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The 4 C's of Diamonds
A person should not buy loose diamonds before learning about the 4 C's, which are Color, Cut, Carat, and Clarity. Though these shouldn't be your ONLY deciding factors when making a purchase, knowing about them will certainly help you.
The question to ask nowadays is not quite "what are
the four C's", but more about "which C is more important to you". Out of all the consumers in the world, it is rare to find one who can actually afford a stone that ranks top
notch for clarity, color, cut, and be of a large carat weight, therefore, it's important to know your personal preferences and be able to sacrifice one quality for the other.
- Color - The color grading of a diamond is usually used only for white diamonds, so
don't try to put this system onto a fancy pink diamond. A color of D is the best you can find
and it is completely colorless. From then on, E, F, G...etc. measures slightly more yellow
hues inside the stone. In today's market, people generally prefer a color of at least an I,
even if it means smaller stones. Color is relatively easy to distinguish with the naked
eye. Place an H diamond next to an F, you will easily see the difference. In terms, gradings
D through F are considered colorless, G through J are near colorless, K through R are
very light yellow, and S through Z are light yellow. If it's even yellower than a Z, then
the diamond will be considered a fancy yellow diamond.
- Cut - The diamond cut isn't the shape, but the quality of the cut. Good cuts
result in more beautiful diamonds with lots of fire, brilliance, and scintillation (how
much sparkle is let out when in motion). Typically, you don't want a diamond to be cut
too deep or too shallow. Light leaks out in both, resulting in stones that appear too dark.
There is no one cut that is said to create the most beautiful diamond. For example, one set
of numbers and angles might produce more scintillation, while another one produces more
brilliance. So basically, it all comes down to your individual definition of "beauty".
- Clarity - Clarity measures the amount of inclusions present in a loose diamond. Because
inclusions can interfere with the light passing through a diamond, the less of them the
better. Don't ever be fooled into thinking that it's a good thing by tactful sellers who
refer to them as "birthmarks" or "signatures" of the stone. Flawless gems would have a
clarity of FL. For very very small inclusions that are noticeable only through a loupe,
the measurement would be VVS1 and VVS2, meaning very very slightly included. VS1 and VS2
(very slightly included) contain a little bit more imperfections than VVS. When the
inclusions are becoming visible to the naked eye, they usually fall under SI1, SI2, I1,
I2, and I3.
- Carat - Carat measures the weight of a diamond. If you don't know that by now then you've
got some serious problems. The more carat a diamond measures, the BIGGER it looks! Though
skilled diamond cutters may create the illusion of a bigger diamond than its actual weight,
light and sparkle will be lost. So whether you want to go for the bigger diamond with less
brilliance, or the smaller, brighter one depends solely on your personal taste. Some diamonds
dealers measure their weight with points. Remember that one caract contains 100 points, so
don't be tricked into buying a .25 point diamond thinking it's a quarter of a carat, which
would actually be 25 points.
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