If you have an unlimited budget and price is no factor (a happy thought!), you can insist on a 0/0/0 grade diamond, the highest quality in all three factors of cut, color & clarity. It will be a beautiful diamond, but you will pay quite a premium price because of the rarity factor of getting triple zeros. It will be much more expensive, but no more beautiful than a diamond which has the best balance of quality factors to give maximum beauty. But to achieve that, you need the advice of a Certified Gemologist to guide you through the selection and to show you where to compromise the technical quality without diminishing the beauty. That's why no knowledgeable gemologist would ever purchase a diamond based solely on a grading report. Most of the independent labs that issue reports focus on the color, clarity and carat weight, leaving out the most important factor of cut, because that is what controls brilliancy and beauty. They are simply offering the diamond based upon a piece of paper that doesn't realistically describe beauty. And none of the labs at this time issue a Beauty Grade® because this is a very new machine that measures the actual light return from a diamond. It is the single most important number you need to know when selecting your diamond.
Unfortunately, there are no federal or state licensing laws that require knowledge & ethics on the part of the jeweler or seller of diamonds. So anyone who wants to do so can set up shop, call themselves a jeweler and start selling….without any training whatever. And that happens more often than you would think. In fact, statistically, less than 4% of the jewelers in the U.S. have had sufficient training and testing to hold the Certified Gemologist title. Far fewer advance to the highest title of Certified Gemologist Appraiser (CGA). These are professional titles awarded by the American Gem Society and guarantee knowledge and ethics to the consumer. The titles are very difficult to earn and must be re-earned each year by taking a recertification exam. It is your best protection when buying jewelry or precious gems. Underwoods currently has 4 CGA's on staff to guarantee quality and value in your purchase. It is a protection you should demand when purchasing a diamond.