When you are searching for diamond jewelry, especially diamond engagement rings, you will discover that there are various ways to make a diamond look bigger than it really is. The diamond shape, cut, and setting all have an effect on its perceived size. You can find many discount diamonds and cheap diamonds in the world market today. However, be sure you purchase them from reliable sellers and diamond experts.

Here are five tips that could help you out when you want to purchase diamond engagement rings that appear larger than its real carat weight.

• Fancy Diamond Shapes

Compared to round-shaped diamonds, fancy shaped diamonds of equal weight appear larger especially those gems with elongated shapes. Elongated shaped diamonds include marquise, pear, and oval shaped gems.

• Pavé Settings

What is a pave setting?

It is an incessant surface of diamonds. However, they are actually composed of smaller stones places side by side into the smaller holes. Their surfaces are even with the diamond setting and small beads are fashioned from the surrounding metal to support the smaller diamonds in place.

It is hard to determine individual stones, thus a pave setting gives you the illusion that the jewelry has bigger and more diamonds that it actually does. Always remember that diamond rings with sophisticated pave settings can be expensive – so purchasing larger stones could actually be cheaper.

• Illusion Settings

An illusion setting fashions the diamond on a mirror-like plate prior to setting it up on the band, creating an illusion that the diamond is larger and more brilliant. However, this kind of setting is harder to repair when damaged, and so may not be best for a ring that will be worn all the time.

• Bezel Settings

Consider purchasing a diamond in a bezel setting where a rim entirely wraps the diamond. Platinum or white gold will perfectly balance a white diamond, making it look larger while a yellow gold bezel setting can cause a yellowish stain onto the stone.

• Shallow Cut Diamonds

It may seem enticing to purchase an engagement ring set with diamonds that are cut shallow. Shallow cut diamonds are those stones that are not as deep as they ideally should be. They appear bigger than the same size diamonds with a proportional cut. However, what you have more in size, you lose in brilliance. Light passing through a shallow cut diamond has the tendency to go out the back instead of bouncing off the sides of the diamond and creating those beautiful refractions.

You might also want to consider an engagement ring with side stones. Although side stones do not make the center diamond appear larger, this kind of setting can give diamond engagement rings more pizzazz.

Before you purchase jewelry like a diamond engagement ring, we recommend that you do some research about diamond cuts first. This will help you decide on which engagement ring is the right buy. Moreover, remember to take ample time in scouting for trustworthy sellers. Do not rush your purchase when someone offers you a deal that seems too good to be true. Thorough research would be ideal before you purchase any diamond jewelry, because then you’ll be assured that you’re getting what you pay for.