you can typically up your carat size.

Example: Maybe you thought you couldn’t afford a 1.1ct stone, however, if you get a G color and eye clean SI2 diamond, you are suddenly in your budget for a larger stone.

Remember this: Another trick for maximizing the carat size of your diamond is to buy diamonds that aren’t a whole number.  

Example: A diamond that is 0.88 carats will likely cost less than a 1 carat ring, and honestly, most of us won’t notice the difference.

One of the reasons we created Sparkly is to give you an alternative way to see real rings in real life scenarios other than under the florescent lights of a jewelry store. So get to it! Explore,

scroll, save and start comparing those 0.8 and 1.2 rings in a range of colors and clarity.

We know this is A LOT to remember, so bookmark this page if you’re serious about maximizing  your bling quality!

Learn > The Four Cs > Cut

• Sparkly User Guide
• The Four Cs
     1. Carat
     2. Cut
     3. Color
     4. Clarity
• Shapes
• Certification
• Settings
• Wedding Band Styles
• Metal Colors

Cut

Like most aspiring diamond shoppers, you probably think of “cut” as the shape of the stone. Although wrong (kind of), you’re not alone. Yes, it refers to the shape the diamond is cut (i.e. round, oval, square) however, when you say “cut” to jewelers, it actually refers to the QUALITY of how the diamond was cut. Why does this matter? Well, we if you want a diamond that’s the best bang for your buck, then high-quality cut is the #1 thing to look for.  

So what exactly is diamond cut? Essentially, cut refers to the measurements of angles and proportions by diamond graders (GIA, AGS, etc.). For GIA certificates, cut is graded from poor to excellent. A diamond that is cut poorly won’t reflect light in an ideal way, so it will definitely not be as brilliant (sparkly). An exceptionally cut diamond will reflect light more, which gives a diamond that show-stopping, dazzling look that’s a must when showing off your rock.

In addition to the diamond being super blingy to the eye, having a well-cut diamond has other benefits too. A well-cut stone gives off a lot of white when light is reflected off of the diamond’s facets. This white light can oftentimes overcompensate (in a good way) a stone that has a yellow tinge, so it actually looks a couple color grades higher.

Even more reason to opt for a high-quality cut is that the light reflections can help hide imperfections that otherwise may have been visible. So why does this matter? Getting a well-cut diamond means you can save money by sacrificing clarity and color.

While choosing an “excellent” cut means you’ll no doubt score a beautiful stone, there are a few other things to pay attention to that can get you a little extra oomph. Not all excellent diamonds are created equal, so if you want to make sure you get something as close to perfect as possible, then keep these measurements for ROUND stones in your back pocket. 

Ideally, look for rings with:

• Table width percentage between 54%-60%
• Depth percentage between 59%-63%
• Crown angle between 33%-35%
• Star length of 50%
• Girdle of 2.5%-4%
• Girdle thickness of thin to thick

These proportions will help you get that “put that thing away, you’re blinding me!” reaction we all so desperately want. Once you’ve landed your ideal cut, you can focus on the other Four Cs.

Learn > The Four C’s > Color

• Sparkly User Guide
• The Four Cs
     1. Carat
     2. Cut
     3. Color
     4. Clarity
• Shapes
• Certification
• Settings
• Wedding Band Styles
• Metal Colors

Color

While this one may seem pretty self-explanatory, there are a lot of nuances to picking out the right color diamond.

While most of us aren’t judging the yellowness of our bff’s ring—let’s be honest, it’s usually the size—if you look really closely, you’ll probably notice a lot of diamonds that are slightly more yellow. What’s up with that?

Interestingly enough, a lot of diamond shoppers chose “lower-graded” diamonds that can appear to be slightly yellow in color. 

When talking about traditional diamonds (not the intentionally yellow canary diamonds), the GIA has the following grading system:

The most interesting part about this grading system is that the employees grading diamonds have to inspect the diamonds from the side to determine an accurate color grade. Why would they look for the color of the diamond from a side-view instead of a top view since 95% of people look at it that way?

Two reasons:

1. A well cut diamond is specifically designed to reflect while light through the top of the stone. This light can make the diamond look whiter when looking at it face-up, and doesn’t reflect the true color of the stone.
2. The differences in each color grade is so teeny tiny, the graders need a clear view of the stone without the distractions of the sparkling light in order to accurately assess the color of the stone.

Color is so difficult to differentiate, that even the people whose job it is to grade diamonds are required to have a set of master stones to compare to side by side to get an accurate grade!

Soooo if even the professionals can’t immediately tell the differences in color, what makes you think you can? Unless you have some kind of diamond-seeing superpower, the chances are low that you can see such minute changes in color.

That being said, it’s generally known that it’s tough to tell the difference between the top 3 to 4 color grades without a master stone, especially when looking at it from the top. This means that nearly everyone will have trouble differentiating stones within the D-G colors if the stone is cut properly. This is where you can save some cash if you paid attention to our write up above about cut, but to save you the trouble of scrolling up, know this: you can save a good chunk of change getting a well-cut G stone over an ok-cut D stone.

Once you get into the I/K colors (and below), diamonds do take on a warmer appearance, but it’s seriously not the end of the world. Some people don’t mind (or even like) a diamond with a slightly yellow tint. Again, it’s very difficult to tell the difference when looking at the top of the stone, and even if the diamond does show its true colors, it will be difficult to tell if the diamond itself has a tint, or if it is picking up colors from your skin, a setting, or even the color of the room you are in.

It is worth noting that larger diamonds, and brilliant diamonds such as rounds are great at hiding the color through white light, whereas other shapes (cushion, radiant, emerald) can show more of those yellow tones since less light is reflected.

One last trick: A diamond with a yellow-gold setting will appear whiter than on a silver or white-gold setting. Because, contrast! 

Learn > The Four Cs > Clarity

• Sparkly User Guide
• The Four Cs
     1. Carat
     2. Cut
     3. Color
     4. Clarity
• Shapes
• Certification
• Settings
• Wedding Band Styles
• Metal Colors

Clarity

Diamond clarity has been a subject of confusion among Sparkly users, and if we’re being real, so do most of the new hires here at Sparkly HQ. We get it. The word clarity, to most, implies how see-through something is. Like a piece of glass that’s either clear, frosted, or somewhere in between. But when it comes to diamonds, that’s not what clarity is at all!

Let’s use the watch example to better explain just what clarity is and why it matters. (For the sake of this example, let’s pretend people still wear watches.)

When you look at your watch, it’s typically at least 1 foot from your face. Over time, tiny scratches can build up on the glass; however, most of those scratches can only be seen when you bring the watch closer, say 2 inches from your eyes.

Sure, some of you can’t stand the thought of knowing that your watch has these tiny scratches (even if you can’t see them), but most of us don’t care because how often do we look at our watch that closely anyways?

If you can see scratches when checking the time from 2 feet away, then yeah—you’re going to want to get the glass replaced. Likewise, if a tiny scratch is located in a place that causes a shadow on the watch face, then it’s also worth getting the glass replaced.

In this example the “sweet spot” is having tiny scratches that you can’t see under normal conditions since it’s nearly impossible to see them in real life.

How does this relate? Well, the glass on your watch, like a diamond can still have some inclusions, but you don’t really want to see them 😉

 What you want to avoid are:

1. Diamonds with inclusions that you can see with the naked eye
2. Diamonds with inclusions that affect the way light reflects…even if the inclusions are barely visible.

Okay, so here’s the nitty gritty:

Right off the bat, if your diamond is in the FL to VS1 range, it’s not worth worrying about clarity since it will definitely be eye clean and won’t affect the sparklyness of your stone. Some people prefer getting diamonds with the highest clarity possible, and we get it—it’s a worry-free way to get an amazing stone!

If you are trying to get the best bang for your buck (which, of course) then finding an EYE CLEAN diamond in the VS2 to SI2 range is the sweet spot. Finding a diamond with this clarity will be significantly cheaper and assuming it is eye clean, the only way to see the inclusions is by looking at it under intense magnification.

One thing worth noting is that it’s very difficult to tell if a diamond will be eye clean just by looking over the report. This is where photos and/or a jeweler’s expertise come into play. Some diamond shopping sites have magnified photos of every diamond, so this can help you see where the inclusions are and what they look like. Either way, we think it’s worth leaning on your online or local jeweler to assure you that the stone you are buying is “eye-clean”. Worst case, most online sites have a free return policy, so if you can always get it delivered and inspected IRL, then make the decision from there.

What Would Sparkly Do?

Everything else being equal, if we were choosing between a 1.0ct stone with a VS1 clarity, and a 1.3ct stone with a SI2 clarity (eye clean), we’d go with the 1.3ct stone any day of the week.