When it comes to shopping for the perfect loose diamond for your engagement ring or jewelry in the Hattiesburg area, we know things can get overwhelming! That is why at Carter's we are dedicated to making your diamond buying experience as easy as possible.
 
Watch our video, Diamonds 101, to find out how our owner and diamond buyer, Chae Carter, navigates the diamond buying process and hand selects diamonds with exceptional value. 

Cut is often confused with shape. Round, pear, princess, and cushion are all diamond shapes, but the cut is effectiveness of the light reflecting from the facets of the diamond. Cut is determined by how well the diamond cutter optimized light reflection. Cut is the most important element to Chae, especially when choosing a center diamond for an engagement ring, because it’s what sets your diamond apart from another. A well-cut diamond is full of sparkle while a poorly cut diamond can seem lifeless, even if they have the same – or lower – color and clarity grades!

The GIA D-to-Z scale is the industry standard for color-grading diamonds. Each letter represents a range of color based on a diamond’s tone and saturation.

Diamonds come in many colors. Diamonds that range from colorless to light yellow and brown fall within the normal color range. Within that range, colorless diamonds are the rarest. When it comes to color, Chae notes that it’s all about preference and that this is another opportunity to find value when you’re shopping for your diamond. On paper, a diamond could be lower on the color scale but when you see it side-by-side with one that’s higher on the scale, you might not be able to tell the difference. You may even prefer it!

Diamonds have internal features, called inclusions, and surface irregularities, called blemishes.

Clarity refers to how visible the inclusions or blemishes are that occur naturally inside the diamond under 10x magnification. The GIA clarity scale measures the relative absence of inclusions and blemishes. At Carter's, we recognize the beauty and value found in a diamond with internal characteristics that can be seen under magnification, but are not apparent with the naked eye. These diamonds are referred to as "eye clean". While we keep diamonds in the full clarity range in stock, our Hattiesburg customers most often request SI1 and SI2 diamonds that are "eye clean". 

Carat is not a measure of a diamond's size, but of its weight.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to a diamond’s carat weight is that it is not the only factor that determines a diamond's size. A diamond's actual size also depends on its measurements, which tell how large or small the diamond appears face up in relation to its weight.