Calculating the price of diamonds, including VVS diamonds, can be tricky. There are so many different factors that can affect the price, which can be confusing for many.
Before we go through those many factors, it’s important to recognise that typically, diamonds are calculated per carat. Not only that but the price-per-carat increases depending on the carat weight. Why? Because bigger diamonds are much rarer.
When it comes to diamonds, there are certain clarity grades that you need to be aware of before anything else. The clarity is determined by how many inclusions, scratches or blemishes the diamond has. VVS (very, very slightly included) is divided into two: VVS1 and VVS2, the numbers differentiating the clarity of the stone even further (VVS1 having a slightly higher clarity than its counterpart). You can find a lot more information about VVS diamonds online, should you wish to know more about the classification in more depth.
When diamonds are being graded, they go through an in-depth analysis from every angle, firstly by eye and then underneath a 10x magnified microscope. VVS diamonds are not the highest grade, these are IF or FL diamonds, however, VVS stones are visibly the same to the naked eye. For someone to know the difference they would have to use professional lighting and equipment to assess the stone. This can be handy as understandably, a VVS diamond can be a lot cheaper than an IF or FL diamond.
In 2019, diamonds are currently roughly priced at $1500 for a 0.5-carat diamond, $4500 – $6000 for a 1-carat diamond and between $18000 and $21000 for a 2-carat diamond. As you can see, the prices jump quite a bit. Do be aware that this is a very generalised price range and when you get into the specifics, the range can be a lot wider.
When purchasing diamonds people make a lot of mistakes, typically thinking that the higher the price, the better the diamond. This is not always the case. As previously mentioned, there are a lot of factors that determine the price – some are a lot more important to a buyer than others.
You may or may not have heard of the 4C’s before, these being the carat, cut, color and clarity of the diamond. Together, they will tell you the overall worth of the diamond, but they each have a different scale of importance. If you want to ensure that you’re walking away with a high-quality diamond for the absolute best price, be sure to solidify your understanding of these factors.
For instance, a lot of people think that a diamond with a high color or clarity will be a diamond that’s a lot shinier. This is a common misconception. Additionally, it’s important to know that all diamonds are cut differently, because of this, the ‘cut’ is extremely important; more so than the color and clarity.
Finally, carat size isn’t everything! Carat size is the biggest factor in causing the price of the diamond to sky-rocket when in fact, a diamond with a large carat size could be super expensive, but still be dull and of poor quality.
