Choosing a natural diamond can feel surprisingly complicated. Cut, color, clarity, carat weight, fluorescence, proportions and grading reports all play a role, but not necessarily in the way you might expect.

As an independent jewelry designer and goldsmith, I source natural diamonds for my custom jewelry clients and help them navigate these decisions without getting lost in the technical details.

My philosophy is pretty simple: we aren't looking for the best diamond on paper. We're looking for the most beautiful diamond for you and your budget. A nontraditional approach to finding the perfect stone.

Here are a few of the things I consider when beginning a natural diamond search.

Cut: More Than Just Sparkle

Cut is often one of the first things I look at because it has such an important influence on how a diamond interacts with light.

A beautifully cut diamond can appear bright, lively and full of movement. And sometimes, a diamond with exceptional light performance can be far more visually impressive than a stone with higher color or clarity grades.

For round brilliant diamonds, we have standardized cut grades to help guide us. With fancy shapes such as ovals, pears, cushions and emerald cuts, there is more nuance involved.

This is one reason I don't source diamonds based solely on the numbers listed on a grading report.

Inquire about a custom project.

Color: Higher Isn't Always Better

Natural diamond color is graded beginning with D, or colorless, and progresses into increasingly warmer tones.

Does that mean everyone needs a D color diamond?

Absolutely not.

A slightly warmer natural diamond can be incredibly beautiful, particularly in yellow gold. Being flexible with color can also allow us to prioritize characteristics such as size and cut while staying within a client's budget.

For the right project, I am completely comfortable exploring diamonds with some warmth if the individual stone faces up beautifully.

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Clarity: What Can You Actually See?

Natural diamonds usually contain tiny internal characteristics called inclusions.

A clarity grade tells us about those characteristics, but I am less interested in chasing a particular letter combination than I am in understanding how those inclusions affect the actual diamond.

Can you see them without magnification? Where are they located? Do they interfere with the beauty of the stone?

Sometimes paying substantially more for a higher clarity grade gets you something you'll only ever appreciate by reading the grading report.

I'd rather help you put your budget somewhere you can actually see it.

Inquire about a custom project.

Carat: Weight Isn't the Same as Size

One of my favorite things to explain to clients is that carat measures weight, not how large a diamond looks.

Two diamonds of the same carat weight can have different measurements and appear noticeably different when viewed from above.

I also like exploring diamonds just below popular milestone weights.

A beautifully proportioned 1.80 or 1.90 carat diamond, for example, may provide much of the visual presence someone loves about a 2.00 carat diamond without the premium that can accompany reaching that exact number.

The number on the certificate matters less to me than what the diamond actually looks like on your hand.

Inquire about a custom project.

What About Diamond Fluorescence?

Fluorescence is one of those diamond terms that can sound much scarier than it actually is.

It simply describes how a diamond reacts when exposed to ultraviolet light and may be listed on a grading report as None, Faint, Medium, Strong or Very Strong.

I don't automatically eliminate a natural diamond because it has fluorescence. Instead, I consider how it affects that particular stone.

In the right diamond, fluorescence may have little noticeable effect during everyday wear while potentially creating an opportunity for better value.

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Sometimes the Best Diamond Isn't the Obvious One

This is really where professional sourcing becomes valuable.

I look beyond the basic 4Cs at things like proportions, face-up dimensions, light performance, inclusion placement, symmetry, shape and overall personality.

And sometimes the diamond I would choose isn't the one with the highest grades.

It might be slightly warmer.

It might weigh 1.86 carats instead of 2.00.

It might have a lower clarity grade but be beautifully eye clean.

Those are exactly the nuances I walk my clients through.

Inquire about a custom project.

Looking for Something Less Traditional?

Not everyone wants a traditional engagement diamond.

Through my sourcing network, I also have access to rare and unusual natural diamonds, antique and old-cut stones, distinctive shapes, warmer diamonds and other stones with a little more personality.

If you're drawn to something unexpected, tell me. Part of the beauty of creating something custom is that we aren't limited to what happens to be sitting in a jewelry store case.

Inquire about a custom project.

My Diamond Sourcing Process

When you work with me on a custom piece, I don't expect you to become a diamond expert before we begin.

That's my job.

Custom clients receive my private Natural Diamond Education Guide, which goes deeper into the characteristics we'll consider throughout the sourcing process.

Once I understand your design, priorities and budget, I work with my diamond sources to narrow the search and present a small selection of stones I believe are genuinely worth considering.

I'll explain what I like, what I don't, where I see value and where I don't think spending more is necessary.

You don't need to understand every number on a grading report.

You just need someone who does. 

Interested in creating something together? [Begin a Custom Project]

Sheena Marshall Jewelry
Independent Jewelry Designer + Goldsmith
Colorado