Diamonds | The 4 C's
Professional jewelers judge diamonds by a set of criteria known as the 4 C's; cut, color, clarity and carat. But above and beyond those guidelines, choosing your diamond is all about what you love. When you've found the right one, you know it!
Cut-
Diamonds are cut to specific mathematical proportions and angles to best reflect light. The more light bouncing off a stone, the more beautiful and sparkly it will appear. If a stone is cut poorly, it will appear less brilliant.
Color-
The more colorless the diamond, the more brilliantly it will shine. Stone hues range from completely colorless to slightly yellow which are graded on a color scale from D to Z set by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Colorless stones, graded D,E,F are treasure for their rarity and value.
Clarity-
The Clearer and cleaner the stone, the more dazzling and rarer it will be. Because diamonds are formed deep in the earth, they can have natural "birthmarks" - minute traces of minerals and other elements known in the trade as inclusions which make each stone unique. Clarity refers to the number, color, size and position of these inclusions, which are measured on a GIA scale from completely flawless(FL) to visibly imperfect(I3).
Carat Weight-
Diamonds are sold by weight in carats. Each cart is 1/5 of a gram. the heavier the diamond, the more valuable it is. Stone size is more a personal preference and not necessarily a measure of quality like color and clarity are. However, a larger carat is desirable because of its ability to showcase a diamond's color, cut and brilliance.