Jewelry Education

Carat:

The standard use of measurement for diamond weight is the carat. A carat equals 1/5 of a gram (or 1/142 of an ounce). Each carat is further divided into points, each point representing 1/100th of a carat. Sometimes diamonds will be referred to in "points" Such as fifty points which means 0.50carat or 1/2 carat. Think of it as pennies to the dollar. 100 points is 1carat.

Clarity:

Clarity is the evaluation of a diamond's internal and external characteristics. Inclusions are internal, that is, inside the diamond. Think of them as birthmarks within the stone, each is unique. Blemishes are usually very small and are only on the surface of diamonds such as scratches, nicks or pits. Diamonds are graded with 10 power magnification then by evaluating the size, location, nature, number, and color of all the inclusions and blemishes, a clarity grade is assigned. The fewer the inclusions or blemishes, the more desirable and rare the diamond!

• FL- Flawless. Free from any inclusions and blemishes
• IF - Internally Flawless (free from internal blemishes visible under 10X magnification (small external details tolerated))
• VVS1 - Very Very Slightly Included (inclusions and/or external blemishes very difficult to locate under 10X magnification)
• VVS2 - Very very slightly included (inclusions and/or external blemishes very difficult to locate under 10X magnification)
• VS1 - Very slightly included (inclusions and external blemishes difficult to locate under 10X magnification)
• VS2 - very slightly included (inclusions and external blemishes difficult to locate under 10x magnification)
• SI-1 - Slightly included (inclusions and external blemishes easy to locate under 10X magnification.)
• SI-2 - slightly included (inclusions and external blemishes easy to locate under 10X magnification.)
• I-1 - Included (inclusions and external blemishes easy to locate with naked eye.)
• I-2 - Included ( heavy inclusions very easy to locate with the naked eye.)
• I-3 - Included ( heavy inclusions very easy to locate with the naked eye.)

Clarity grading scale:

Color:

A diamond's color is graded on an alphabetical scale from D-Z, with D being colorless and Z being light yellow. Beyond Z, a diamond is considered to be "Fancy" color. A truly colorless diamond is extremely rare. Most diamonds possess varying degrees of yellow, gray or brown and small, subtle differences in color can make a substantial difference in value. Diamonds are color graded by gemologists facedown next to "master" diamonds of known color.

Diamond Color Scale

Cut:

Of all the 4 Cs, cut has the greatest effect on a diamond's beauty. The cut of diamond is the key that unlocks the hidden beauty within a piece of rough.

Diamonds have a unique ability to manipulate light efficiently that is what creates the beautiful brilliance, sparkle and scintillation... the rainbows of color!

1. When diamond is cut to good proportions, light is reflected from one facet to another and then dispersed through the top of the stone.
2. If the cut of the diamond is too deep, some light escapes through the pavilion or bottom of the stone.
3. If the cut is too shallow, light escapes through the pavilion before it can be reflected.

Cut can also refer to a stone shape or outline. Such as Round cut, Emerald cut or Oval cut.

Most popular shapes: