| Learning the 4 C's: Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut
Carat
Carat weight is simply the weight of a diamond and doesn’t necessarily relate to size. Diamond weight can also be expressed in points or percentages. Each carat is divided into 100 points. If you see a diamond that is 53 points, you can determine that this diamond is equal to 53% of a carat. Knowing the weight of your diamond is important because the impact it can have on the price of your diamond.
Carat Weight
We’ll start our tour of the 4 C’s with carat weight because it’s easiest to understand. Diamonds are sold by a unit of weight called a carat. A carat weighs approximately .007 ounces. Since diamonds come in sizes smaller than a carat, a carat is divided into 100 points just as a pound is divided into 16 ounces. So a half carat diamond weights .50 carat.
Diamonds are commonly sold in fractions such as ¼ carat and ½ carat, but the weights are not always exact. A .23 carat stone can legally be called a ¼ carat, and a .51 carat diamond my be called a ½ carat.
Buying tips: You may encounter terms called total weight (TW) or total diamond weight (TDW) describing a ring with more than one diamond in it. Be careful – ask if this is the total carat weight of all the diamonds in the ring, not just the larger center stone.
Color
Diamonds are found in a range of colors, from faint yellow or brown to the very rare “fancy” colors, such as pink, blue, green, etc. Even though diamonds are available in several colors, most common color for diamonds to show is yellow or some degree of yellow. The rarity of color is where we see the price difference. The rule of thumb when looking at diamonds is, “less color means more price.” The diamond chart below is considered the industry standard representing the best color grade available, or colorless. The difference between each stp can be difficult to determine as most popular color range is “Near Colorless”. That’s because diamonds in this range are more affordable, and when mounted, appear just as colorless as diamonds in the Colorless range.
You’d probably be amazed to learn that diamonds occur naturally in all colors of the rainbow. However, the most common diamonds are white. Colorless diamonds are the most valuable; value decreases as a diamond becomes tinged with yellow.
Since color judgment is subjective, the Gemological Institute of America (called the GIA) developed a color grading system for diamonds. The GIA assigns letters from D through Z to grade color. A “D” color diamond is colorless. As the letters progress, the diamond becomes more tinged with yellow.
Buying tips: Your eye probably cannot detect much difference between two color successive grades but there will be a difference in the price. Diamonds beyond J color are noticeably yellow.
The brain does not remember subtle color differences very well. The only way to compare the color in two diamonds is to view them side by side as professional graders do.Some jewelers use other systems for grading color. Ask for the equivalent GIA grade.
Clarity
To determine a diamond’s clarity, it is viewed under a 30-power (30x) magnification. Most diamonds contain very tiny natural birthmarks known as inclusions. However, the fewer and smaller the inclusions are, the less likely it is that they will interfere with the passage of light through the diamond. A diamond gets its beauty from how it reacts to light so, the clearer the diamond, the more brilliance it will have, and the more expensive it will be. Diamond clarity is broken out into eleven grades.
Clarity refers to how clear a diamond is inside. All but flawless diamonds contain imperfections called inclusions. Inclusions are impurities which grew up with the diamond, or other flaws caused by conditions the diamond underwent when it was forming deep in the earth. Typical inclusions are small light or dark spots, cloudiness, or internal fractures. The clarity of a diamond affects its appearance and its value.
The GIA uses the following clarity grades for diamonds:
Flawless No inclusions or surface blemishes when examined by a skilled grader under 10X magnifications.
IF (Internally Flawless) No inclusions but may have minor surface blemishes when examined by a skilled grader under 10X magnifications.
VVS (Very, Very Slightly Included) Minute inclusions difficult to find even by a skilled grader under 10X magnifications.
VS (Very Slightly Included) Minor inclusions when examined by a skilled grader under 10X magnification.
SI (Slightly Included) Noticeable inclusions when examined by a skilled grader under 10X magnification.
I (Included) Inclusions which are obvious under magnification or can be seen with the naked eye.
Buying tips: VS and SI quality diamonds are your best buy because they offer a fine look at reasonable prices. Better grades would only be noticed under magnification by a skilled grader.
Note that I grade diamonds may have the lowest prices but will have lower quality noticeable to the naked eye. I grade diamonds are usually promotional diamonds sold at heavy discounts.
Some jewelers use other systems for grading clarity. Ask for the equivalent GIA grade
Cut
Cut is different than the rest of 4C’s in that it is the only one that nature had nothing to do with, or at least very little. The cut encompasses a diamond’s style (shape and type of facet arrangement) and make (proportions and finish). The shape of the diamond is the most obvious attribute to most people. Diamonds can be cut into many different shapes. Some are more detailed and complicated, resulting in a higher price. It is the cut that enables a diamond to make the best use of light.
A diamond in the rough has little more beauty than a pebble on the ground. Only when it reaches the skilled hand of the diamond cutter does a diamond achieve its beauty. The diamond cutter shapes the rough stone and polishes the facets. The arrangement of the facets has been scientifically determined to achieve the maximum brilliance. Diamonds are cut in many shapes: round, marquise, pear, heart, oval, emerald, and square. The most common in the round, also called round brilliant.
Cut plays a large part in determining a diamond’s brilliance. In fact, a flawless diamond of the best color which has been poorly cut will have more beauty than a piece of glass. The brilliance of a diamond is the result of two effects. Scintillation, caused by light reflections, refers to the sparkle of the stone. Dispersion describes the flashes of color or “fire”.
Unlike color and clarity, cut has many subtle variations which cannot be graded by a set of rules. A trained jeweler can examine the stone under magnification and tell how well a stone is cut.
Buying tips: To examine the effects of cut, slightly move the diamond under a light. A well cut diamond will sparkle with flashes of light and color. A poorly cut stone will appear dull and lifeless as you move it.
Be careful – the diameter of a diamond is not always an indication of its carat weight. For example, on ¼ carat stone might be larger in diameter than another ¼ carat stone because it is cut shallower from top to bottom.
| |
|
