Carat, Cut, Color and Clarity.
Before you begin to look for a diamond, you need to have all of the necessary information that is available to you. With this guide you, will understand the four C's of a diamond: cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. These guidelines will allow you to select your diamond based on the same criteria jewelers and diamond dealers use to grade and evaluate them. Before explaining the four C's, we will introduce you to the grading report, which is more commonly known as the Diamond Certificate. This certificate documents the attributes of a diamond, including the four Cs, as noted by a gemologist.
The weight of a diamond is measured in Carats. The value tends to rise exponentially with carat weight, since larger diamonds are more rare.
The Cut of the diamond can mean two things: The shape of the diamond and the quality of cut. We will be teaching about cut quality. The Cut of a diamond has the most effect on its brilliance. A diamond which is well cut will have excellent light return and look larger and brighter. A poor cut diamond can make a diamond look dull and dark.
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The Color of a diamond is graded from pure white to a tinted brownish yellow color. A letter graded is assigned for each color grade. The purest white is a D color followed be an E, F, G, H.......X,Y,Z. The most popular color grades are D,E,F,G,H,I and J. The K color and below can often appear yellowish to the untrained eye. The whiter the diamond the more rare and valuable it becomes.
The Clarity of a diamond is determined by examining a diamond face up under 10x power magnification. Nearly all diamond have clarity characteristics that became part of the diamond when it was formed. The higher the clarity, the more valuable a diamond becomes. It's a good idea to view diamonds with different clarity to understand just how clean certain clarity grades look to the naked eye. In this tutorial you will see diamonds magnified to give an idea just how small some of these inclusions can be.
Many diamonds listed have certificates accompanying them. The 5 internationally recognized gem laboratories in the world are the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), AGS (American Gem Society), HRD (High Diamond Council), EGL (European Gemological Laboratory), and IGI (International Gemological Institute). In making a diamond purchase it is highly recommended that you read and review a copy of its certificate, as this is your indication of the quality and value of that diamond. Are you ready to learn more?
Go through our tutorial . Step 1
