Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands in Cincinnati

Shape is the outline of a diamond seen from above: round, oval, cushion, pear and so on.

Cut is how well the facets are angled and proportioned. It decides how much light comes back out of the stone, so two diamonds of the same shape and weight can look quite different.

Most grading reports give a cut grade only for round brilliant diamonds. For other shapes, the best test is to see the stone in person.

Carat is a weight, not a size. One carat is 0.2 grams, divided into 100 points, so a 0.50 carat diamond is 50 points.

Total carat weight (ct tw) adds up every diamond in the piece, side stones included. A ring listed at 1.00 ct tw can have a much smaller center diamond.

Shape and cut change how large a diamond looks for its weight.

Color: white diamonds are graded from D, colorless, down the alphabet as a yellow or brown tint becomes visible. G to J is called near colorless.

Clarity: grades run from Flawless to Included by how easily the small natural marks inside a diamond can be seen at 10x magnification. VS stones usually look clean to the eye.

Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds, with the same chemistry, hardness and fire as natural ones. They are grown in weeks rather than formed in the earth, and both are graded on the same color and clarity scales.