An Overview of the 4 C's

An Overview of the 4 C's

Diamonds are Forever - a girls best friend, 😉  and symbols of so much in our lives - the love of a pair of newlyweds, they also represent, beauty, purity, and success. But what about a diamond's quality factors? Lets dive a little deeper into what we call the four C's of diamond quality:

 

 

1. Clarity

Most things in nature are somewhat imperfect, but that doesn't detract from their beauty at all - in fact, that's often what makes them so unique and special. The same is true for diamonds. Diamonds have internal features called inclusions, and surface irregularities called blemishes. Together, these are called clarity characteristics. Clarity is, therefore, the relative absence of inclusions and blemishes.

Inclusions are tiny impurities that get trapped inside the diamond during formation. These impurities make every diamond unique - just as it is unlikely that two people will have the same fingerprints, it is just as unlikely that two diamonds will have the same clarity characteristics. So, in essence, clarity characteristics are what makes each and every diamond special and give them their own unique fingerprint for identification!

The size, number, location, relief, and nature of the inclusions are what determine the final clarity grade of a diamond.

The clarity of diamonds are graded according to GIA's Clarity Grading system:

• Flawless 

• Internally Flawless

• Very Very Slightly Included (VVS1 & VVS2)

• Very Slightly Included (VS1 & VS2)

• Slightly Included (SI1 & SI2)

• Included (I1, I2, & I3)

 

2. Colour

Something that most people don't know about diamonds, is that they come in a variety of beautiful colours (yay!). With colourless diamonds, the less colour the diamond exhibits, the more valuable it is. With coloured diamonds, the more colour it exhibits, the more valuable it is. Talk about a mind twist!

Diamonds that range from colourless to light yellow, brown, and grey, fall within the "normal colour range", and are graded on GIA's D-Z scale. Any diamond who's colour falls beyond the D-Z scale is graded as "Fancy", and will get a grade such as: Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, etc.

Many diamonds also emit a visible light called fluorescence when they're exposed to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation such as sunlight, or even fluorescent lights. Strong blue fluorescence for example, can make a light yellow diamond look more colourless in sunlight. Fluorescence is not a determining factor in the final colour grade of a diamond, but it can have an effect on its value.

 

3. Cut

A well-cut diamond can make light perform in breathtaking ways, just as a poorly cut diamond can make the diamond look dull and unattractive.

The proportions of a diamond - its angles and relative measurements and the relationships between them — have a dramatic effect on how light performs when it strikes that diamond. This is where the skill of the diamond cutter comes in, because his or her proportion choices unlock the diamonds beauty and present the viewer with dazzling display of light.

The way a diamond is cut has a fundamental impact on the display of diamonds' three important attributes, which are Brightness, Fire, and Scintillation. 

Brightness - also called brilliance - is the effect of the diamonds internal and external reflections of white light.

Fire is the word used for all the flashes of colour you see.

Scintillation describes the flashes of light and contrasting dark areas you see when the diamond, the light, or the observer moves.

A diamond has three parts - a crown (the top part of the diamond), a girdle (the narrow section that forms the boundary between the crown and pavilion), and the pavilion (the bottom part of the diamond below the girdle).

In a well cut diamond, light enters the diamond, is reflected multiple times within the stone, and finally exits the stone through the crown to the viewers eye as brilliant light. If a diamond is poorly cut - for example if the pavilion is too deep or too shallow - the light that enters the diamond isn't reflected or hardly at all, and the light rays leave the gem through the pavilion resulting in the diamond being dark and dull to the viewer.

 

4. Carat Weight

A diamonds weight is measured in "carat" weight (abbreviated "ct"). One carat is equal to one-fifth of a gram or 0.200 grams. A single carat is further divided into 100 "points" (abbreviated "pt"). Diamonds are weighed to a thousandth (0.001) of a carat, and then rounded to the nearest hundredth, or point.

Larger diamonds are of course much rarer than smaller ones, so if all quality factors are equal, the larger diamond will be worth more than the smaller one. But size isn't always in indicator of value as a large poor quality diamond can be worth much less than a smaller diamond of exceptional quality.

 

I hope you've enjoyed learning a bit about the 4 c's of diamond quality.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Until next time! :)

 

Melissa Snyder

GIA Graduate Gemologist 

& Accredited Jewellery Professional 

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