The Four
C's - Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat
Buying
diamond jewelry is an investment - one that
is to last for generations.
At Naser Jewelers, our jewelers pride ourselves
in producing the best quality that your
hard-earned money can buy, and at the same
time educating you so that you can appreciate
our quality. In all the custom jewelry we
produce, all of our diamonds and gemstones
are carefully hand-selected to ensure only
the best. In multiple-stone jewelry, we
match color, clarity, and even the details
of the gemstone cut to bring you unparalled
beauty in all of our creations.
Naser Jewelers Tutorials
The proper selection of
your diamond jewelry can be more involved
than what meets the eye at first glance.
That's why we want you to take this brief
educational tour in 4 lessons so that you
can better appreciate your fine jewelry.
The
following diamond grading standards evaluate
three of the four value factors--cut, color,
and clarity--each with its own 0-10 scale.
The scales begin at 0 (zero), the highest
grade, and go down to 10, the lowest. The
three factors are expressed separately along
with the fourth factor, the carat weight
of the stone, which determines the final
quality element. All four value factors
together determine the ultimate grade of
a diamond.
To
start the tutorial, continue below.
Cut
First,
don't confuse diamond "cut" with "shape."
Shape refers to the general outward appearance
of the diamond, (such as round, emerald,
or pear). When a diamond jeweler (or a diamond
certificate) says "cut," that's a reference
to the diamond's reflective qualities, not
the shape (or at least it should be, we
have found that even some "jewelers" don't
appear to know the difference between "cut"
and "shape").
Diamond cut
is perhaps the most important of the four
Cs, so it is important to understand how
this quality affects the properties and
values of a diamond. A good cut gives a
diamond its brilliance, which is that brightness
that seems to come from the very heart of
a diamond. The angles and finish of any
diamond are what determine its ability to
handle light, which leads to brilliance.
When a diamond
is well-cut, light enters through the table
and travels to the pavilion where it reflects
from one side to the other before reflecting
back out of the diamond through the table
and to the observer's eye. This light is
the brilliance we mentioned, and it's this
flashing, fiery effect that makes diamonds
so mesmerizing.
It's
easy to see that the deep-cut diamond shown
above will have a higher carat weight, but
is clearly the less desirable stone! Many jewelers will not discuss cut
proportions unless the customer specifically
asks; a stone rich in carat weight
but poorly proportioned can be deeply "discounted,"
giving the buyer a false impression of a
great deal.
In
a poorly cut diamond, the light that enters
through the table reaches the facets and
then 'leaks' out from the sides or bottom
of the diamond rather than reflecting back
to the eye. Less light reflected back to
the eye means less brilliance.
Gemologists
agree that the best cut diamonds are those
that follow a set of formulae calculated
to maximize brilliance. These formulae can
be seen in a diamond's proportions, most
importantly how the depth compares to the
diameter, and how the diameter of the table
compares to the diameter of the diamond.
However,
the variance in the proportions between
an Ideal Cut and a Poor Cut can be difficult
to discern by the casual observer.
Because cut
is so important, several grading methods
have been developed to help consumers determine
the cut of a particular diamond. In general,
these grades are:
 |
Ideal |
|
Premium |
|
Very Good |
|
Good |
|
Fair &
Poor |
Selecting the grade of cut is really a matter
of preference. To make the best selection,
you need to understand the various grades.
Please note that the descriptions below
are general guidelines.
Ideal
Cut
This cut is intended to maximize brilliance,
and the typically smaller table sizes of
these diamonds have the added benefit of
creating a great deal of dispersion or 'fire'
as well. Ideal quality diamonds are truly
for the person who enjoys knowing that he
has one of the finest things that money
can buy. This category applies only to round
diamonds.
Premium
In the case of round diamonds, many Premium
Cut diamonds have cuts that are the equal
of any Ideal Cut diamond, though they often
can be purchased at slightly lower prices
than AGS Ideal Cuts. They are intended to
provide maximum brilliance and fire. Like
the Ideal Cut, these are also for the person
who enjoys knowing that he has one of the
finest things that money can buy.
Very
Good
These diamonds reflect most of the light
that enters them, creating a good deal of
brilliance. With these diamonds, the cutters
have chosen to stray slightly from the preferred
diamond proportions in order to create a
larger diamond. The result is that these
diamonds fall slightly outside of some customers'
preferences in terms of, for example, table
size or girdle width, though, in many cases
many of the parameters of diamonds in this
range will overlap with certain parameters
of diamonds in the Ideal or Premium ranges.
Generally, the price of these diamonds in
slightly below that of Premium cuts.
Good
Diamonds that reflect much of the light
that enters them. Their proportions fall
outside of the preferred range because the
cutter has chosen to create the largest
possible diamond from the original rough
crystal, rather than cutting extra weight
off to create a smaller Premium quality
diamond. Diamonds in this range offer an
excellent cost-savings to customers who
want to stay in a budget without sacrificing
quality or beauty.
Fair
& Poor
A diamond graded as fair or poor reflects
only a small proportion of the light that
enters it. Typically these diamonds have
been cut to maximize the carat weight over
most other considerations. Most of these
type of cut diamonds can be found in retail
mall jewellery stores.
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Color
Although
most people believe diamonds to be clear
or colorless, the majority of diamonds are
yellow, brown, and black. Most of those
diamonds find their way into industrial
purposes, (drill bits, saw blades, etc.)
The rarest of all diamond colors are white
(or colorless).
As prices
of diamonds rise, the shift to diamonds
with some body color increases. It is very
common to find slightly brown (called "Top
Light Browns") or yellow diamonds in today's
jewelry. The whiter the diamond is, the
more valuable the stone is.
Diamonds
are graded for color face down, against
a white background. Graders are looking
at the actual body tone (hue) of the stone
and comparing it to a set of master stones
graded by the Gemological Institute of America.
The diamond is then assigned a letter grade
as seen on the accompanying chart. Most
diamonds used for jewelry purposes fall
into the Near Colorless Category - G to
J.
The Gemological
Institute of America (G.I.A.) grades color
alphabetically from D (totally colorless)
to Z (yellow).For a diamond to be considered
"colorless," the G.I.A. requires that it
be a D, E, or F. However, the D-Z
scale is continuous, so the difference between
an F and G is very small. The average
color for engagement diamonds in the United
States is G to H.
Jewelers
have two tools at their disposal to judge
the color of a given diamond. The
first is what's known as a "reference set"
of stones. A jeweler will compare
the stone in question with a set master
stones of known color, and make a qualitative
determination as to the color grading of
the stone in question.
When judging
the color of a diamond, it is crucial to
see the diamond un-mounted. Ask the
jeweler for a master set of stones to make
the comparisons yourself. To do this,
place the diamond in question next to the
reference stones face down on a white piece
of paper, and compare the color of the stones
until you get the best match.
Perhaps the
most important factor to consider when selecting
color is the type of setting you plan on
using. If you plan on mounting the
stone on a platinum or white gold setting,
consider a diamond in the D-G range.
Yellow gold will be much more forgiving
to a less than colorless stone, but regardless
of the setting, the diamond will start to
appear yellow if the color grade is lower
than about J.
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Clarity
A
diamond's clarity refers to the presence
of identifying characteristics on and within
the diamond. While most of these clarity
characteristics are inherent qualities of
the rough diamond and have been present
since the earliest stages of the diamond
crystal's growth below ground, a few clarity
flaws are actually a result of the harsh
stress that a diamond undergoes during the
cutting process itself.
If you think
about the incredible amount of pressure
it takes to create a diamond, it's no surprise
that many diamonds have clarity inclusions
-- scratches, blemishes, air bubbles or
non-diamond mineral material -- on their
surface or inside. Diamonds with no or few
inclusions and blemishes are more highly
valued than those with less clarity, not
just because they are more pleasing to the
eye, but also because they are very rare.
Diamonds
are graded for clarity under 10x loupe magnification.
Clarity grades range from Internally Flawless,
diamonds which are completely free of blemishes
and inclusions even under 10x magnification,
to Imperfect 3, diamonds which possess large,
heavy blemishes and inclusions that are
visible to the naked eye.
FL:
Completely flawless
IF:
Internally flawless; only external flaws
are present, which can be removed by further
polishing the stone
VVS1
- VVS2: Only an expert can
detect flaws with a 10X microscope.
By definition, if an expert can see a flaw
from the top of the diamond, it is a VVS2.
Otherwise, if an expert can only detect
flaws when viewing the bottom of the stone,
then it is a VVS1
VS1
- VS2: You can see flaws
with a 10X microscope, but it takes a long
time (more than about 10 seconds)
SI1
- SI2: You can see flaws
with a 10X microscope
I1
- I3: You can see flaws with
the naked eye. Consider avoiding I2-I3
diamonds.
REMEMBER:
For grades IF through SI, a diamond's clarity
grade has an impact on the diamond's value,
not on the unmagnified diamond's appearance.
While Flawless
diamonds are the rarest, a diamond does
not have to be flawless to be stunning.
Diamonds with VVS and VS grades are excellent
choices for both value and appearance. More
affordable (and still a great choice) are
those diamonds which gemologists call "eye-clean"
- diamonds with no inclusions visible to
the naked eye. These diamonds are SI1 and
SI2 and unless the recipient carries a 10X
loupe (a strong jewelry magnifying glass),
she won't see the inclusions.
There are
many different types of flaws. The
best way to become acquainted with them
is to look at lots of diamonds. The
more common ones are as follows:
Pinpoint:
A very small white dot on the surface
of the stone. By far, the most common
flaw
Carbons:
A very small black dot on the surface
of the stone. Less common than pinpoints
Feathers:
Small cracks within the stone, similar
in look to broken glass. Small internal
feathers are harmless (other than lowering
the clarity rating of the diamond), but
large feathers can become a problem because
the crack can grow as the diamond ages
Clouds:
Hazy areas within the diamond, actually
made up of many small crystals that are
impossible to see individually
Crystal
Growth: A small crystalline
growth within the diamond. Looks
like a small diamond within the big diamond
Unfortunately,
clarity is very difficult to judge accurately
by an inexperienced consumer, so your best
bet is to gain an education first by looking
at lots of diamonds before making a purchase.
Any good jeweler will spend the time you
need to get comfortable judging the clarity
of your stone -- ask different jewelers
to point out the flaws in several
stones until you can detect pinpoints and
other flaws by yourself.
Many people
make clarity the least "important" of the
4 C's when purchasing their diamonds.
The rationale is obvious -- when your partner
shows the ring to all her friends, the likelihood
that one of them will pull out a 10X microscope
to examine the flaws on her diamond are
very slim. Given that, why spend a
lot of money on a VVS1 diamond when an SI2
will look exactly the same to the naked
eye?
If
you're purchasing an emerald cut (or any other step cut),
consider purchasing a diamond with clarity
greater than SI1. Clarity flaws are
much more readily visible in step cuts than
in brilliant cuts.
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Carat Weight
Although
commonly thought to refer to the actual
size of a diamond, a carat is actually a
standard unit of measure that defines the
weight of a diamond. One carat is equivalent
to 200 milligrams. Carat sizes are also
expressed as "points", with a one carat
diamond equaling 100 points, a one-half
carat diamond being 50 points, a three-quarter
carat diamond being 75 points, and so on.
Larger diamonds
are much more rare than smaller ones. In
fact, hundreds of tons of rock and ore must
be processed to uncover a single one-carat
gem quality diamond, and less than one percent
of all women will ever own a one carat
or larger diamond.
Since
a carat is a unit of measure and not size,
two diamonds of the same carat weight may
appear to be different sizes depending on
how the diamond is cut. Some diamonds will
have extra weight on the bottom part — or
pavilion — of the stone, and therefore appear
smaller. A premium cut diamond
is perfectly cut, and will appear larger
than many diamonds of a heavier carat weight.
Be
carefull about shopping for the largest
diamond without consideration of the other
value factors You will likely end
up with a stone of such inferior quality
that it will simply look glasslike when
your partner compares it to her best friend's
diamond. Side by side a diamonds'
cut is what gives the diamond FIRE is crucial brilliance. The difference
between a very good cut to a poor cut diamond
can be astonishing.
Many
retail jewelers claim to be diamond wholesalers
will sell you a diamond at a low price.
Most of the time the diamonds will not be
independently certified and there will be
fundamental flaws in the diamond cut. When
you compare these inferior diamonds to a
premium cut diamond, then you will really see what
a WOW diamond should look like!
If
size or carat weight is your most important
attribute, (for many people it is very important)
that is perfectly acceptable, but do consider
the other 3 C's, especially to make sure
you understand your tradeoffs.
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