This will be one of the more emotional purchases you will ever make in your life. I know, I have been there. The key for me was doing my homework, setting a budget and sticking with it.

So the first piece of advice I can give is set a budget. Most diamond sellers, jewelery stores say to use a quarter of a year`s salary...or something along those lines. As a person who has made this purchase, set a price YOU feel comfortable with, not the jewelry stores.

The next thing you need to know are the four C`s. They are cut, clarity, color and carat. The color is a simple one. You want to get to as close to white as possible and as far as you can from yellow. The color scale is as follows, D,E,F are colorless, G,H,I,J are considered near colorless and K-M and N-Z which have noticeable color. Obviously the more white the diamond is the higher the cost will be.

The clarity represents the scale of imperfection a diamond might have. The scale ranges from `FL`,`IF` (flawless,internall flawless) to `I3` (included). The diamond should look clean to the eye, and have as little imperfections under a microscope as possible. The more clear the diamond is the more it will cost. The idea is to pick a diamond that is clear to the naked eye, it might have some imperfections that you need to see under a microscope, but this allows you to move down the clarity scale, reducing the cost, so you can use that money in your budget in either the size or the color.

The cut represents the shape of the diamond, and depending on whethere it is customized or not, it may drive up the cost. However if you go with one of the basic cuts, such as round, princess, oval or round, the cost should not increase by that much, if at all.

Finally, last but certainly not least, but last for a reason, the carat or the size of the diamond. All the four C`s figure into the cost of the diamond, however none figure more than its size. It goes without saying, that the larger the diamond the more it will cost.

You and only you alone can make the determination of where your diamond budget will be spent. If size matters (no jokes here please), then you will need sacrifice some color and clarity if you need to fit it within your budget. If size isn`t important but the clearness and the radiance of the diamond as it shines off the lights is more important, then you can sacrifice the size and look for a diamond higher on the clarity and color scales. Good luck in your purchase, and for your future.

By: Michael C. Podlesny