Choosing an engagement ring is a difficult matter. Besides the woman’s taste and the price, there is a lot to consider when choosing the ring and when choosing the diamond. One of the first questions you ask yourself is what material the ring should be made of, as the material makes up a large part of the overall impression. In the following article, I would like to explain the basics of buying diamonds. Then I will help you to choose the right diamond color if you should choose a yellow-gold ring, as well as present you with a modern and increasingly popular alternative to it, namely a platinum gold ring.
The 4C’s of diamonds
I can remember well how complicated the first purchase of diamonds was for me. I read something about carat, about diamond color and cut and was overwhelmed, because I only wanted to buy a beautiful ring for my girlfriend. You’ve probably read up on diamonds, but let’s still start at the beginning, so you won’t get confused. The four most important terms you need to know when buying a diamond are the 4 C’s, which stand for cut, color, clarity and carat. The first three should be intuitively understandable, carat stands for the weight of the diamond. But you will learn in the following article and on this site that you should not pay attention to any of the 4 C’s separately because they are always interdependent and you can make much more out of your money with a few tricks and the right combination.
Probably you have landed on my side because you are wondering which diamond color is the best for your ring. But what does the seller mean by the color of the diamond? To determine the value of diamonds, they are divided into different color categories. The categories range from D to Z, where D is the most expensive category and Z the cheapest. Diamonds in category D are whitish or appear colorless, whereas diamonds in category Z have a clear yellow tinge and are therefore less valuable. Which diamond you choose depends on your budget, but also on what material the ring is made of. Moreover, the price of diamonds per category does not increase linearly but exponentially, since D diamonds are very rare and therefore very expensive. Now let’s see how you can use the material of the ring to save on the diamond color.
Yellow gold rings
A beautiful and classic variation for an engagement ring is to choose a yellow gold ring. Interestingly, however, many people spend too much money on the color of the diamond when they buy a yellow gold ring. To avoid this, you should not buy a diamond that is in a more expensive category than G or H. The reason for this is simple: diamonds pick up the color of their surroundings by reflecting light. A colorless diamond, for example one of the expensive category D, will pick up the yellow gold of the ring very clearly and reflect it. The color of the diamond will change to a yellowish tone, which is similar to the original color of a category H diamond. This means that the visible difference of the diamonds will be very small and you can save a lot of money if you save on the color category of the diamond when choosing a yellow gold ring. In my opinion, a K or even L diamond is definitely sufficient if you choose a yellow gold ring. If you have more money available, I would rather spend it on more carat or the right cut, but I will come back to that at the end of the article.
The best cut for yellow golden diamonds
It is also important to consider a few things when choosing the cut. If you choose a yellow gold ring as the basis for your engagement ring, it will radiate more warmth than a silver ring, for example. Therefore, round cuts are a good choice, which supports the warmth of the yellow gold ring. In this case the choice of a round cut is even twice as good, because different cuts will bring out the color of the diamonds differently. A round cut is known to emphasize the color of the diamond rather little. So, if you choose a round cut for a yellow gold ring, you can use a diamond of the color category K or L without any worries. If you choose Emerald, Princess, or Asscher-Cut, then you should look for diamonds in category J and above because they bring out the color more.
In addition to the classic variation of a golden ring, there is also the beautiful variation of a platinum engagement ring to choose from. A platinum ring is on the one hand modern and on the other hand something special, because platinum looks quite exquisite. For the choice of your diamond color it makes a big difference whether you choose a yellow gold ring or a platinum ring. The reason for this is again the high reflexivity of diamonds. Unlike the yellow gold diamond ring, where you can easily choose a diamond of a lower color category such as J, K or even L, with a ring as platinum you have to choose a diamond of a higher color category. Here the money is well invested when you choose a diamond of category G, H, I or even F. The reason for this is that the bright, silver or platinum with the cold, colorless white of a diamond of the better color categories looks very noble, while a slight yellow tinge would be unfitting.
The same applies to the color of the prongs as to the material of the ring, as they will also be visible through the diamond. If you choose a yellow gold ring, your choice of prongs should also be gold. If you choose platinum as the material for your ring, then you can use white or metal prongs to highlight the diamond, as they will emphasize the diamond. However, the color of the prongs and that of the material should be similar so that the diamond can develop its full beauty. Another beautiful cut, which fits for platinum rings much better than for gold rings is the Cushion cut. The special feature of the Cushion Cut is that the diamond can also be held by golden prongs due to its cut. Normally I recommend to use the same material, but with a cushion-cut of an F diamond for example, I find the combination with golden prongs very successful.