Pick the shape first, then grown or mined, the grades, her gold and her ring size
Pick the shape first. At 2 carats the shape decides how big the stone looks, and a marquise, oval or pear looks longer on her finger than a round of equal weight. Then choose grown or mined. Most rings here hold a lab-grown center, graded VS or better and mostly E or F color. Take 14K in the gold she wears most, and measure a ring she already wears before you order.
How big: how big a 2 carat diamond looks on her hand
A round of 2 carats measures about 8.2 mm, close to half the width of a size 6 finger. The long shapes spread the same weight further, so a marquise, oval or pear looks larger than a round, and a princess or Asscher looks smaller. Every ring here holds a center of 2 carats or a touch over. Read that center carat, not a total, since three natural rings here carry more carats of side diamonds than the center weighs. The diamond size chart draws each shape to scale.
The shape: radiant, marquise or emerald cut at 2 carats
Start with the radiant or the marquise, together nearly three in four of the rings sold here in the year. A radiant is faceted like a round inside a rectangle, and its clipped corners take a knock better than sharp ones. A marquise gives the longest look for the weight, and each point wants a prong. An emerald cut or Asscher is step cut, flat facets like a hall of mirrors that show the inside of the stone. Round sparkles most.
Lab or natural: lab-grown vs natural 2 carat diamonds
Both are diamonds, the same carbon crystal on the same grading scales, one grown and one mined. Most rings here hold a lab-grown center. Those grown centers are all VS or better and most are E or F, white and clean at this size. A natural 2 carat is the rarer stone, and the four here are a K color radiant, a fancy yellow radiant, a cushion and a round in a platinum bridal set. The lab-grown and natural article goes deeper on both.
Color and clarity: what grade to choose for a 2 carat diamond
At 2 carats a tint or an inclusion shows more than at one carat, so the grades count. E and F look colorless, and a VS stone looks clean without a loupe. On a step cut choose VS1 or cleaner, and every emerald cut and Asscher here is F color, VS or VVS. On a natural center, H or I color and SI2 clarity make room for a bigger stone. Ask about cut, symmetry and fluorescence too, since they decide how it lights up.
Gold and size: 14K or 18K, the band and her ring size
For a ring worn every day take 14K, as nearly every ring sold here in the year was. Most come in yellow, white and rose. The bands are slim, mostly 1.5 to 2 mm where a listing says. Nearly every ring comes in sizes 5 through 8 with the half sizes. Slip out one of her rings for a jeweler to size, or quietly ask a trusted friend or her family. Get it right before you order, because a ring made or resized for her is final. Some are made in her size after the order, and the listing gives the wait. Pick her wedding band with it.