Four Diamond C's

The Four Diamond C's

Four Diamond C's are important bits of information to know when buying a diamonds.  They are color, clarity, cut and carat weight.

Four Diamond C's and Carat Weight

Carat weight refers to the overall weight of the diamond.  A one carat diamond is 1/5 of a gram or 200 milligrams. Each point represents the weight of the diamond.  For example, an 80 point stone is 0.80 carats in weight.

Four Diamond C's and Color

Typically color is an undesirable feature for most consumer diamonds; however, natural fancy colors such as pink, red, purple, green and blue can be worth a considerable amount more than a white diamond.  This is because the radiation from the Earth is more powerful deep underground and these items change becayse of radiation. The color scale is as follows.  D, E and F are colorless.  G, H, I and J are considered to be near colorless.  K, L, and M are considered faint yellow or “Top Light Brown.”  N-Z are considered to be yellow or light yellow.  Colors past the Z spectrum are officially fancy colors and depending on the color can demand even more than white diamonds.

Clarity and the Four Diamond C's

The clarity grades from diamonds are as follows.  Flawless, internally flawless, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, SI3, I1, I2, I3.  The SI3 clarity grade does not appear in GIA certificates however the grade is widely recognized nomenclature in the diamond industry.

More on Diamond Clarity

Inclusions describe the imperfections within the stone.  These imperfections come in a variety of sizes and vary from diamond to diamond. These include feathers, black spots or carbon, pinpoints, crystals and indented naturals. Well graded diamonds from Flawless all the way down to SI2 are usually eye clean.  And typically they do not effect the performance of the diamond.  Balancing the carat weight, cut, color and clarity to get maximize the performance of the diamond is essential.

The Four Diamond C's and Cut

The cut is essential to the diamond because depending on the cut grade this is what determines the shine and sparkle.  While having a shiny diamond is very important to the consumer many people would never be able to tell the difference between a Very Good cut or an Ideal cut. The cut is important but ultimately does not contribute to the price like color and clarity and carat size do.

Diamonds Preferences 

Typically in America, most diamantaires will suggest a diamond to the consumer that favors color first, then carat weight, cut and lastly clarity. Color is the most important factor out of the four diamond C’s.  Color the first thing one will notice when you see a diamond. Second but not far behind is that carat weight.  Most consumers prefer larger diamond.  The carat weight will determine the weight of the diamond.  This shoul d give you some idea of where you are in the diamond price bracket. Fancy shape diamonds come in a variety of different shapes so the carat weight does not always reflect what the stone will look like. For example if you have two princess cut diamond that both weighed in at one carat, depending on the depth and overall cut of the diamond one could look significantly smaller than the other. Use the carat weight to get an idea of how much you want to spend and how big you want you can afford to go. Diamond Education Grading Diamonds https://1800loosediamonds.com/wp/2013/11/gia-certified-diamonds/