THE 4 C'S OF DIAMOND GRADING!

THE 4 C'S DIAMOND CHART, COLOR, CLARITY, CUT & CARAT WEIGHT!

When Jewelers refer to the 4 C's of Diamonds, they are referring to 4 main characteristics that help Identify, Classify, and Price Diamonds (Loose or Mounted).These 4 main characteristics of the 4 C's are:The Cut of the Diamond.

LEARN ABOUT DIAMOND CUT!

EXPLAINING DIAMOND CUT OF THE 4C'S GRADING SYSTEM!

Out of all the 4C's to explain, Cut is not only the hardest, but the most confusing and complex subjectknown to Diamonds and Diamond Quality!Cut can mean so many different things to so many different people. And this vague and complicated issue is what allows many Jewelers to pull the wool over your eyes and to sell you low quality Diamonds for good amounts of money.

Cut = Shape

You see, to most consumers, Cut means very little. Most people just believe that Cut means nothing more than the Shape of the Diamond! And for good reason to. When we refer to Diamond Shapes, we actually call them Cut. Like Brilliant Cut, Marquise Cut, Princess Cut or Trilliant Cut(Which is Triangular - Not shown on the diagram). Even Baguettes are called Baguette Cut Diamonds! So with Jewelers calling the "Shape" of the Diamond "Cut", it's actually very easy to understand why some people would get confused. No doubt most people just disregard Cut as nothing more than...

"What Shape do you prefer?"

But Cut is so much more than that! Cut is really meant to talk about the Proportions and Finish of the stone. The Symmetry and Angles of the Facets. Cut is all about Culet Size andGirdle Thickness and Surface Polishing. It's so much more that the actual Shape of the Diamond.
See over 100 Different Shapes of Diamond here!

Cut is Ten Lines

If you look at a Certified Diamond Report, you'll see that the other 3 C's (Color, Clarity & Carat Weight) just take up a couple of lines on the Report. Where as Cut, Cut takes up Ten lines. It covers a lot of ground. And it includes some very intricate details that can make or break a Diamonds beauty and appeal.
Cut is actually so important to the 4C's, that Cut alone, can be the biggest difference in great brilliance, sparkle and price of a Diamond.
My advice: Do not disregard Cut as something non-meaningful.

Cut is serious!

Study Cut. Learn what an Ideal Cut Diamond is. It could be the difference in getting a great Diamond and a great deal, to getting ripped off and purchasing an ugly Diamond with no sparkle! Cut is major!
So what's the first thing you need to know about Cut? Read on...

CONTINUE

The Clarity of the Diamond.

LEARN ABOUT DIAMOND CLARITY!

DIAMOND CLARITY OF THE 4 C'S EXPLAINED!

Diamond Clarity is the one C out of the 4 C's that's easy for most customers to understand. Why? Becausepeople can see Black Carbon Spots, Cracks, and Lines. It's no big mystery to them.Black Spots and other Identifying Marks and Characteristics are one Diamond Quality that often fascinates plenty. It's like a highly detailedkaleidoscope of Nature!

Microscoping

Folks really do enjoy microscoping a Diamond and looking at all the fascinating flaws that Mother Nature creates. And if you haven't had the opportunity to scope a Diamond, then please, run out and do so! It will open up a whole new World to you.
Clarity in Diamonds is basically the amount of imperfections or flaws in a Diamond. Those flaws can be inside the Diamond, or outside the Diamond, (on the outer surface) where they are normally called blemishes!
Imperfections, Flaws, Blemishes, Inclusions, and Defects in Diamonds can be called many different things. Namely: Crystals, Pin Points, Cracks, Breaks, Fractures, Feathers, Cleavage Lines, Bearding, Clouds, Growth Lines, Grain Lines, Cavities, Laser Drill Holes, Knots, Scratches, Nicks, Pits, Abrasions, Extra Facets, Naturals, and Trigons! Whew! And you thought they were just called Inclusions!

A Closer Look

So let's take a closer look at these flaws that can change a Diamond's Clarity so drastically, then we'll actually get into the 6 Clarity Categories as devised by the G.I.A. Grading Chart.

Crystals

Crystals are other Minerals trapped and crystallized inside the Diamond. Interestingly enough, most mineral crystals that are found inside Diamonds are actually other Diamond crystals!Diamond Crystals that crystallized differently than the rest of the Diamond. Like Black Carbon Spots for example. Black Spots are the #1 most found Inclusion inside a Diamond. And most Black Spots are 100% Pure Carbon! (The DNA of Diamonds!)

Pin Points

Pin Points are small, tiny specs of mineral crystals. Very minute in size. They look like little, bitty dots.

Cracks

Cracks, Fractures, Breaks, Feathers, Cleavage Lines are all pretty much the same thing. Lines running through the stone. Some cracks can be large and long, others can look likebroken, jagged chunks, small flat cracks, or soft, little feathers.
The big deal with cracks is: The Smaller = The Better! Large cracks can weaken the Diamond and cause it to break in half with any accidental blow. Also note that if the crack actually breaks the surface of the Diamond, then it's not only more noticeable to the eye, but it's also more fragile! Be careful with cracks!

The Color of the Diamond

LEARN ABOUT DIAMOND COLOR!

EXPLAINING DIAMOND COLOR IN THE 4C'S OF DIAMOND GRADING!

When most customers look at Diamonds, they tend to believe that Diamonds are all the same color. It's true! Most don't notice the color differences in them until a Jeweler points it out.

Most Diamonds have Color

But once you start to look at Color, you'll see, that most Diamonds do have Color, and for the most part, mostDiamonds do NOT have GOOD Color!
You see, Diamonds are graded with the alphabet letters D-Z. (There is no A, B or C) D-Z is the Diamond Grading System Chart as devised by G.I.A. (The Gemological Institute of America!) who developed the 4 C's!
The actual Color ranges are broken down into 5 main categories.

Color Grades

D-E-F, which is the Colorless color range.
G-H-I-J, which is the Near Colorless color range.
K-L-M, which is the Faint Yellow color range.
N-O-P-Q-R, which is the Very Light Yellow color range.
S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z, which is the Light Yellow color range.
(And also Z+, called Fancy Color, which is every color range beyond the alphabet letter Z!)

D is the best Diamond Color there is on the Planet! D is Pure White, Colorless, and very expensive.
Z, on the other hand, is the lowest Color range there is. Z is a dark Yellow color that's not preferred and doesn't sell!

Fancy Colors

Interestingly enough, all Diamonds graded as a "Fancy Color" (Z+) are Colored Diamonds like the Hope Diamond. The Hope Diamond is a large Blue Colored Diamond that's very well known and sits in the Smithsonian Institute. It's color grade is beyond Z and it's off the charts.
A Diamond that's a real, true Fancy Canary Yellow Diamond, or a Pink (the rarest color) orBlue Fancy Colored Diamond can truly be 100 times the price of a Pure White Diamond. They're that rare! See... Not all Color in a Diamond is bad!
But sadly, Fancy Color Diamonds are not only very rare, but very expensive. What we are left with instead, are Diamonds with faint colors of Yellow, Brown (Champagne Colored orChocolate Diamonds), and Gray Colored Diamonds. Those are not so nice, and crazy enough, the market is flooded with them.

The Carat Weight of the Diamond.

DIAMOND CARAT WEIGHT!

DIAMOND CARAT WEIGHT OF THE 4C'S EXPLAINED!

Lots of people get confused with Carat Weights. And for good reason! With all the Carats, and Points, and Percentages, and Fractions being thrown around, you'd think you'd have to be a mathematician to understand it all.But I assure you, it's not really that bad. In fact, it's actually quite easy if you apply some sense!
And of course, when I'm talking about "sense", I'm not talking about sense, I'm actually talking about "cents"! Big difference!

Think about Money

If you think about Diamonds as money, (As most of us do) you'll find that Carat Weights are easy to understand. Think about a One Carat Diamond as a Dollar Bill. There are 100 Pennies to that Dollar Bill, we all know that. Likewise there are 100 Points to a One Carat Diamond.
So then, a Half Carat Diamond, (1/2 ct) is .50 Points! See how easy that is?
A 1/4 Carat Diamond is .25 Points. A 3/4 Carat Diamond is .75 Points. Are you getting my drift? It really is that simple. Just compare it to Dollars and Cents!

How did the Carat Weight start?

Diamond Carat Weights all started with a Carob Seed. (Which is where the word Carat comes from!) Carob Seeds are seeds that are directly taken from a Carob Tree. These seeds were used to weight Diamonds with at one time. One Seed was the equivalent to the weight of a One Carat Diamond. It made weighing Diamonds easy! But Carob Seeds were NOT consistent in weight. So with them not always being an exact measurement for Diamonds, the Diamond scale was born!

The word Carat is often abbreviated in Magazines, Catalogs and Advertisements as CT. (Not to be confused with KT or Karat, which is a measurement of Gold, as in 14kt Gold!) CT means Carat, and CTW means Carat Total Weight, which is also a very confusing term that most customers don't understand. Read more about Carat Total Weights in my blog: CT or CTW?
So what is the Best selling Carat Weight? Read on...

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