What do you look for when you are shopping for a diamond ring?  I have been surprised by just how little people know about jewelry when they come in and look at our selection of rings.  So let me help you with a few things to look for and a couple of questions you can ask that will help you no matter where you shop. 

Diamonds are graded according to the 4 c's.  Clarity, Carat, Cut, and Color are the basis for the price you should be paying for a diamond.  Starting with clarity, you will want to have a jewelers loop to get a closer look at the diamond.  The jewelers loop is a 10 power magnification so you can look into the inside of a diamond and see if there are any imperfections such as carbon spots(black) or feathers which is a natural occurrence with a diamond as it was formed under intense pressure and heat.  The clearer the diamond the better. 

Carat refers to the overall size of the diamond.  Carat is actually a measure of weight for the diamond but is generally thought of as how big the diamond looks.  In general, the bigger the carat size the higher the price.

Cut is a way to judge the way the diamond is shaped and well as the brilliance of the light refraction off of the facets.  In general the more facets in the cut, more light will be reflected back to the eye creating what we call "fire" in the diamond. 

Finally, color is a way of detailing how the diamond looks to the eye on a scale that goes from white to yellow to brown.  There are also diamonds that will have blue, black, pink, orange, and chocolate.

As with most quality jewelry it is set in gold.  You should know the basics of gold purity when shopping.  You will want to look to see if the item is stamped indicating the purity of the gold.  If you see 10k it is 41.7% pure, 14k is 58.5% pure, 18k is 75% pure, 21k is 87.5% pure and 24k is 100%pure.  One great tip for you here is that gold is not magnetic.  So a way you can test for purity is to see if your jewelry item is attracted to an earth magnet. 

Bottom line is don't be afraid to ask for a loop, take your time and ask for help when in doubt.