4Cs of Diamond Guide

Why are the 4Cs important? 4 C's of diamonds as defined by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), as the most universally accepted grading system is the one developed by the GIA, based on their 4Cs: Cut, Clarity, Carat weight and Color. The 4Cs are used throughout the world to classify the rarity of diamonds. Diamonds with the combination of the higest 4C ratings are more rate and more expensive.

Light is the element that ignites a diamond's brilliance and fire. It's interplay with each of the 4Cs will help explain why one diamond can appear even more beautiful than another. The good news is that you don't need to buy the ratest diamond to find one whose beauty speaks to you.

CUT

What kind of shape would you prefer, if you are planning to purchase a diamond? Maybe, you will say, I prefer a heart shape diamond for my ring, and so on.

However, Shapes and Cuts are completely different. Please look at the below chart, and find your favorite shape.

Round Brilliant Emerald Cut Heart Shape Marquise Cut Oval Cut Pear Shape Princess Cut

Cut is the most important factor in making brilliance and ultimate beauty of the diamonds. This is because the excellently proportioned diamond reflects light back to the viewer's eye. Therefore, a well cut diamond is better able to reflect light, creating more scintillation, more sparkle, like YOU!!

More about Diamond cut

CLARITY

Most diamonds have inclusions (minute traces of non-crystallized carbon). Usually, the inclusions are not visible to the naked eye (excluding Imperfects). I think that the minute inclusions that there may be, make every diamond unique like a finger print.

There are eleven clarity grades used by a skilled, trained and experienced grader under a 10X magnification to determine the various clarity characteristics.

FL Flawless IF Internally Flawless VVS1 Very Very Slightly Included 1 VVS2 Very Very Slightly Included 2 VS1 Very Slightly Included 1 VS2 Very Slightly Included 2 SI1 Slightly Included 1 SI2 Slightly Included 2 I1 Imperfect 1 I2 Imperfect 2 I3 Imperfect 3

CARAT

Carat weight is the obvious factor in determining the price of a diamond. However, bigger is not always better in the diamond business. If there are two diamonds of equal weight can have very unequal value, depending on their cut, color and clarity.

The weight of the diamond is measured in carats. The metric carat equals 0.200 gram.

COLOR

Most diamonds have a slightly yellow or brown color. With the exception of some natural fancy colors (blue, pink, violet, green, or red (expensive one), the colorless grade is the most valuable.

GIA developed color scale for colorless diamond. Diamond color is graded on the scale from D (colorless) to Z+ (fancy yellow). Your price range will determine what color, cut and shape that your diamond will have which color range.

D E F* G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Z+ Colorless Near Colorless Faint Yellow Very Light Yellow Light Yellow Fancy

* Colorless for 0.50 ct. or less