!: Can You Afford High Quality Diamond Pendant Jewelry - 3 Things to Get the Perfect Affordable Jewelry

Okay, so you've got this special occasion coming up such as a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas and you want to get the special lady in your life a gift she will absolutely love. What are you going to get her? Your thought to buy Diamond Pendant Jewelry is always an excellent idea.

So you go to the store looking for the ideal necklace. The sales clerk walks you over to the jewelry case and shows you the selection. All of the designs look like great options but the prices range from to over 0.

Question...which one are you going to choose? Which one is going to be the perfect choice based on design, quality, and price? Do you know what the characteristics are of high quality diamonds? How about the precious metal casing the diamonds are housed in? If it comes with a necklace, what makes for the most desirable chain?

These are valid questions. And obviously the answers to those questions not only impact the price you pay for the diamond pendant jewelry but they also play a huge role in the jewelry you choose.

So to help you find the perfect piece of jewelry for your special girl AND your pocket book, here are 3 things you can look for in finding high quality diamond pendant jewelry.

Determine diamond quality -- first you need to know about the 4 Cs of diamonds. They are cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. The great thing is that you don't have to be a gemologist to know what to the quality of a diamond is in a piece of diamond pendant jewelry. Simply look for the descriptions of each of the Cs. For example, you want a "good" cut stone. The color is best when graded as D-F and diminishes in quality from there. A best quality clarity grade is F. That level decreases with an IF, VVS1, VVS2, and so on. For diamond pendant jewelry, a grade of I1, I2, and I3 still works well since flaws are not easily seen. And carat weight is based on your preference for diamond size. Understanding that one carat is a pretty good sized rock, .20 carats and above are notable sizes as well. Precious metal encasing the gemstones -- themost common precious metals are gold, silver, and platinum. All three in their purest state are soft metals for practical use and are mixed with other metals to add strength and allow for easier shaping for jewelry design. The grades of these metals are based on their part of the whole metal content using a 1,000 point scale. For gold, 24k equals 100%. From there 18k equals 75%, 14k equals 58%, and so on. Pure platinum is 950 parts per 1,000. The grade reduces as the parts decrease. And pure silver requires a minimum of 925 parts per thousand of the jewelry content. As I'm sure you know, the price of the metal will decrease as the grade decreases. Of the three metals, platinum is naturally the most expensive. Necklace quality features -- for the necklace you simply want to make sure that the design or cut of the chain is complimentary to the diamond pendant. Make sure the metal type and grade of the chain is the same as the metal type and grade of the pendant. The length of the chain should be considered for display of the pendant as well. And the clasp on the chain is important too with the lobster claw being a fan favorite.

With these three thoughts in mind, you are sure to choose the perfect diamond pendant jewelry for the woman you love. And you can make the decision knowing you got the best quality for the money you spent.