Although most women won’t admit to fantasizing about their wedding as little girls, they are more than happy to share their love of diamonds and even to subliminally, albeit secretly, point their men in the right direction. When the time comes, whether it means nonchalantly pointing at a boutique window, leaving out a catalogue with folded pages, or leaving their web browser open, their hint will be noticed. What started as a Western tradition signifying that a woman accepts a betrothal, is now so much more than a symbol of love and marriage, it has become a statement about fashion, taste and status—and for many, the bigger the better.

But have you ever wondered how it began? The tradition dates back to the medieval era when Pope Innocent III instituted a mandatory waiting period between the engagement and marriage. At the time, only wealthy nobles could afford precious stones, so the ring usually comprised of a simple metal band, and many countries still honor this practice. But as people’s incomes grew, up went the ante. Fast forward to the 1940s and De Beers can be single-handedly celebrated for introducing us to the diamond solitaire as part of a successful advertising campaign, which more than doubled diamond sales in a three-year period. And in 1947 copywriter Frances Gerety coined the phrase: “A Diamond is Forever.” Over the next 20 years the symbol was solidified and by 1965, 80 percent of women wore a diamond engagement ring. Nowadays the options are endless, but before committing to a ring it is important to educate yourself about diamonds and many jewelry stores even offer a crash course for those interested.

Known as the “4C’s” of diamonds—carat, cut, color and clarity (the first two are more subjective and based on personal preference; the latter two are more objective and inherently affect the diamond’s value) are the universal grading system developed by the Gemological Institute of America or GIA. What does this mean? No matter what country you are in, every diamond is graded the same way.

The carat is the standard unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones. Deriving its name from the carob seed because of their uniform weight, the carat is measured to the hundred thousandth and expressed to a hundredth. But beware: this is not to be confused with carat weight, which sums the weight of all of the diamonds on a ring. For example, a diamond can be 2.75cts., but the setting can include a diamond pavé (French for “pavement” or the setting of small diamonds close together so that no metal shows) bringing the carat weight of the ring to 3.50ctw. This is also not to be confused with karat, which refers to the purity of gold.

Perhaps one of the most visually-obvious decisions you can make when buying a diamond is the cut, or shape, of a diamond and the accuracy of the cut is what creates a “diamond’s fire, sparkle and brilliance.” The fire is the dispersion of light into the colors of the spectrum; the sparkle, or scintillation, is the flashes of light that you see when a diamond moves; the brilliance is the total light reflected from a diamond. One of the most popular shapes is the round, brilliant-cut diamond, which incorporates 58 facets (small polished surfaces of a cut gem), while others like the marquise, emerald, asscher, cushion and princess, are known as fancy shapes. When it comes to the value of a cut, the quality is based on its proportion, symmetry and polish.

Valued by how closely they approach colorlessness, the color of a diamond is one of the most important qualities to consider when purchasing a stone. While most jewelry stores carry colorless (D) to near-colorless diamonds, the grading system starts at D, which began to avoid confusion with previously applied grading systems, and goes through Z. The later in the alphabet the color score is, the more yellow or brown the stone will appear. But make note that a lower score diamond is not what we know as a yellow or fancy diamond. Colored diamonds, whether they are yellow, pink, blue or black, lie outside the traditional color range.

Just as people are born with birthmarks, so is a diamond due to its conception deep within the earth, under extreme heat and pressure and the presence of these affect the clarity of the stone. Although few flawless, or FL, stones exist, the gamut includes 11 grades in total, with the least desirable being those with obvious inclusions (I3), but most fall into the very slightly included (VS) or slightly included (SI) categories. In order to determine the clarity, the GIA reviews the size, nature, position, color, relief and quantity of internal birthmarks (inclusions) and external birthmarks (blemishes) under 10X magnification. This scoring system most recognizably translates to the diamond blueprint one receives when they buy a certified diamond, which diagrams where any/all of these are located.

While every stone receives a value for each of the C’s, it is the comprehensive evaluation that should be considered by its buyer. Just as a wedding budget is dispersed based on what is most important to the couple, choosing a diamond depends on the importance of the carat, cut, color and clarity to both of you and what area you are willing to negotiate on.