Know your diamonds.. Imp 4 'c s of Diamonds

1. Know your Diamonds…

2. diamonds
The
C
C
C
C
4C’s
Of
4C’s OF POLISHED DIAMOND
In selecting a diamond, the rarity, value and beauty is determined by the four
factors mentioned here, called as:
arat
larity
olor
ut

3. No two diamonds are exactly like. Understanding how to
distinguish one diamond from another is made possible with
the Four Cs:

4. Cut
• A diamond's cut grade is one of the most important factors in
determining its beauty. The way a stone is cut unlocks its natural
brilliance.
GIA breaks down diamond cut grades as follows:
• Excellent: most brilliant and most rare
• Very Good: brilliant and rare
• Good: average brilliance and rarity
• Fair: less brilliant and not as rare
• Poor: low brilliance and not rare
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5. Cut
• A diamond's shape, ranging from a round brilliant to one of numerous
"fancy" shapes, is different from its cut, which rests on criteria such
as proportions, symmetry and polish.
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6. Color
• This criterion will challenge your logic skills, because color actually
refers to a lack thereof, grading the whiteness of a diamond.
• Color is measured on a scale from D (highest) to Z (lowest); fancy
color diamonds are graded on a different scale (using colors
instead of letters of the alphabet, and thus defying your logic skills
a little less). The less color a diamond has, the higher its color grade.
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7. Color
GIA breaks down diamond color grades as follows:
• Colorless diamonds (D-F) are the rarest of the color
spectrum. They do not show any perceptible color;
only F color stones display a trace amount of color
when viewed by a trained eye face-down on a special
color grading pad
(most of us will simply see a gorgeous White diamond).
• Near colorless diamonds (G-J) appear colorless when
face-up, but do show a slight amount of color when
viewed face-down on a special color grading pad.
Don't despair, because this is usually undetectable to an
untrained eye.
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8. Clarity
• Clarity is a measure of the small natural imperfections, or
inclusions, that appear in almost every diamond. Because each
stone's inclusions are unique, they represent its "fingerprint."
• A clarity grade is determined by their number, size, position,
nature and visibility. The smaller the inclusion, the higher the
clarity grade and the more valuable the diamond is.
• Generally, because of their microscopic nature, inclusions are
usually not visible to the naked eye and do not materially affect
the way a diamond looks.
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9. Clarity
GIA breaks down diamond clarity grades as follows:
• FL: Flawless
• IF: Internally Flawless
• VVS1/VVS2: Very Very Slightly Included
• VS1/VS2: Very Slightly Included
• SI1/SI2: Slightly Included
• I1/I2/I3: Included
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10. Carat Weight
• Carat is measure of a diamond's weight. No
advanced math required here: just like a dollar is
made up of 100 cents, a carat consists of 100
points, so a diamond weighing 75 points is equal
to 0.75 carats.
• While a diamond's weight plays a part in determining
its value,
overall price depends on other aspects of the Four Cs
as well.
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11. Carat Weight
• The more a diamond weighs, the rarer it tends to be because
larger gem-quality rough diamonds occur in nature less frequently
than smaller ones, and as much as two-thirds of total carat weight
may be lost when a rough diamond is polished. Also important
when considering carat weight is the diameter of the diamond
when viewed face, or table, up.
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