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Diamond
The name “Diamond” is derived from the ancient Greek word “adamas”, meaning “unconquerable”.
Witnesses to the origins of the earth, life and love, diamonds have regned hearts and monds the wold over from thedawn of time to the present day.
In ancient Greek believed a diamond's inner fire was fact its emotion, a symbol of the inextinguishable flame of love, a billion years in the making, frozen forever in time.
Over the centuries diamonds have mesmerized queens, toppled kingdoms, and inspired myths, romance and folklore.
Diamonds are the deepest and oldest mysteries of the world, talismans of magic and success, and promises of eternity.
Beauty beyond the 4C's
Nature dicates the characteristics of color, clarity, carat while cut is directly influenced by human hand.
Each diamond is unique. Even two stones bearing a certificate with identical 4C's are not alike.
Diamond 4C's normally refers to white and round brilliantcut diamond. If you're not sure how to determine the value and quality of diamond,
your reputable jeweler is especially qualified to help you understand diamond so you can make a brilliance decision.
Cut
Not to be confused with the shape of the diamond, cut refers to the arrangement of a diamond's facet ,
the angles and proportionals a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough diamond into a polished diamond.
Cut is the most important of the 4C's because it determine the brilliance and beauty of diamond. It is the only "C" under man's control.
A well-cut diamond will reflect light internally from one mirror-like facet to another, dispesing it through the top af the stone.
Cut that are too deep or too shallow lose or leak light through the side or bottom, affecting the diamond's brilliance.
An Ideal cut diamond ensures optimal brilliance, scintillation and fire.
Light is reflected from facet to facet and comes back through the top in a rainbow blaze.
Diamond's cut is graded as excellent, very good, good, fair and poor.
Color
Most diamonds appear icy white, but many have tiny hints color.
Diamonds are graded on a color scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA),
ranging from D (colorless) to Z (yellowish).
Perfect white, colorless diamonds are rare, and therefore very valuable.
Diamonds are also sometimes found in "fancy" colors: pink, blue, green, yellow, brown, orange and, very rarely, red.
Not to be confused between the yellow diamond and white yellowish diamond, fancy color diamonds are truly rare , exceptional stone.
But there are no hard and fast riles for what color makes a diamond beautiful.
Color Scale
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D, E, F |
Colorless |
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G, H, I, J |
Near Colorless |
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K, L, M |
Faint |
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N, O, P, Q, R |
Very light |
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S - Z |
Light |
Carat
Not to be confused with Karat-the measure of purity of gold, carat is a measure of diamond weight.
It is also often confused with size but the cut of a diamond can make it appear much larger or smaller than its actual weight.
One carat is equivalent of 200 milligrams. One carat can also be devided into 100 "points".
A 0.75 carat diamond is the same as a 75- points or a 3/4 carat diamond.
An example of one carat round brilliant cut diamond's diameter is approximately 6.4mm to 6.5mm.
Clarity
Diamonds, like people, have natural blemishes in their make-up.
Clarity is the degree to which tiny marks of nature called inclusions are present in the diamond.
These tiny faults, or inclusions, are formed by minerals or fractures while the diamond is forming in the earth.
Diamonds are graded on a clarity scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), ranging from Flawless to Imperfect.
The type and number of inclusions, their size and location all affect the diamond's clarity grade.
When light enters a diamond, it is reflected and refracted out.
If there is anything disrupting the flow of light in the diamond, such as an inclusion, a proportion of the light reflected will be lost.
Clarity Scale
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FL or IF |
Flawless or Internally Flawless
-No visible characteristics under magnification, not visible to the naked eye |
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VVS1
VVS2 |
Very Very Slightly Included
-Very minor characteristics just visible under magnification, not visible to the naked eye. |
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VS1
VS2 |
Very Slightly Included
-Minor characteristics visible under magnification, not visible to the naked eye. |
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SI1
SI2 |
Slightly Included
-Characteristics visible under magnification, not visible to the naked eye. |
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I1
I2
I3 |
Included
-Characteristics visible with the nake eye |
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Diamond 4C's
