All Diamonds consist of the Four C’s which are, Carat, Color, Cut, and Clarity. Each of these characteristics determine the quality of a Diamond. When looking for Diamonds you should really consider these four main qualities. Here is a quick overview of each one.
Carat is a unit of weight that we use for Diamonds and most gemstones. This means the bigger the Carat weight the bigger a Diamond is. Some lingo you will often hear with Jewelers when referring to the Carat weight of Diamonds are “points”. Points are mostly used as a quick way to define Diamonds less than 1.0 carats where 100 points is equal to a 1.0 carat Diamond. So a 30 pointer would be a Diamond that is .30 carats. While Carat weight and size of a Diamond are part of a price the actual price of the Diamond is determined by all four of the C’s.
Color is, well, the color of a Diamond. Contrary to belief Diamonds are not always clear in fact most Diamonds have a slight yellow hue to them. We use GIA certified diamonds and they use the grading system of D-Z where D is colorless and Z is very yellow to the point where you can see it with the naked eye. So when looking at the color of Diamonds D is the best and the lower it goes the more color you will see in the Diamond.
Cut is how well a Diamond can transmit light throughout itself making it shine and look brilliant. Most people think the Cut of a Diamond is just the shape of it such as Round, Square, Oval, Etc. This is true but the Cut of a Diamond is also a grade between excellent, very good, good, fair, to poor. A badly cut Diamond will look darker and not shine as well as an excellent cut Diamond.
Clarity is how many impurities can be found in a Diamond. You most likely have heard of the term flawless Diamond which means that no impurities are found in the diamond. Impurities are slight flaws in a Diamond such as scratches or inclusions, small dark spots in the Diamond, which can be found in most Diamonds. Jewelers will often refer to these as VS1(very slightly included 1), VS2 ( very slightly included 2), SI1 (slightly included 1), etc. These are the grades of clarity of a Diamond. There are many grades to the Clarity of a Diamond and is a characteristic of a Diamond that you should look at when looking for a Diamond.
We hope this small review of the four C’s will be helpful to you when looking for or purchasing a Diamond in the future.
