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Diamond buyers guide
Everything that affects how a diamond looks and what it costs, in plain words. Five minutes here will make choosing far easier.
Shape
Shape is personal taste. Rounds are the most brilliant; ovals, pears and marquise elongate the finger and look larger per carat; emerald cuts trade sparkle for calm, mirror-like flashes.
Cut
Cut is how well the diamond's facets are angled and finished, and it decides how much it sparkles. A well-cut stone can look brighter than a heavier one. Every round diamond we offer is graded Excellent or Ideal, and we check fancy shapes by eye.
Colour
Colour runs from D (completely colourless) towards light yellow. Most people cannot tell neighbouring grades apart once a diamond is set. In platinum or white gold we suggest G or better; in yellow gold, H looks beautifully warm.
Clarity
Clarity grades the tiny natural marks inside a diamond. Above VS2 they are invisible without magnification, so you rarely need to pay for the very top grades. We call this “eye-clean”, and it is what we recommend.
Carat
Carat is weight. How large a stone looks also depends on its shape and cut. Shown below are typical face-up diameters for round diamonds, drawn to scale relative to each other.
Lab-grown or natural
Both are real diamonds, with the same carbon, hardness and sparkle. The difference is where they formed, and the price.
| Lab-grown | Natural | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A real diamond grown above ground over a few weeks | A real diamond formed underground over millions of years |
| Looks | Identical. Only a laboratory can tell them apart | Identical |
| Price | A larger stone for your budget | Higher, and rarer |
| Certificate | IGI | IGI |
Certification
Every diamond Arora sells is IGI certified, and stones of 0.50ct or more come with an independent grading report. IGI (the International Gemological Institute) grades the 4Cs and confirms whether a stone is natural or lab-grown. What is IGI?
Ready to choose?
Use our filters to find a stone, or let a specialist shortlist three for you.