Before you
start diamond shopping, you want to have an understanding of what
you’re buying. This guide simplifies the four C’s of diamonds: cut,
color, clarity and carat weight, so you can select your diamond based
on the same criteria jewelers use to grade them.
General Information
A diamonds cut is an essential component of its brilliance in terms of how it reflects natural light or its sparkle. All 4C’s, when close to perfection, make a diamond stand out in any arrangement. But even with color, clarity & carat close to perfect and a cut being fair or poor, a diamond will seem pale or dull to the eye.
The better a diamond is cut, the more brilliant it will be. The well-cut diamond is faceted with the angle placed to best allow the light to reflect within the diamond and then return to the eye of the beholder. Diamonds may be cut and polished in various shapes to enhance their beauty. Diamonds reflect light from one facet to another, and then disperses it through the top of the stone. If the cut of a diamond is too deep, some of the light escapes through the opposite side of the pavilion. If the cut is too shallow, light escapes through the pavilion before it can be reflected.
Practical Views
You can search endlessly about diamond cut. There are many schools of thought. You have heard of branded diamonds that promise the best possible cut. Branded diamonds have been challenged by the mighty G.I.A.’s cut grading process. Now brilliant cut diamonds have a broader range of “ideal proportions” Brilliant diamonds are the only mathematically correct cut. Many sites and or brands try to put a value on fancy hapes i.e. - pears, princess, aschers, marquise, emerald, heart and ovals by giving them a cut grade. G.I.A. does not acknowledge these grades. Do not get swayed into these fictional gradings. When it comes to shape, buy what you like the most. Personal taste plays a role, we like our princess cuts to have a smaller depth than table width because it shows more weight without losing sparkle. When it comes to brilliant diamonds, you want even numbers or a table slightly smaller than its depth. Table size 58, 60, 62 to a depth of 59, 60, 63. As long as you have measurements close to these the diamond will look beautiful.
General Information
A flawless diamond is said to have zero or almost impossible to see inclusions within its physical composition. Clarity is graded on the number of inclusions, frequency, size and locations. The fewer in number these imperfections are, the greater the value of the diamond and the “cleaner” a diamond appears to the eye or loop.
Almost all diamonds have natural characteristics, or inclusions unique to the particular stone. Some are obvious at a glance, some are undetectable with the naked eye. Inclusions affect a diamonds ability to refract light, thus determining the overall brilliance. The fewer the inclusions, the more valuable the stone. Flawless diamonds are rare, and are usually found in crowned collections. Diamonds with very, very small (VVS) or very small (VS) inclusions are highly valued and are closer to the top of the diamonds scale. Diamonds graded I1-I3 has inclusions that can be seen by the untrained eye.
Practical Views
Clarity of a diamond is the easiest of all the five C’s. We personally like any diamond were we cannot see any inclusions. We try to keep people between VS2 and VVS1 clarity. You can purchase a flawless diamond but the sparkle will not increase. The only difference is under 10X. The flawless diamond will have fewer inclusions if any, than the VVS1.
General Information
The less color a diamond carries the more sought after it becomes. Color to a diamond is likened to that of sunlight to the sky. The less color a diamond possesses the less impedance it has to its brilliance. Colorless diamonds allow light to be untainted and reflects light and brilliance to its highest potential. Our shop carries the best grade of colorless diamonds.
While we may think of diamonds as being colorless, they can have hints of yellow or brown. Truly colorless diamonds, ranked D - F on the diamond quality pyramid, comprise the highest grade of color. Near colorless, or white diamonds are ranked G - J. Diamonds labeled K and L are also called top silver: M and N are known as faint yellow: O, P and Q are very very light yellow or top brown in color.
Practical Views
Diamond color is the most confusing of the 4 C’s. You really do not notice color until “I - J”. Brilliant cut diamonds are color graded upside down and through the side. Facing up brilliant cut diamonds true color is hard to see unless you have other loose stones for comparison. Once the stones are set, color is even harder to grade. Fancy shape diamond colors are easier to see. Most of the time the color is apparent in the tips of the marquise, pears and ovals. Princess cuts are similar to brilliant cuts in the fact that they hide color quite well. Emerald cuts start to show color around “K-L”. We have sold many faintly colored Emerald cuts and they are still beautiful and elegant to the naked eye.
General Information
The scale of diamonds weight is measured in carats. The higer the carat (size) of a diamond the more valuable and rare it becomes. Arsenia carries diamonds of all carat sizes so as to offer our customers the convenience of a wide selection while providing the best possible cost.
The carat weight represents the easiest of a diamond’s assets to measure. Its size “a” carat is about 0.2 grams and a carat is also equal to 100 points. This is done so that diamonds of less than a carat can be accurately measured. For example, a 50 point diamond (written as 0.50) is the same as a one-half carat diamond.
Practical Views
When it comes to carat size it is really a matter of the buyer/receiver’s personal preferance and budget. The best advise we can offer is make your carat size relative to the other C’s Purchasing a 2 carat diamond would not be considered a solid investment if all other characteristics are low quality. ( i.e. I3 clarity, O color, shallow diamond) Without sounding harsh, its as if you purchased a high priced piece of coal to be displayed in an engagement setting.
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