Diamond Education - 4 C's of Diamonds

1) COLOR

Color describes the amount of color the diamond contains. This can range from colorless to yellow with slight tints of yellow, gray or brown. Colors can also range from intense yellow to brown, blue, green, pink and red. These fancy colors are rare and therefore more valuable.

 

GIA COLOR - COMMERICAL GRADING
D, E, F Colorless (White)
G, H, I, J Near Colorless (White)
K, L, M Faint Yellow 
N, O, P, Q, R Very Light Yellow
S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z Light Yellow 


Clarity describes the clearness or purity of a diamond. This is determined by the number, size, nature, and location of the internal (inclusions) and external (blemishes) imperfections.

 

    CLARITY DESCRIPTION
FL-IF Flawless or Internally Flawless. No internal inclusions.
VVS1 - VVS2 Very Very Small Inclusions. Very difficult to detect under 10x maginification.
VS1-VS2 Very Small inclusions. Can be seen under 10x magnification and in some cases to the naked eye. 
SI1-SI2 Small inclusions. Can be seen under 10x magnification and may be visible to the naked eye
I1-I2-I3  Imperfect. Inclusion are visible under 10x maginification and in in most cases to the naked eye.

 

Cut refers to the proportions, finish, symmetry, and polish of the diamond. These factors determine the fire and brilliance of a diamond. Well cut diamonds sell at a premium and poorly cut diamonds sell at discounted prices. With the advent of technology, the cut of the diamond can be determined through the use of the Dia-Mension system, a computerized system which takes accurate measurements and proportions of a diamond in seconds, in addition to the standard millimeter gauge. 
As an example, a round brilliant cut, which has 58 facets, is shown below. Since the quality of the cut is directly responsible for the stone's beauty, the precision with which the facets are arranged is of prime importance. They determine the amount of light reflected to the eye, called brilliance. 
The proportions displayed by the stone are very significant. Two of the key factors in the grading of cut quality -- table percentage and depth percentage -- are usually expressed on grading reports. Measurement of three different parameters allows for easy calculation of these percentages by using the formulas expressed below.

color

 

4) CARAT WEIGHT

Carat Weight is the unit of weight for the diamond. A carat is further subdivided in 100 points ( 0.01 carat = l point ). One carat is equal to 0.20 grams. Value per carat increases with carat size, because larger rough diamonds occur less frequently. In other words, 2 half-carat diamonds taken together will not cost as much as 1 one-carat diamond, as the one-carat stone is more rare.