What are the 4C's of Diamonds?
A Diamonds quality is determined by the 4C's:
Cut: Quality of angles, proportions, facets, and finishing details
Color: How colorless the diamond is
Clarity: How clean the diamond is of imperfection and inclusions.
Carat: The weight of diamonds
These 4C's of diamonds are the key ingredients that impacts it's beauty and structure. They speak how the diamond appears and how high quality it is. By reviewing the 4C's of a diamond, we can determine if a diamond is of high-quality or not. The 4C's are graded by professionals on a consistent scale.
Do we know diamond seller set their prices based on grading reports🤔? Yes, its true most of the diamond sellers set their diamond prices based on the 4C's grading reports. Grading of the 4C's help determine it's value and indicated it's quality.
As a buyer knowing about the basic of 4C's is essential, knowing about the basic of these grading is helpful when you are comparing the two similar diamonds.
Hold on😕! do we know what remains the most important?🤔 Any guesses? The answer is, how the diamond appears to the naked eye and how attractive the diamond is.
So, let's know about the 4C's
Are you ready? Of Course
Let's dive in
Cut
The 'CUT' is the most aspect of diamond quality that impacts a diamond's beauty. In simple words diamond cut specially refers to the quality of diamond's angles, proportions, finishing details and brilliance. These factors impacts a diamond's sparkle.
Picture Source: Google
Always review the diamond's cut carefully and ask for the expert.
Color
A diamond color is scored on the basis of how white or colorless a diamond is. The chart given below👇🏼 shows the grades of diamond. From D to X, with D is most colorless, and X containing noticeable light yellow color.
Picture Source: Google
While the given chart👆🏼 shows the example of how each grade appears, it's really important to look at each diamond carefully. Like the diamond cut, the color of diamond might appear different among diamonds.
A General recommendation for all of us, review each diamond carefully and closely, ask for assistance of expert.
Note:
Some colored diamonds are valued stones, like green diamond or fancy pink diamond. Color grades for these diamonds are different from the white colored diamond and don't appear on diamond color chart.
Clarity
Picture Source: Google
The diamond clarity chart rates how clean the diamond is from both inclusions and blemishes.
In 1953, Richard T. Liddicoat and colleagues established the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) diamond grading system and clarity scale. The GIA diamond grading scale is divided into 6 categories and 11 diamond clarity grades.
- FL (Flawless)
- IF (Internally Flawless)
- VVS1 (Very, Very Slightly Included 1)
- VVS2 (Very, Very Slightly Included 2)
- VS1 (Very Slightly Included 1)
- VS2 (Very Slightly Included 2)
- SI1 (Slightly Included 1)
- SI2 (Slightly Included 2)
- I1 (Inclusions 1)
- I2 (Inclusions 2
This diamond clarity grading scale shows and sums up each clarity grade. Watch how the visibility of the inclusions changes in the image on the right. (Above Image👆🏼)
Carat
Picture Source: Google
Let me ask you a question, what do you mean by carat weight? Most of the time when people hear carat weight, they think it refers to the size of the diamonds. But actually "carat weight" means the weight of the diamond.
Hold on😕! Now, what do you mean by the weight of the diamond? As we mentioned above carat weight refers to the weight of the diamond, not on how large the stone is.😀
Let's take a quick example, a 1.5 carat diamond will not shine as bright or it will not look attractive as well as a stunning 1.0 carat diamond no matter how much more it weighs
Rather than sticking to a certain number on a diamond cart chart choose a diamond with an memorable cut or Ideal cut in the shape you desire❤.
Summarized Chart
Picture Source: Google
How the 4C's work together?
Each of the 4C's contributes overall beauty of a diamond and makes a each stone unique. Before buying diamond, we should review each diamond carefully and closely. Because the eye may have difficulty differentiating one diamond characteristic by itself such as Clarity or Color.
"Diamond are a girl's best friend"