Sooner or later, you are going to be faced with the task of buying diamond jewelry for someone close to you. The first time you walk into a jewelry store can be seriously intimidating. Understanding what to look for can make a world of difference.

Diamonds form of thousands of years deep within the Earth. They are essentially globs of carbon that are compressed under huge pressures and heated up over and over. Eventually, this results in the incredibly dense gem we see today.

The diamonds that are located through mining look nothing like what you buy. The raw diamond comes out as something close to an irregular ball. It is only when an experienced jeweler cuts and polishes them that we get a gem for jewelry.

It is also important to note that most diamonds do not end up as jewels. They are simply of poor quality or the wrong shape. These diamonds usually end up in an industrial capacity. Since diamonds are so hard, they are used in drill bits and such.

When shopping for diamonds for that special person, there are basic factors you need to understand. These are known loosely as the four Cs. The Cs are clarity, cut, carat weight and color.

As you can probably guess, clarity refers to the brilliance of the diamonds. Diamonds often have imperfections within their structures. These can impact their funneling of light. The few imperfections, the more clarity there is which is a good thing.

Cut refers to the reflectivity of the diamond. A diamond has certain traits and only a good cut can bring them out. A good cut is one in which light enters one side of the top of the diamond, reflects across the bottom and back out the other side.

The cut does not have anything to do with the shape of the overall diamond. It is just the location of the facets compared to the diamond overall. A rectangular, circular or whatever shape diamond can all have great or bad cuts.

Color is our third C and also does not really mean what you might think. It refers to how clear the diamond is, not whether it is red, blue or whatever. You want as clear a diamond as you can afford. Grade G is a safe pick.

Carat weight is our final factor. It refers to the weight of the diamond. It is also the most overrated factor. A smaller diamond with a better cut, clarity and color is far superior to a bigger diamond with poorer cut, clarity and color.

The problem with buying big diamonds is any imperfection is magnified and far easier to see than with smaller diamonds. In general, buy as large a G grade diamond with a good cut as you can afford. You should get something really nice.