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All About Diamond

Round
Pear
Princess
Oval
Emerald
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Marquise

Natrual Diamond Vs Lab Grown Diamond

What is 4Cs?

Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight

The 4Cs represent the key factors in diamond grading. Each diamond is assessed based on these attributes, and together, they establish its overall value.

1. Cut

While nature dictates a natural diamond's color and clarity, it is human skill that shapes its cut quality, bringing the stone to life. The planning, proportions, cutting precision, and finishing details all contribute to the diamond's brilliance, dispersion, and scintillation. If these cutting factors are not optimized, the diamond's appearance can suffer. Over time, diamond faceting has evolved, especially with advancements in lighting. Today, numerous shapes and cutting styles exist, each offering unique visual characteristics. Among them, the Round Brilliant cut has become the most popular in the era of modern electric lighting.

2. Color

Most gem-quality diamonds used in jewelry range from completely colorless to those with noticeable yellow or brown tints. The rarest and most valuable diamonds fall within the colorless range, graded D, E, and F, on a scale that extends down to Z. Diamonds displaying more color than Z, or in other hues such as orange, pink, or blue, are classified as 'Fancy Colored Diamonds.' To determine the correct color grade, each submitted diamond is compared to an internationally recognized master set of stones, which ranges from D (the most sought after) to Z (the most yellow or brown), excluding 'fancy' variations.

3. Clarity

Diamonds form under extreme heat and pressure, which often results in both internal and external characteristics. These features assist gemologists in distinguishing natural diamonds from synthetics and simulants while also identifying individual stones. Clarity characteristics are categorized into two types: inclusions and blemishes. Diamonds can be classified into several clarity grades, represented by symbols:

  • FL (Flawless): No inclusions or blemishes visible under 10x magnification.
  • IF (Internally Flawless): No inclusions visible under 10x magnification, but some surface blemishes may be present.
  • VVS1 and VVS2 (Very Very Slightly Included): Inclusions are very difficult to see under 10x magnification.
  • VS1 and VS2 (Very Slightly Included): Inclusions are small and difficult to see under 10x magnification.
  • SI1 and SI2 (Slightly Included): Inclusions are noticeable under 10x magnification.
  • I1, I2, and I3 (Included): Inclusions are obvious and may affect transparency and brilliance."

4. Carat

The weight and size of a diamond are measured in carats (ct.). One carat is equivalent to 1/5 of a gram and is subdivided into 100 points. For instance, a diamond weighing 1.07 ct. is described as “one carat and seven points.” Here are some common conversions:

  • 0.75 carat = 75 points
  • 1/2 carat = 50 points
  • 1/4 carat = 25 points

Large diamonds are much rarer than smaller ones, making them significantly more valuable. As such, diamond prices increase exponentially with carat weight; a 2-carat diamond of a given quality will always be worth more than two 1-carat diamonds of comparable quality