The 4 C's of Diamond Buying

1. Cut vs. Cut Grade...

2. Color ...

3. Clarity...

4. Carat ...

Cut (shape) vs. Proportions...

The cut is often considered the most important aspect of a diamond. The cut refers to the shape, facet design, finish & proportions of a diamond. A properly cut diamond will exemplify radiance & brilliance. The diamond images below show many of the cuts of diamond from which you have to choose.

The proportion of the diamond could be considered the most important factor contributing to the fire, scintillation and brilliance. In other words, two diamonds of the same carat, color, clarity & shape can vary in price by as much as 50% based on the final piece of the puzzle: proportion.

 

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Color

Refers to the color or lack of color within a diamond. Color is graded from colorless (D-E-F), near Colorless (G-H-I-J), and degrees of yellow and brown. Fancy colors include a spectrum of colors such as yellow, pink & blue. Red is the most valuable and most rare of the fancy colors.

Color is based on an alphabetical scale ranging from D (representative of the complete absence of color) to Z (representative of colors in the fancy range) The average consumer will usually consider a diamond in the D-J range, which is broken down into the following categories: D-F = colorless, or rarest whites (collector colors) G-H = near colorless, or top whites (very desirable colors) I-J = near colorless, but a warmer color (great value)

Color Scale Diagram

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Clarity

Refers to the natural mineral inclusions within Diamonds. They range from Flawless to Included. Clarity is graded by the number, size & location of the inclusions.

IF No Internal Flaw	VVS1 Very Very Slightly Included (very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification) VVS2 Very Very Slightly Included	VS1 Very Slightly Included (difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification, typically unable to see inclusions with unaided eye) VS2 Very Slightl	SI1 Slightly Included (easy to see inclusions under 10x magnification, may not be able to see inclusions with unaided eye) SI2 Slightly Included	I1 Inclusion (inclusion may be seen with unaided eye in large diamonds but on smaller diamonds these inclusions may be impossible to see especially if

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Carat

Carat weight is the weight of the diamond measured in carats. One carat is divided into 100 "points," so that a diamond of 75 points weighs 0.75 carats. Carat weight is the most obvious factor in determining the value of a diamond. But two diamonds of equal carat weights can have very different prices, depending on their quality. Diamonds of high quality can be found in all size ranges.