Cut is the most important of the "Four Cs". Learn more
about
cut and its impact on brilliance and how to select the best cut
for your budget.
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Colorless diamonds are the most desirable since they allow the
most sparkle. Learn how color affects a diamond and how to
choose the best stone for your budget.
Clear diamonds create more brilliance and are more valuable. Learn
how to find the best clarity grade for your budget.
Carat is the most basic of the "Four Cs". Because large
diamonds are rarer, they have a greater value. Read on to
learn how carat impacts price and the appearance of a
diamond.
Cut
refers to the shape of a diamond and its mathematical proportions.
Diamonds are cut into numerous shapes, depending upon the nature
of the rough stone.
The next aspect of cut is the quality of the proportions. Cut,
more than any other quality aspect gives the diamond its sparkle.
A diamond gets its brilliance and scintillation by cutting and
polishing the diamond facets to allow the maximum amount of light
that enters through its top to be reflected and dispersed back.
When all the angles are correct, the light that enters is dispersed
back through the diamonds top facets. When a stone is cut too shallow
or too deep, light that enters through the top is allowed to escape
through the bottom and does not allow the maximum beauty of the
diamond to be realized.
A diamond cutter spends years mastering his craft, learning how best
to cut a rough diamond to achieve the ultimate cut with the fewest
imperfections and the least loss of carat weight. The better the
cut, the more valuable the diamond.
Ideal Cut
Mathematician Marcel Tolkowsky was the first to discover the exact
angles to which a diamond must be cut in order to produce maximum
brilliance. In an Ideal Cut, all of the light that enters the stone
refracts internally from 57 to 58 precisely placed facets and disperses
through the top of the diamond, producing fire and brilliance. Only
a round brilliant cut diamond can achieve the proven mathematical
proportions and symmetry of an Ideal Cut.
Very Good Cut
A Very Good Cut is close to an Ideal Cut, with only slight variations
in its measurements. It may achieve Ideal Cut proportions but vary
in its polish or symmetry rating. Hence, a Very Good Cut diamond
still creates remarkable brilliance and luster, often reflecting
back the maximum amount of light if its table and depth percentages
match those of an Ideal Cut.
Good Cut
A Good Cut diamond is well proportioned and reflects back a good amount
of light.
Inferior Cut
Many diamonds are �spread� in their cut to increase carat weight when
cutting from the original rough. Although you may end up with a diamond
that appears larger, your sacrifice will be brilliance and fire.
Too Deep
When cut too deep, a diamond loses light out of the bottom, leaving
the center of the diamond dark in appearance.
Too Shallow
When cut too shallow, a diamond loses light out of the bottom, reducing
brilliance and giving the stone a dark, glassy appearance.
A diamond's cut is graded by several
measurements. Its depth percentage, a measurement of the height vs.
the width of the stone and its table percentage, a measurement of
the diameter of the top facet of the stone vs. the stone's average
width, are two key factors in determining the quality of a diamond's
cut. These percentages are detailed on the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory
Diamond Grading Report that accompanies every Adiamor loose diamond.
Diamond color grades start at D and continue through the
alphabet. Truly colorless stones, graded D, are extremely
rare and very valuable. The closer a diamond is to being
colorless, the rarer and more valuable it is. Diamonds were
formed under intense heat and pressure, and traces of other
elements incorporated into their atomic structure account
for the variances in color. A single change in color grade
can significantly affect a diamond's value. It is the lack
of color, or whiteness in a diamond that allows the light
to pass effortlessly through the stone and disperse that
beauty back to the observer.
Color is not so much white versus yellow, as the chart tends to
indicate, but light versus dark. A white diamond will look very
clean, crisp, and brilliant. A yellow diamond will not really look
yellow, just darker and dirty, without nearly the same brilliance.
While many diamonds appear colorless, or white, they may actually
have subtle yellow or brown tones that can be detected when comparing
diamonds side by side.
Clarity refers to how many flaws, or inclusions, are in the diamond.
In most cases, clarity has very little to do with the beauty of
the diamonds; rather, it affects how the diamond looks under the
microscope. To determine a diamond's clarity grade, it must be
examined under 10x magnification. Whatever minute inclusions there
may be make every diamond unique. These are nature's fingerprints
and in most cases do not mar the diamond's beauty nor endanger
its durability. Without high magnification, these flaws are invisible.
However, the fewer inclusions, the rarer your diamond will be.
Generally, if a diamond is SI-2 or above, it is flawless to the
naked eye. If there is even a tiny inclusion visible to the unaided
eye, the stone is usually graded an I-1.
FL & IF
Diamonds that reveal no flaws on the surface or internally. These
are the rarest and most beautiful gems treasured for their
absolute purity.
VVS1 or VVS2
Diamonds with minute inclusions absolutely invisible to the naked
eye. Only through careful inspection with a microscope can
these tiny inclusions be accurately pinpointed. The brilliance
of the stone does not suffer in this category.
VS1 or VS2
Diamonds with tiny inclusions difficult to locate. Only a trained
eye looking through a 10X loupe can pinpoint the inclusions
in this category. The inclusions are nearly impossible to see
with the naked eye.
SI1 - SI3
Diamonds with inclusions easily identified through a loupe. Finding
flaws in this category with the naked eye is difficult. The
gems in this category maintain their integrity, depending on
the location of the inclusions. They are an attractive choice
when working within a fixed budget without sacrificing beauty
or value.
I1 - I3
Diamonds with inclusions that may or may not be easily seen by
the naked eye. The flaws on the stones in this category will
have some effect on the brilliance of your diamond.
Diamonds are measured in carats, a small unit of
measurement equal to 200 milligrams. A gem
stone's carat weight should not be confused with
the "karat" weight of gold, which is actually a
measurement of purity rather than weight. Each carat is divided
into 100 points. Therefore, a half-carat stone may be referred
to as a "50-pointer," a quarter carat, "25-points," etc.
Carat is the easiest of the 4 C's to determine because of the
use of sophisticated measuring equipment. However, two diamonds
of equal carat weight might vary greatly in value depending upon
their cut, color and clarity. This is important because when
mounted, one diamond may appear larger than another, although
they actually weigh the same.
Gold, whose atomic symbol is Au on the periodic table of
elements, is naturally yellow in color. The specific gravity
of gold is 19.3+, which is quite heavy for metallic minerals.
One quality of gold is that it is easily formed into various
shapes. This has made it a premium choice for jewelry artisans
throughout the centuries. Gold in its purest form is defined
as 24 karat. Pure gold is too soft for most jewelry uses,
so it is mixed, or alloyed, with other metals to alter its
properties and color. It is common to see gold jewelry in
18k or 14k. This represents an alloy that contains 18/24
or 14/24 parts gold in the overall mix. This value could
also be expressed in percentages of purity as 75% for 18k
and 58.33% for 14k.
