The 4C's of Diamonds
Selecting the perfect diamond starts with a little education. We begin with the 4 C’s: Carat, Cut, Color, and Clarity.
Cut
We often think of a diamond’s cut as its shape, but a diamond’s cut grade is really about how well a diamond’s facets interact with light.
Color
Color evaluation is based on the absense of color. The color scale for diamonds begins with D, representing a colorless diamond, and continues to Z.
Clarity
The process of creating a diamond in nature results in internal and external characteristics called “inclusions” and “blemishes”. The clarity scale begins with flawless and ends with included.
Carat
Diamond carat weight is the measurement of how much a diamond weighs. A metric "carat" is defined as 200mg. Each carat can be subdivided into 100 points. This allows very precise measurements.
diamond Education
Measurements & proportions
The measurement and proportions of a diamond its overall visual appeal. Some diamonds are cut to emphasize the total carat weight, while others are designed to enhance brilliance and luster. Diamond cutters use the natural growth characteristics of a diamond to determine the optimal proportion to enhance each diamond's unique personality.
Crown
When a diamond’s crown is cut at an ideal angle, the jewel will yield optimal sparkle and fire. If the crown angle is too steep, the jewel will display limited sparkle when viewed from overhead. If the crown angle is too shallow, the diamond could seem flat and translucent.
Girdle
The girdle is typically a thin edge of the diamond where it can be held by the setting.
Table
The top facet of a diamond is the table. If the table is out of proportion to the body of the diamond, it will negatively affect the brilliance and fire.
Culet
The bottom point or facet of the diamond is the culet. A small, flat face at the culet is undesirable for a round cut diamond, but may provide positive characteristics for other shapes and styles.
Depth
Depth of a diamond is measured by drawing an imaginary line between the center of the Top (table) and bottom (culet) facets.
Pavilion
Much like the crown angle, the pavilion affects sparkle and brilliance. When cut properly. the pavilion will emit the most sparkle through the top of the jewel. Cutting too shallow limits sparkle and makes the diamond seem glasslike. If the angle is too large the diamond will not emit optimal sparkle.
What else is important?
Additional diamond grading criteria
Polish
Grading for polish quality refers to the overall craftsmanship of the finished diamond. Are the edges sharp? Are the facets smooth and flat? Polishing wheel marks should not be visible without magnification.
Symmetry
Symmetrical diamonds reflect more light, adding to the overall sparkle. Gemologists review more than 20 different symmetry features in order to grade how perfectly the facets and cut angles align.
Fluorescence
Fluorescence measures the intensity of the light emitted by a diamond under an ultraviolet light. Around 30% of diamonds exhibit some level of fluorescence. Fluorescence can affect the overall value of a diamond.
Certified Diamonds
A certification is an independent quality report on a specific diamond. It is issued by a diamond grading laboratory with no affiliation to any retail outlet, giving the con- sumer a completely objective opinion on the diamond’s quality. The certification in- cludes the exact measurements, proportions, color grade, clarity grade, cut grade and carat weight of the diamond. It also includes specifics that most jewelers do not have the equipment or the knowledge to determine, such as the diamond’s fluores- cence, polish, and symmetry. Each certification has its own number, the date which it was analyzed, and a plot chart which shows the internal and external characteristics of the diamond. The leading diamond laboratory in the world and the one that is setting the diamond grading standard is the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.).
