Four C's of Diamonds

Consumers and members of the diamond industry are buying and selling diamonds based on their light performance and these four C's:

Clarity - Describes the clearness or purity of a diamond. This is determined by the number, size, nature, and location of the internal and external (blemishes) imperfections.

Color - Describes the amount of color the diamond contains. This can range from colorless to yellow with slight tints of yellow, gray or brown. Colors can also range from intense yellow to brown, blue, green, pink and red. These fancy color are rare and therefore more valuable.

Cut - Refers to the proportions, finish, symmetry, and polish of the diamond. These factors determine the fire and brilliance of a diamond. Well cut diamonds sell at a premium and poorly cut diamonds sell at discounted prices. With the advent of technology, the cut of the diamond can be determined through the use of the Dia-Mension system, a computerized system which takes accurate measurements and proportions of a diamond in seconds, in addition to the standard millimeter gauge.

Carat Weight - Is the unit of weight for the diamond. A carat is further subdivided in 100 points ( 0.01 carat = l point ). One carat is equal to 0.20 grams. Value per carat increases with carat size, because larger rough diamonds occur less frequently. In other words, 2 half-carat diamonds taken together will not cost as much as 1 one-carat diamond, as the one-carat stone is more rare.