Know Your Diamond
When shopping for a diamond, you will quickly be introduced to the "Four Cs" - cut, color, clarity and carat. All four features can make a dramatic impact on the quality and price of a diamond.
Cut.Cut really refers to the proportions of a diamond and it's facets, as opposed to its shape, which includes round (brilliant), oval, pear, marquise, emerald, square (princess or radiant), heart and triangle. Regardless of its shape, a diamond gets its brilliancy from the cutting and maximizing the reflection of the light.
Color. The best color is no color at all, because it reflects the most light. The Gemological Institute of america (GIA) ranks diamonds on a standard 23-grade scale from D, a perfectly colorless stone, through Z, a light yellow stone.
Clarity. Teh number, color, nature, size and position of natural marks, called inclusions, contained in the gem, define clarity. Inclusions occur naturally during the process of crystallization, when minute traces of minerals are trapped in the diamond. Excellent clarity means light can pass unimpeded through the stone and increases its value. The GIA judges clarity based on a standard 11-point scale from Flawless through Imperfect 3 (see clarity scale.)
Carat. Diamonds are weighed in carats, which may also be expressed as "points," where one carat equals 100 points. a diamond of 50 points, for example, equals 1/2 carat. Diamonds of more than one carat are extremely rare (one in a thousand), and therefore very valuable. Two diamonds of the same size can vary considerably in value depending on the other three factors - cut, color and clarity.
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