A diamonds value is dictated by the rarity of four characteristics, Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight also known as the 4c's. These four characteristics can alter three factors in a diamond, its beauty, rarity, or size.

You should prioritize your diamond search by beauty, rarity and size. When you do this you will make your diamond search more simple and fun. Decide upon what's important and mix and match your 4c's to end up with your perfect diamond. *Note: though a diamonds value may increase or decrease because of rarity, most rarity factors do not affect beauty as seen by the naked eye.

The rarity factor of "Diamond Cut" is the most important characteristic influencing the beauty of a diamond. The better the cut the more rare and beautiful your diamond will be.

The rarity factor of "Diamond Color" definitely affects price, but does nothing to alter beauty as related to sparkle or brilliance. However, while searching you may find that certain colors catch your eye more than others.

The rarity factor of "Diamond Clarity" does not for the most part affect the beauty of the diamond except in the cases where the inclusions are eye visible.

The size of your diamond is characterized by two features. The more obvious of the two is its "Weight". This is how much your diamond weighs on a scale (you'll read more about this under "Diamond Carat Weight"). The less obvious feature is the influence that beauty has on the appearance of a diamonds size. The more beautiful a diamond the larger it will appear.