Diamond earrings offer an elegant sparkle to compliment any dressy ensemble. Deciding what type of diamond studs to decorate your ears with depends on your personal taste. There are a few basic factors to consider when buying diamond earrings, outlined below:
Quality
As with all diamond jewelry, the quality of your earrings depends on the carat, color, cut and clarity. Carat is the weight of your diamonds. The more carats you have, the more valuable the diamonds are. Color also determines the value of diamonds, with clear diamonds being more desirable than off-white or ivory-colored ones. Clear diamonds reflect more light and sparkle more than off-white colors. Colored diamonds are the most valuable and come in hues ranging from green and blue to yellow.
The cut of your diamond is how your diamond is cut during processing and determines the shape and brilliance of your gem. Good cuts of diamonds allow the diamond to reflect as much light as possible, giving the gem a sparkling quality. Princess cuts are highly valued in diamond earrings because they offer the maximum amount of light reflection with a square cut. Emerald cuts are more affordable as they sparkle less but still offer a brilliant shine with long, straight lines in a rectangular shape.
Clarity is the amount of imperfections or flaws in your diamond studs. Flawless diamonds with no imperfections are the most expensive and rare. Internally flawless – or IF – diamonds are free of internal flaws but have some external blemishes. Jewelers have a rating system for the degree of flaws in diamonds, which you can check out on our Diamond Clarity post. (link post on Clarity).
Mounting
Choose diamond earrings that are mounted on white gold or platinum, as yellow gold will add a yellow cast to your gems.