What could I expect to pay for a loose 6 mm diamond, or what would you suggest for my price range?

The only way to get a half carat diamond for $600 or under would be to get a Clarity Enhanced Diamond. The concerns most people have with clarity enhanced diamonds are:

  • Can cleaning the ring damage the diamond?
  • Does it retain value?

When you buy the diamond you have to ask about cleaning the diamond. Ask them if cleaning will affect the enhancement. The two companies I know that deal in CE diamonds say that ultasound cleaning (a common form of diamond ring cleaning) will not damage the fillings (not all CE diamonds have fillings, some have simply been laser drilled with a microscopic hole and had the inclusion cleaned with a special secret liquid). However you must inform any jeweler that works on the ring that it is a clarity enhanced diamond. The intense heat from a jeweler's torch will not be good for any fillers. If they know it is a CE diamond they have certain protective gels etc to use when working on it.

As to the second concern regarding CE diamonds retaining value: They are already cheaper than non clarity enhanced diamonds, so they actually retain value at a similar rate to non-clarity enhanced diamonds. Sometimes even better as they are already that much cheaper (30% to 45% cheaper).

/r/Diamond Thread