The 4C’s of Diamonds: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat

Diamonds come from carbon; they are the hardest stone in the world. Diamonds are found very deep in the earth. The diamond value will vary depending on cut, color, clarity and carat.

To get a perfect cut one needs to be precise in workmanship. The cut will affect the diamond brilliance. When we hear about the cut diamond, we think it refers to shape, but it is not true. The cut of diamonds is more about proportions. It is the most important factor to determine the beauty of a diamond. When we talk about diamond cut proportions, we are talking about the relationship that involves the size, shape and angle of each diamond’s facet. A good cut diamond will reflect more light. The light reflection is known as diamond brilliance.

Diamonds come in variety of colors. Besides the white diamond, we can find other exotic colors that are highly priced such as: yellow, pink and blue diamonds. When a white diamond is colorless, it has more value since it has more brilliance. GIA scale goes from D to Z: D (colorless) and Z (light color). Fancy color diamonds are graded in a different scale.

Clarity refers to the percentage of birthmarks present in diamonds. Birthmarks are little inclusions that are present on diamonds because they come from the earth. Many times the inclusions are not only inside the stone. The inclusions can be present on the surfaces as well. These inclusions are also called blemishes, and the significant presence of them in a diamond affects its brilliance.

Carat refers to the unit of weigh because diamonds are sold by carat. One carat is the same as 0.2gr.The price of diamonds increase significantly when the carat size increases. Diamonds that have popular carat weight  such as 0.5ct are less expensive. Also, diamonds that are smaller than a full carat will be less expensive; for example, a diamond 0.85ct will be less expensive that 1.00 ct diamond.