Do you find yourself walking around staring at everyone else’s ears in envy of their jewelry? Do you find yourself absolutely loving the diamond stud earrings that you see on others?
Maybe you want to buy diamond stud earrings for yourself, or maybe you are looking to buy them for someone you love, but either way, you’ve come to the right place.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about choosing diamond earrings, from budgeting for them to their overall sizes!
Create a Budget
When you want to buy diamond earrings, you first need to have a budget in mind. Diamond earrings can range in price from affordable to carrying a pretty surprising price tag. Knowing what you can afford, and what affects the price, before you even start looking is a good way to find what you want.
What you should keep in mind, however, is that when you are buying diamond earrings, it is probably a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, so you don’t want to jip yourself either!
Once you have a budget, you can decide which parts of the diamond mean the most to you by looking at the 4Cs.
Think of the 4Cs
When buying diamonds of any kind, it is important to keep in mind the 4Cs. This also makes it easier to know what you are doing when you are looking around!
The 4Cs are:
- Color
- Clarity
- Cut
- Carat weight
Let’s dive into each of those meanings now!
Color
When thinking of the diamond ring that you want to buy, you have to think about what you want the reflection to look like. Most of the time, the color of the diamond will pick up the color of the metal that it is set in, so if it is silver or gold, the color will look slightly different.
It will also pick up other colors like the tone of your skin or hair, or anything near it like a necklace or sunglasses.
The color of diamonds is on a scale of D to Z. D is a colorless diamond while Z is a light color. Most of the time, if you want the diamond to reflect the colors surrounding you, you would stick with the D-side of the scale.
You can also go with a different color diamond like yellow, pink, or blue.
Clarity
The clarity of a diamond is how many spots or blemishes are on the diamond stud earrings. If you choose to go with the lower end of the clarity index like (SI1 and SI2), you will be saving money. If you do this, you’ll be able to spend more money on the type of cut you want and the carats.
You may be the only one who notices the clarity of a diamond unless someone is specifically looking for the blemishes. If clarity is important to you, then this could be something you may want to spend more money on. If you don’t care about the slight blemishes or spots, then you can save money!
Cut
The cut that you choose to get for your diamond earrings can drastically change how the earrings and the diamond itself look.
When you are looking for a specific cut, you can choose the shape. However, the type of cut doesn’t just mean the shape of the earring. It also has to do with the proportions, symmetry, and quality of how the cut was done.
To figure this out, you can look at the cut grade from the GIA to determine the quality—you most likely will want to go with Excellent or Very Good cuts.
If the diamond is not cut properly, you will not have the shine or brightness that you most likely expect to have on your earrings.
Carat Weight
When you hear the word carat weight, you should think of the size of the diamond.
The higher the carat weight, the more expensive it will be. That also means that the bigger the diamond is, the more expensive it will be as well.
If you want to save money, you can go below the typical .50 carat or 1.00 ct. However, if you can afford it, the diamond will stand out the most if you get one of these carat weights.
Style the Setting of the Stud
Much like you would style the setting of an engagement ring or a wedding ring, you can also style the setting of an earring.
You aren’t just getting a diamond—you are getting the whole earring that can also have other intricate details. There may be a different amount of prongs you can choose from or various colors for the setting.
All of these details will change the look of the diamonds when you wear the diamond stud earrings. For instance, 3-pronged studs will allow more light to reach the diamond to create that sparkly look.
Go Pick Out Your Diamond Stud Earrings Today
Now that you know a bit more about diamonds, it will be easier to pick out the diamond stud earrings that you like the best.
You understand what to look for in terms of the 4Cs as well as how to style the setting in a way that you like. Most importantly, you know that you need to create a budget first.
If you are ready to go shopping for diamond earrings, you can check out our earring page for all sorts of diamond earring styles!