The Four C’s of Diamond Buying Explained

There are four C’s that must be learned before shopping for a diamond: Cut, Clarity, Carat, and Color. All four matter, but the cut of the diamond determines just how beautiful it will really be.

Diamond Cut

Many people mistakenly believe that the cut is the shape of the diamond. This is only true to an extent. There is a difference between the cut and the shape of a diamond. The cut refers to the number of facets that it is cut with, and the shape has nothing to do with this.

If the diamond is cut right, it will shine and glisten. If it isn’t, it will appear dull. Obviously, the better the cut, the more valuable (and expensive) the diamond is. A great deal of thought goes into cutting a diamond. Diamond cutters obtain a rough diamond, and first determine how it should be cut in order to get a return on their investment.

While you might think that they would cut the diamond so that it has the highest dollar value possible, this isn’t quite so. They also consider how quickly the diamond will be sold. Obviously, very expensive gems sell slower.

Cutting the diamond is an art, and a science. The cutter wants to retain as much of the rough weight as possible – to avoid losing value. Some weight will always be lost, but it is usually less than 50% of the original weight. Cutting determines more than the weight, it also has an impact on the color grade of the diamond.

The cutter may use a cleave to cut the rough diamond into different sections, to create different stones. He may also use a diamond bladed saw or a laser to do this as well. Bruting is a process where two diamonds are set up to spin on axles. Each diamond spins in a different direction, and they rub up against each other during the process. This is also called girdling, and it is used to ‘cut’ diamonds into round shapes.

The steps used in cutting a diamond are blocking, faceting, and polishing. Blocking is basically the planning stage, and faceting is the cutting stage. A facet of a diamond is an angle. Look closely at any diamond, and you will see that it has various angles. These angles are facets, and play a huge role in the shine of the diamond in the end.

Once facets are cut, shapes are formed. Popular diamond shapes include ovals, marquise, pear, heart, emerald, and brilliant. Aside from asking how many facets are used in the cut, and the shape, you should also ask about the table percentage. This is a measurement of the diamond cut, and a good diamond has a table percentage of 55 to 60 percent.

Diamond Clarity

After you learn and judge the cut of diamonds that you are looking at, the next thing to understand is clarity. Clarity refers to how clear the stone is. A diamond can have flawless clarity or have inclusions.

If a diamond has no imperfections, its clarity is flawless. This means that it is perfect inside and out. If a diamond is internally flawless, it means that on the inside, it is perfect, but there are imperfections on the outside.

If there are tiny inclusions – or imperfections – on both the inside and outside, the clarity of the diamond may be rated as VVS1 or VVS2. A VVS1 diamond has imperfections that are only seen through the pavilion of the diamond. A VVS2 diamond, however, has imperfections that are more noticeable. VVS stands for ‘very, very small.’

After VVS are VS diamonds, meaning that they have very small inclusions. Again, you have VS1 and VS2, with VS1 being the better diamond when compared to VS2. Small inclusions are noted by SI1, SI2, and SI3. SI stands for small inclusions. The worst grade diamonds are rated as I’s: I1, I2, and I3. These diamonds have inclusions that can be seen at a glance.

Obviously, for the best diamond, you want to search for a flawless diamond, or an internally flawless diamond. These will give you the absolute most sparkle. However, these diamonds are among the most expensive. If price is an issue, don’t go below the VVS diamonds or the VS diamonds.

Diamond Carat

The carat of the diamond refers to its weight. A carat has 100 points. If a diamond has fifty points, it is said to be a half carat diamond. There are five carats to one gram. When asking about the carat of a diamond, tell the jeweler that you want the actual point size, not the fractional weight. It is not uncommon for a jeweler to sell a .40 diamond as a half carat diamond, or a .90 diamond as a one carat diamond. When you ask for the point size, you will get what you pay for, instead of only a fraction of what you pay for.

Many people believe that diamonds are white or clear only. This isn’t true. Diamonds actually do have color. The best diamonds are virtually colorless, however. These are also the most expensive diamonds, and have a color rating of D through F. A near colorless diamond has a rating of G through J. A slightly yellow tinted diamond has a rating of K through M. A very light yellow diamond is rated N through R, and a more yellow diamond has a rating of S through Z.

Diamond Color

But there are also diamonds with various colors, other than clear/white and yellow. Diamonds may be pink, blue, or green as well. These diamonds are actually colored by impurities in the Earth. For example, nitrogen makes a diamond yellow. Boron makes a diamond blue. Crystal can turn a diamond pink, brown, or red. Radiation, which occurs naturally, can turn a diamond green. These colored diamonds are referred to as fancy diamonds.

When purchasing a diamond, you want to be sure that the seller guarantees the color and clarity of the stone.