DIAMOND EDUCATION - THE 4 Cs OF DIAMOND SHOPPING
Carat Weight measures the mass of a diamond. One carat is defined as exactly 200 milligrams (about 0.007 ounce). The point unit—equal to one one-hundredth of a carat (0.01 carat, or 2 mg)—is commonly used for diamonds of less than one carat. All else being equal, the value of a diamond increases exponentially in relation to carat weight, since larger diamonds are both rarer and more desirable for use as gemstones.
Diamond Cut In order to best utilize a diamond gemstone's superlative material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed. A diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond. The most popular of diamond cuts is the modern round brilliant, whose facet arrangements and proportions have been perfected by both mathematical and empirical analysis. Also popular are the fancy cuts which come in a variety of shapes—many of which were derived from the round brilliant.
Diamond clarity is a quality of diamonds relating to the existence and visual appearance of internal defects of a diamond called inclusions, and surface defects called blemishes. Clarity is one of the four Cs of diamond grading, the others being carat, color, and cut. Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or another diamond, or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. The number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond. A clarity grade is assigned based on the overall appearance of the stone under 10x magnification. Most inclusions present in gem-quality diamonds do not affect the diamonds' performance or structural integrity. However, large clouds can affect a diamond's ability to transmit and scatter light. Large cracks close to or breaking the surface may reduce a diamond's resistance to fracture. Diamonds with higher clarity grades are more valued, with the exceedingly rare "flawless" graded diamond fetching the highest price. However, minor inclusions or blemishes are sometimes considered to have some value, as they can be used as unique identifying marks analogous to fingerprints. "Eye Clean" is a term used to describe diamonds that do not have noticeable inclusions when being viewed with the naked eye. This is of course subjective viewpoint as everyone has different degrees of vision and may or may not see the same inclusions as someone else. Remember that all diamond grading is subjective and can vary by up to 20%.
Diamond Color The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) uses a "D" to "Z" scale it developed for grading the color of "white" (non-fancy colored) diamonds, where "D" is colorless and "Z" is yellow: colorless: D, E, F near colorless: G, H, I, J faint yellow or brown: K, L, M very light yellow or brown: N, O, P, Q, R light yellow or brown: S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z Other diamond grading agencies, notably the European Gemological Laboratory (EGL) and the American Gemological Society (AGS), also use the color scale developed by the GIA. Diamonds that rate toward the colorless end of the range are sometimes known as "high-color" diamonds, and those toward the other end, "low-color" diamonds. These terms refer to the relative desirability (as demonstrated by market prices) of color grades, not the intensity of the color itself. Diamond color is graded by comparing a sample stone to a master set of diamonds with colors defined as "D" through "Z". Diamonds having a color more intense than "Z" are considered fancy colored diamonds, and can be graded using separate systems which indicate the characteristics of the color, and not just its presence. These color grading systems are more similar to those used for other colored gemstones, such as ruby, sapphire, or emerald, than they are to the system used for white diamonds. There is no scientific standard for grading the color diamonds.
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