Making a big purchase, such an engagement ring, online can be a scary idea, but it doesn’t have to be! Emmeline Smith, from Infinity Diamond Jewellery, shares her advice on what to look out for when buying online, to ensure that get the right ring for you.

Buying your engagement ring online has many advantages, the first being, you have the whole world at your fingertips! You can view all the rings from the comfort of your home, at a time that suits you. And – possibly the most attractive one – because many online jewellers don’t have physical stores, those savings are passed on to the consumer, so you can make big savings.

Like any online purchase, do your research and check you’re buying from a reputable and trustworthy seller. Make sure you know lead-times, shipping, terms & conditions and the all-important returns policy. It’s a legal requirement to offer a minimum returns policy of 14 days in the UK Distance Selling regulations, but that doesn’t apply to all custom-made items – so make sure you know your sellers policy.

At Infinity Diamond Jewellery, we offer 30 days on all of our jewellery, offering plenty of time to make sure you love your purchase. We sell exclusively online, specialising in the finest quality, lab-grown precious stones – specifically dazzling engagement rings. And moissanites are certainly the stone of the moment right now, as the ethical and budget friendly alternative to traditional diamonds, meaning you’ll get more bang for your buck!

The 4 Cs

When it comes to buying precious stones – both lab-grown and mined – they’re ranked using the 4Cs. But what exactly does that mean?

Cut

While cuts come in many shapes, whichever one you opt for is graded from poor to excellent. An excellent cut will have high brilliance and scintillation, offering sparkling patterns of light and dark – while a poor cut has weak proportions and little brilliance.

The quality of a cut is graded from Excellent through Very Good, Good, Fair and all the way to Poor.

Clarity

The clarity of a stone refers to any blemishes and inclusions. The highest valued stones are clear with no fractures, faults or imperfections. Clarity is ranked from FL (the gem is flawless and the most valuable) to IF (internally flawless), VVSI (very, very slightly included), I3 (eye visible inclusions) and SI1 or SI2 (slightly included).

Colour

Colourless stones – including moissanites and diamonds – are actually graded on how close they are to colourless. The grading starts from D-F (the clearest which are the most rare and valuable), G-J (near colourless and highly desirable), K-M (a slight hint of colour), N-R (near colourless), S-V (faint yellow hue) and W-Z (has a light yellow hint).

Whereas coloured precious stones such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds, are graded on three properties: hue (colour), tone (lightness or darkness) and saturation (intensity of the hue).

The highest values are given to coloured stones with pure hues and strong, rich colours.

Carat

Carats represent the weight of a stone (not the size). A moissanite is around 15% lighter than a diamond, so a 1 carat moissanite is larger in size than a 1 carat diamond. Moissanites can be described by both carat weight and size in mm.

Although stones are graded – and valued – by the 4Cs, that may not be so important to you. You may prefer a stone with the character of a visible inclusion or a pale yellow stone, instead of colourless, so pick what you love and it will be priceless!