Diamond Education

DIAMOND EDUCATION

Knowing the 4Cs

Diamonds are not all equal. In fact, there are some significant differences in quality and price. To understand a diamond’s value, you must evaluate the diamond under internationally recognised standards - Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat Weight. Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat Weight are a very important part of every diamond and known throughout the world as the 4Cs.

Cut

Cut doesn’t refer to the overall shape of a diamond, but rather the quality of the cut. It is the single most important aspect of any diamond. The proportion, finish and symmetry of the external facets of the diamond are what creates the beauty, brightness, fire and scintillation of a diamond. The more perfect the cut, the more sparkle you will see. A diamond may be colourless and flawless but if it’s not cut well, it will appear dull and lifeless.

Clarity

Clarity represents how many invisible birthmarks your diamond has. These birthmarks are often uncrystallised carbon created when the diamond was born 3 billion years ago. In all cases we use a 10x magnification loupe to find these inclusions. Diamonds can be blemish free and are considered Flawless (FL). Very Very Slight (VVS), Very Slight (VS), or Slight (SI) or obvious blemishes (Inclusions) easily seen with the naked eye (I1-13).

Colour

A diamonds colour is determined on a scale from “D” (colourless) to “Z” (yellow/brown). Completely colourless diamonds are graded “D” and are treasured for their rarity. As such they are extremely valuable and highly sought after. Whilst most diamonds appear to have no colour by the human eye, in actual fact they have hints of colours as shown on the colour scale.

Carat

A diamond’s weight is measured in Carats, abbreviated ct and represents the overall size. One carat is to be divided into 100 points. Therefore, a diamond weighing one quarter of a carat can also be referred to as 25 points. The larger a diamond, the more rare it is and therefore more expensive. That’s why a diamond with a full carat (1ct) will cost more than twice the price of two half (0.50ct) carat diamonds of the same quality.