The 4Cs
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Diamond Carat
“Carat” is just a diamond industry term for weight of a diamond stone. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams. A regression analysis shows that carat weight accounts for the biggest portion of the diamond value, followed by color and clarity.
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Diamond Cut
To ensure that a diamond has the best brilliance and fire, stay away from stones with proportions below the ideal standard. Diamond ratios and proportions, such as crown angle to pavilion angle, and table ratio, impact the diamond’s brilliance and scintillation most significantly.
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Diamond Color
Diamonds can have different colors ranging from colorless through yellow, and “fancy colors” including blue, green, pink, orange, and the rarest of all — red and black. Yellow metal (such as yellow gold) makes slightly yellow or brown diamonds appear more colorless, while darker yellows and browns look darker and richer.
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Diamond Clarity
Imperfections obstruct reflection of the light, making diamonds less brilliant. The larger the imperfections, the worse the diamond’s ability to reflect the light. Clarity grading is not perfect—the same diamond can be graded differently by the same lab if sent for grading more than once.
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Which Diamond Cut Sparkles the Most?
The most sparkle comes with a round brilliant cut diamond, in a prong setting, with the highest clarity and cut quality you can afford. If you aren’t into round cuts, here are the estimated refractive qualities of other popular shapes.
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How to Judge Diamond Color
If your jeweler holds a diamond to a light, stares at it a few seconds, and tells you, “It has good color,” you’ve gone to the wrong person. Learn about color letter grades, master sets, colorimeters, and a quick color grading trick.
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How to Judge Diamond Clarity
Diamond clarity graders look for scratches, polishing lines, extra facets, pinpoints, bearding, feathers, crystals, clouds, carbon, chips, and even fractures. But, most diamond wearers are more interested in how the diamond looks to the unaided eye. Aren’t you?
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How Are Colored Diamonds Formed?
Diamonds come in almost every hue of the rainbow, so how are the different colors created and which are the most rare?
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Diamond Size: Is Bigger Better?
There's a myth going around that all ladies want a huge diamond engagement ring. Comments from popular chat sites prove it's not true. Bigger is not always better.
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What is the Point of a Culet?
What is the point of a culet, and how does the culet's appearance impact the diamond's cut grade?
