Have you found the love of your life and want to wow her with a stunning diamond ring that represents your eternal love? With a remarkable 6 carat diamond ring, any woman would gladly say yes. Even with all the money in the world, buying a captivating 6 carat diamond is not as easy as it sounds.
To help you find a gorgeous diamond engagement ring that she will cherish for life, check out our expert 6 carat diamond ring buying guide to learn just what characteristics to look for in a diamond, where to buy large diamonds, how much you should spend, and much more.
6 Carat Diamond Ring Price
The biggest question on your mind may be, “how much should I spend on a 6 carat diamond?” We have all heard the rule that an engagement ring should cost at least two months of your salary. However, this “rule” was just made by diamond marketers several decades ago to get people to spend more on diamonds.
The truth is, you should only spend as much as you are comfortable with on a 6 carat diamond. The price of the diamond will be influenced by its 4C’s, origin, and brand. For example, a 6 carat diamond with poor grades can cost less than $2,000, while a truly outstanding 6 carat diamond from a premier luxury brand can cost well over $300,000.
Shop for 6 Carat Diamond Rings
To get the best idea of how much your diamond will cost, check out websites like James Allen and Blue Nile and search for 6 carat diamonds with your favorite diamond shape and preferred grades. As you see the various prices, you can adjust the color, cut, and clarity grades until you find a diamond and price you like. Just moving one grade down can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Best of all, a slight change in color or clarity is usually not noticeable to the naked eye.
Let’s compare two 6 carat round cut diamonds from Blue Nile. The first diamond has an H color grade and VS2 clarity grade with a sell price of $142,637. The second diamond has a G color grade and VVS2 clarity grade with a sell price of $218,276.
With a difference of one color grade and two clarity grades, costs $75,639 more!
Let’s compare two 6 carat Excellent cut round diamonds from James Allen. The first diamond has a I color grade and VS1 clarity grade with a sell price of $120,070. The second diamond has a F color grade and VS1 clarity grade with a sell price of $159,620. Even though the two diamonds have the same clarity grade!
With a difference of 3 color grades and the same clarity grades, costs $39,550 more!
Before finalizing your diamond budget, remember that the engagement ring’s setting (and mounting if getting custom made) will cost more money. Depending on the band’s design, metal type, and amount of additional gemstone adornments, such as a pave band or side stones, expect to pay anywhere from $200 to several thousand dollars more.
Learn More:
- How Much Does a 6 Carat Diamond Cost?
- How Much Do Diamond Rings Cost?
- Why Do Diamonds Cost So Much?
- The Best Tips for Buying a Cheap Engagement Ring
- Are Diamond Rings an Investment?
- Which Diamonds Are The Best Investments?
Where To Buy a 6 Carat Diamond Ring
Your local mom and pop jewelry store is not likely to have 6 carat diamonds for sale. You can find an array of 6 carat diamonds on sale at luxury diamond brick-and-mortar stores and well as online retailers (Read Also: Best Places to Buy an Engagement Rings Online).
If you prefer to shop in person, you can feel confident perusing diamonds at luxury jewelry stores such as Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arpels. These jewelers are renowned for their selection of exquisite diamonds of all sizes and styles. You can be sure that a diamond from these luxury jewelers will have exceptional grades, proper lab certification, and be masterfully set in their rings. Of course, by shopping at these premium jewelers, you will have to pay premium prices.
There are plenty of online jewelry stores that provide the convenience of shopping for diamonds from the comfort of your home without any pesky salesmen. Popular online jewelers that offer 6 carat diamonds are James Allen and Blue Nile. Both online stores sell large diamonds that vary in quality but have certification from respectable labs that let you easily check the diamonds’ grades. Online jewelers typically place less markups on their inventory because they have less overhead to pay in comparison to physical stores, which means that their savings get passed onto you.
Learn More:
- Local Jewelry Store Checklist
- Where is the Best Place to Buy Engagement Rings Online in 2021?
- Are Diamonds Cheaper in Other Countries?
The Best Grades for a 6 Carat Diamond Ring
Before even starting your diamond search, you have likely heard of the 4C’s of diamond grading. These four grades detail a diamond’s cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. The 4C’s were established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) as a universal method of understanding diamonds and help customers make informed purchases.
While you already know your ideal diamond carat weight, let’s define just what cut, color, and clarity grades mean and which grades are the best for a 6 carat diamond.
1. Cut Grade:
The cut grade is the most important and most misunderstood grade of the 4C’s. People commonly confuse a diamond’s cut grade with the actual shape of the diamond, such as a round, oval, or pear-shaped diamond. Instead, cut grade refers to how well a diamond was cut, with grades ranging from Excellent from Poor.
The cut grade is so important because it impacts how light travels throughout the diamond. A well-cut diamond will have light effectively travel throughout the stone, bouncing off its facets, and exiting out of the top of the diamond to create a mesmerizing sparkle.
Alternatively, a poorly cut diamond will have light escape from the sides and bottom of the stone, making the diamond look dull and lifeless. A badly cut diamond may also look smaller than an Excellent cut diamond of the same carat weight because of how poorly the carat weight was distributed during the cutting process. We recommend buying an Excellent cut 6 carat diamond to maximize your diamond’s brilliance.
2. Color Grade:
Color grade refers to a diamond’s whiteness with grades spanning from D for colorless to Z for a slight yellow or brown tint. Unlike cut grade, you do not need the highest color grade to enjoy a beautiful and colorless diamond. We recommend buying a 6 carat diamond whose color grades are either G, H, or I since the stone will appear colorless without the heavy price tag that comes with a perfect D colored diamond.
Be sure to always look at your diamond in a few different light settings to ensure that you are happy with its color, such as under florescent and natural lighting. To save money, some people may opt for a J or K colored diamond and mount it on a yellow or rose gold band to make the diamond look whiter in comparison.
3. Clarity Grade for 6 Carat Diamond Rings:
Clarity grade indicates the number of imperfections a diamond has, known as inclusions. To name a few, inclusions can look like black spots, cloudy areas, and pinpricks within the diamond. There are 11 distinct clarity grades which we have ranked from best to worst:
- Flawless (FL)
- Internally Flawless (IF)
- Very Very Slightly Included 1 (VVS1)
- Very Very Slightly Included 2 (VVS2)
- Very Slightly Included 1 (VS1)
- Very Slightly Included 2 (VS2)
- Slightly Included 1 (SI1)
- Slightly Included 2 (SI2)
- Included 1 (I1)
- Included 2 (I2)
- Included 3 (I3)
A Flawless diamond will have absolutely no inclusions at all, while an I3 diamond will be visibly included. We recommended buying a 6 carat diamond with a VS1 or VS2 clarity grade because these imperfections will not be visible to the naked eye and can only be seen under intense magnification.
A diamond whose imperfections cannot be seen by the naked eye are known as eye-clean diamonds. You should always carefully look at diamonds to see what kind of imperfections they have and if any flaws can be hidden under a well-placed prong.
Buy a Lab Certified 6 Carat Diamond
To know what grades your diamond truly has, it must have certification from a reputable diamond grading lab such as the GIA or IGI. These labs are considered the best in the industry because of their commitment to honest and accurate gemological reporting. Some other labs are known to inflate grades for jewelers so that they can sell their inventory for more than its actual worth.
With a certificate from the GIA or IGI, you will know the exact characteristics of the diamond you are looking at, such as its 4C’s, fluoresce, and measurements. The diamond certificate will enable you to make an informed purchase and prevent unscrupulous jewelers from inflating prices.
Learn More: Which Diamonds are Certified?
Should I buy a Lab Grown 6 Carat Diamond?
Diamond origin is a major factor to consider before purchasing a diamond. Mined diamonds have long been a traditional choice, but thanks to modern technology, lab grown diamonds have become a popular alternative.
While mined diamonds form deep within the earth over millions of years under extreme heat and pressure, lab grown diamonds can be created in as little as a few weeks through machines that replicate the intense condition in which diamonds naturally form.
Lab grown diamonds are just as real as their mined counterparts and have the exact same physical, chemical, and visual properties. Many people enjoy lab made diamonds because they place less strain on the environment and typically cost a third less than mined diamonds. Without advanced machinery, it is impossible to tell a naturally grown diamond and lab grown diamond apart.
Since mined and lab grown diamonds are equally beautiful, versatile, and robust, both make wonderful choices for engagement rings and are widely available in jewelry stores. Consider which diamond type you and your bride-to-be would most enjoy.
Learn more:
Popular 6 Carat Diamond Ring Shapes
One of the most amazing things about diamonds is their outstanding versatility and the countless shapes (also known as diamond cuts) that master diamond can craft them into
The top 10 most popular diamond shapes are:
- Round
- Princess
- Cushion
- Oval
- Emerald
- Radiant
- Pear
- Asscher
- Marquise
- Heart
If you are unsure of what diamond shape to buy, rounds are a classic.
About 75% of all diamonds sold are rounds because of their timeless beauty and shape which was designed to maximize the stone’s brilliance. Brilliance refers to the white flashes of light that a diamond emits when hit by light. Due to round diamonds’ immensely popularity, they cost more than comparable diamonds of different shapes.
Modern brides love princess, cushion, and emerald-cut diamonds because of their sleek shapes.
Women have swooned over Mariah Carey’s outstanding 35 carat emerald cut and Beyoncé’s 24 carat emerald cut diamond engagement rings, setting a long lasting engagement ring trend for glamour lovers.
For a diamond shape that elongates the wearer’s fingers, consider getting an oval or a marquise.
Not only do these diamond shapes slim down fingers, but their long shape also makes these diamonds appear larger than other diamond shapes of the same carat weight.
Hearts are a less traditional diamond ring shape, but they look amazing on larger diamonds.
For a 6 carat diamond, the heart’s smooth lobes and tapered bottom can be easily enjoyed by its wearer and by its countless soon to be admirers.
Learn More:
- What Shapes Do Diamonds Come In?
- What are Solitaire Diamond Rings?
- What are Composite Diamond Rings?
- What are Pave Diamond Rings?
- Diamond Shape vs Diamond Cut: What’s the Difference?
The Difference Between Diamond Size and Diamond Carat Weight?
Some diamond shoppers use diamond size and diamond carat weight interchangeably. However, diamond size refers to the visual size of the diamond and diamond carat weight denotes how heavy the diamond is. If you compare a 6 carat round diamond with a 6 carat pear diamond, the pear will appear to have a larger size because of its elongated shape.
Take a look at the images below to see how big a 6 Carat Diamond Ring looks on a woman’s finger.
Final Thoughts
We hope you feel excited about shopping for your perfect engagement ring and letting the love of your life know just how much she means to you. Keep our buying guide handy as you begin to check out diamond retailers.
Here are our most important tips for buying a 6 carat diamond:
- Always buy a diamond with an Excellent cut grade.
- Ensure that your diamond has a G, H, or I color grade.
- Shop for diamonds with a VS1 or VS2 clarity grade.
- Round diamonds are the most expensive shape because they have the most demand.
- Experiment with different diamond shapes as well as color and clarity grades to compare diamond prices.
- Lab grown diamonds generally cost a third less than mined diamonds.
- Online diamond stores typically place less markups on their diamonds than brick-and-motor stores.
Shopping for your 6 carat diamond should never feel like a stressful process. After reading our buying guide, you are already one step closer to buying a diamond ring that she will always love without going over budget.
