A one-diamond engagement ring is a popular choice for many couples. Although it is an expensive choice, one-carat diamonds are a benchmark in quality. Here’s what you should know when buying one. And if you’re on a budget, you may want to consider purchasing a lower-quality diamond. Here are some tips to keep in mind before you buy your ring. All these tips will make the process easier.
A diamond of one carat is a suitable size for an engagement ring. In addition to being a manageable size, it is large enough to display all the visual qualities we like in a diamond (scintillation, brightness, and fire). Remember, you want to wear your diamond ring comfortably and easily daily. A huge diamond (3.00ct and more) may look lovely to someone who isn’t used to wearing jewelry, but they may find that it gets in the way of their daily activities and must be taken off.
Six Steps to Purchasing a One-Carat Diamond Ring
1.00ct GIA Cushion & Round Cut Diamond Engagement Ring in Platinum
Features:
- Beautiful platinum engagement ring with a cushion and brilliant round cut. The center stone is a D-E color, VS1-VS2 clarity, 0.50–0.52 carat, GIA-certified diamond. Matching 0.50-carat round brilliant diamond side stones are the same color and clarity as the center stone. Available in plat or platinum, white, yellow, or rose gold, as well as platinum and palladium! Beautifully positioned and polished to a brilliant finish.
- Appraisal & Certificate Included
- Excellent Value
- GIA Certified Center Diamond
- Set in Platinum
- 14-Day Return Policy
1. Find the Right Style for your Engagement Ring
It’s ideal to have a concept of how you want the ring to look before choosing the diamond center stone. In this manner, you can calculate your budget for the stone by deducting the cost of the ring from your overall budget.
Any design will look fantastic on a one-carat diamond ring. A solitary diamond will still appear huge at this size. Consider a narrow band if you want to make the solitaire appear bigger.
A halo setting can be a good option if you want extra sparkle. The central stone will appear larger because it is surrounded by lesser diamonds.
Three-stone settings are a wonderful additional method to add glitz. The central diamond will appear larger with smaller side stones.
Think about various diamond shapes.
Check out alternative diamond shapes if you don’t have your heart set on a round diamond. At one carat, fancy shape diamonds can cost up to 43% less than round diamonds. What substantial savings!
The most common fancy form for diamonds is the princess cut, while cushion shapes are a traditional favorite. Modern oval and pear shapes provide the impression that the finger is longer and slimmer.
2. Pick Only the Best-Cutting Diamonds from your Selection
Diamonds are for sale by literally thousands of thousands. There is one for you, but you’ll need to narrow your choices. Limit yourself to a well-cut diamond before anything else.
Although four criteria are used to grade gems, cut is crucial in determining a diamond’s beauty. A great cut can assist a diamond with a low color grade or a low clarity grade to hide its color and flaws. Even better, a well-cut diamond will look bigger thanks to its strong shine.
So, if money is short, you can make compromises on color, clarity, and even carat, but doing so will result in a ring that is uninteresting. Compare how these gems performed. It’s obvious which is the better option when you move them side to side!
To use with brilliant round diamonds.
Limit your choices to diamonds with GIA “Excellent” and AGS “Ideal” cut grading to select those with the best cut.
Then, set the table’s height to 54-57% and the depth to 58-63%. You can later broaden your search to incorporate table constraints of 52-59% if necessary and still get a great diamond.
Based on these criteria, perform a James Allen diamond search.
Regarding fancy-cut diamonds
These diamonds have unique cut standards. To learn how to discover a well-cut one-carat diamond in a fancy form, read our guides.
- diamonds in the princess-cut
- oblong-shaped diamonds
- Asscher-cut diamonds and emeralds
- more elaborate shapes
3. Find the Best Color Grade
Price can be significantly impacted by color grade. The lowest color grade that will still appear white in the jewelry setting you’ve chosen is the one to use if you want to get the most value for your money.
Stick to the same color grade as the other diamonds in the band for halo and three-stone rings. If you choose a lesser color grade, the setting can look off-color. Stick with diamonds in the H hue for these styles. If you hunt for the whitest diamonds, an I or even J color diamond can work if you need to extend your budget.
The ideal diamond hue for solitaire rings, including those with pavé or channel-set diamonds in the band, depends on the ring metal. Make sure the prongs are the same color as the setting you selected online. Some settings combine different metals, such as placing white gold prongs on a yellow gold ring.
I and J color diamonds will still appear white and provide you a tempting discount for platinum and white gold prongs.
The diamond appears whiter and is more forgiving when set in yellow gold. K and L color diamonds will look great in a ring made of yellow gold.
Diamonds in L and M colors are the ideal choice since rose gold conceals color even better.
Remember that each color grade differs from its neighbors by a very small amount, and it’s unlikely that you will notice the difference. You don’t think so? Put these diamonds in a color-based order.
4: Take Lower Clarity Grades into Account
You don’t need a flawless diamond for a one-carat diamond. We advise against using the highest clarity grades because they raise costs without providing further benefits.
After reducing your options for cut and color, we advise choosing a diamond with VS2 clarity if you are still undecided. These diamonds will be priced reasonably and be eye-clean.
Don’t worry if a VS2 is out of your pricing range. Most SI1 clarity diamonds are at one carat, and many SI2 and even I1 diamonds are eye-clean. Avoid the center of the stone, where there may be huge, black inclusions, as they will be the most obvious.
Zooming out from the extremely enlarged view is helpful for diamonds with low clarity grades. When the diamond is smaller, is that black spot still discernible?
It is important to get professional advice if you consider diamonds with a clarity rating between SI2 and I1. Diamond specialists are available at James Allen to review your selections.
5: Limiting or Widening your Options
You can discover that you have a tonne of options or very few.
If you have many options, your budget is generally quite large. Why not choose a higher carat rather than a higher color or clarity grade (because you won’t be able to tell the difference)? Increase the carat weight of your searches little by little until you have 50 to 100 diamonds to select from.
Having a smaller budget makes things more challenging. To increase your possibilities, relax your color and clarity grade requirements. Finding a well-cut one-carat diamond will be difficult if your diamond budget is less than $3,000. Nevertheless, this price bracket has some great gems, including this 1.01-ct diamond with J color and I1 clarity.
It could appear a touch battered, but as you zoom out, the flaws vanish. Additionally, it is fluorescent, giving it a discount without altering its appearance noticeably.
If relaxing your color and clarity requirements still doesn’t give you many possibilities, you’ll have to decide between settling for a 0.9-ct diamond or a cut that isn’t up to snuff. We advise choosing a diamond with lesser carat weight. A well-cut 0.9-ct diamond may appear larger than a poorly-cut 1.0-ct diamond, even after weight loss.
6. Find the Most Brilliant One-Carat Diamond
You should choose the diamond with the most shine when viewing the close-up footage of your diamond. Find one with a good balance of fire and brilliance (white flashes) (colored flashes). Look straight into the core of the diamond to make sure there is sufficient shine there as well. The sparkle in the diamond’s crown (the top) may be distracting.
Compare a few gems before settling on the best one. Use James Allen’s diamond professionals to analyze your choices if purchasing from them.
How Much is a Ring with a One-Carat Diamond?
One carat of diamonds can be purchased for between $1,800 and $12,000, according to market analysis (depending on the current market situation). The diamond’s cut quality, clarity, color, and shape influence the cost. The factor most significantly affects a 1-carat diamond’s price, and attractiveness is its cut quality. (The cost of a one-carat round diamond ranges from $6,800 to $8,500 on average for naturally occurring diamonds and is lower for lab-grown diamonds.)
I searched James Allen and discovered this to be the cheapest 1-carat diamond. However, it doesn’t seem like anything you want to wear on your finger. On the other hand, there is a that is flawless. However, is this the most effective use of $22,000? We advise striking a balance between the two to optimize size and worth.
As previously discussed, more aspects affect each 1-carat diamond’s price tag and, ultimately, the diamond’s beauty. However, size is a significant factor in determining diamond pricing, and while the carat is not a direct measure of size, it is connected.
Carat refers to the diamond’s weight. 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams, make up one carat. For comparison, a 1-carat diamond weighs about the same as a quarter of a raisin.
Priced per carat, diamonds are all the same. A 1/2-carat diamond, for instance, might cost $1,400 per carat. The cost of the diamond for the stone would be $1,400 multiplied by 0.50, or $700.
The Size of a Carat Diamond
The diameter of a diamond weighing 1 carat is roughly 6.5mm. A round diamond with the perfect dimensions would be this size. Other shapes could have a surface area that is greater or smaller. While princess and Asscher cut diamonds are smaller, with just about 5.5mm table size, they have a bigger surface area than oval, pear, and marquise diamonds.
A 1-carat diamond is unquestionably large enough to garner attention, despite how little it may seem. Your ring’s size and carat weight should be considered, but you must also pay attention to the diamond’s cut. A gorgeous 1-carat diamond with superb sparkle will be more brilliant and captivating than a 2-carat diamond with a bad cut.
Keep in mind that the carat measures weight rather than size. Therefore, even two diamonds of the same carat and shape may not be the same size. Despite having the same carat weight, the proportions of a diamond might vary somewhat from one to another depending on how it is cut.
Where can I Buy a Ring with a One-Carat Diamond?
Despite the size of the diamond trade, don’t let it scare you. You can find a lot of trustworthy and premium diamond jewelry sellers offline and online.
It is advised to find an online vendor for a 1 Carat Diamond ring because they frequently have a wider assortment of high-quality 1 Carat Diamonds than neighborhood shops. Beautiful settings made of 18k or 14k white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, or platinum will also be available from them. You have a better chance of discovering a spectacular diamond at a great price via the internet alternative.
We have been able to vet various diamond sellers thanks to our years of experience in the diamond market. We consistently know which businesses you can rely on and which offer the greatest diamond cutting at competitive prices.
For a 1-carat diamond ring, we heartily endorse the following vendors:
James Allen has more than 18 years of experience in the diamond industry, high-quality certification (GIA & AGS), a customer-focused approach, competitive pricing, and the greatest diamond photography in the market.
Blue Nile offers great diamond quality, sophisticated jewelry, the largest selection of diamonds and ring settings, high-grade certification (GIA & AGS), and 17+ years of experience.
With over 20 years of experience, superior certification (GIA & AGS), and an unwavering commitment to providing the best-cut diamonds, Brian Gavin Diamonds delivers super-ideal cuts with “Brian Gavin Signature” Hearts & Arrows.
Which Diamond Size is Most Frequently Used in Engagement Rings?
In the United States, engagement rings typically weigh 0.90 carats. The diamond is solid but not too big or pricey at this carat weight. Many people may couple the diamond with a side stone-filled setting, increasing the total carat weight of the piece above one carat.
Conclusion
The temptation to restrict your search to diamonds with “Excellent” polish and symmetry could be strong. You won’t be able to distinguish between “Good” and “Excellent” in practice.
Similar to how fluorescent diamonds are not a good choice, you may have heard. You won’t see a change if you stay away from “Very Strong” fluorescent diamonds.
According to what you may have heard, the ideal option is a Hearts and Arrows cut. In reality, this has minimal impact on how well the diamond performs. It has more to do with symmetry than cut quality. If you choose a different diamond, you’ll save some money unless you strongly like this cut. Compare this exceptional cut diamond to this True HeartsTM cut stone. Performance-wise, there isn’t much difference, but the True HeartsTM cut is $1,000 more expensive!
