Forever Diamonds

Buying jewelry should be a fun and fulfilling experience. Since there are many factors to consider before purchasing a piece of fine jewelry, we have put together a simple guideline of important topics to familiarize you with your diamond purchase.

The “Four C’s”

Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat are the four main aspects of a diamond's characteristics and are considered the most important attributes. The diamond industry uses these four important attributes to set universal standards for evaluating a diamond's quality and beauty. Remember there are literally thousands of combinations of diamond cut, color, clarity and carat size with a multitude of trade-offs to consider.

Cut

Cut refers to the proportions of the diamond as well as the shape of it. The traditional round cut diamond is the most brilliant. Non-round cut diamonds is referred to as “fancy shapes”. These include heart, pear, princess, emerald, asscher, oval, marquise, radiant, cushion and many new modern cuts. All diamond shapes are unique to how they are cut and their characteristics determine their quality.

A good cut determines its brilliance; it’s dispersion; it’s life. It is the single most important factor in determining the “fire” and brilliance of the diamond. Proper proportions in a diamond’s make allow light to reflect back to the eye evenly in the face-up position without showing any dark, or dead, areas. Therefore, when a diamond is well cut, light enters through the table and travels to the pavilion where it reflects from one side to the other intensifying the facets before reflecting back out of the diamond through the table again. In fancy shapes, “bow-ties” are typical in cuts such as ovals and marquise. This is where the main brilliance is lessoned, or shadowed, in the center of the stone much like the shape of a bow tie. Sometimes a slightly off-make, be it deeper or shallower in cut, can lesson or remove the bow-tie effect.

Different diamond grading laboratories, such as G.I.A. and E.G.L have cut criteria that give cut grades, i.e. Ideal cut or O cut, to certain specific proportions. These laboratories create diamond certificates that are unique to each stone examined and blueprint the stone’s characteristics.

Polish and symmetry are also two very important diamond aspects. The polish refers to variations of surface blemishes. The symmetry refers to variations in cut symmetry. Sometimes the symmetrical variations are so slight to remove imperfections within the stone they are completely undetectable, but noted on the grading report. These grades range from poor to excellent.

cut

Color

A diamond divides light into a spectrum of colors and then reflects this light back to the viewer. With a higher color grade, the reflected spectrum of colors is greater and gives the stone better brilliance, or fire. The lower the color grade, the diamond emits less of the color spectrum. The most sought after diamonds are usually the ones that are referred to as colorless.

There are also fancy color diamonds such as canary yellows, pinks and blues. These colors are rare and, in most cases, much more expensive. Be sure to check that these colored stones are natural and not treated before paying the price. A grading report, or certificate, will be sure to acknowledge the origin of the fancy color in the stone.

Also, there is an importance of cut to color. A colorless and high clarity diamond can look dull, cloudy, or lifeless if it is not well cut. The cut plays the most significant role in determining the overall resultant color of the stone.

Different laboratories have different grading systems. For the most part, they are all very similar. The most common and respected in the industry is from G.I.A the Gemological Institute of America. D-F is colorless, also known as Fine White or River White. G-J is considered Near Colorless, also known as White and sometimes hard to distinguish from colorless when set into jewelry. K-M is considered Faint Yellow, also called Top Silver in some cases when the diamond ‘faces-up’ whiter than the stone actually is. M-R is Very Light Yellow. Here, M can be considered either category depending on the overall look. S-Z is Light Yellow. For the most part, a majority of consumers look for diamonds within the D-J color range.

color

Clarity

Clarity refers to the presence of inclusions. The greater the clarity, the more brilliant and valuable the stone is in most cases. Inclusions, or imperfections, and the degree of them determine the clarity of the gem. Two different types of flaws can affect a diamond’s clarity: external and internal.

External flaws are the impurities on the surface of the stone. These flaws are usually a result of wear and tear can be caused during the cutting process. Internal flaws reside within the interior of the stone. A few important external flaws are: dark/black spots, which are from carbon; clouds, which are microscopic inclusions that lower transparency and fractures, which are weak points in the stone’s structure that can cause breakage.

The basic grading of clarity from most laboratories ranges from Flawless to Imperfect. Flawless (F) and Internally Flawless (IF) are the highest clarities given. Very Very Slightly included (VVS1 and VVS2) has two ranges, VVS1 being the better of the two. The VVS group is very hard to detect imperfections to the eye under 10x magnification. Very Slightly included (VS1 and VS2) have two ranges, VS1 being the better of the two. The VS group is hard to detect but possible to see inclusions under 10x magnification. Slightly Included (SI1, SI2 and SI3) have three ranges, SI1 being the best of the three. The SI group may be easily visible with 10x magnification and without any depending on the range. SI3 is not recognized by G.I.A but is used by other certification laboratories to help bridge the gap between SI2 and I1. Imperfect (I1, I2 and I3) will have inclusions that are easily visible and may affect the diamond’s brilliance and durability.

clarity

Carat

Carat refers to the unit of weight for diamonds and other precious gemstones. ‘Points’ are used to describe weight with diamonds weighing less than one carat. 100 points equal 1.00 carat. For example, a stone weighing 75 points weighs 75/100 of a carat, or ¾ carat.

carat

Beyond the 4 C’S

Certification Reports

A diamond certificate is a report created by gemologists. It is proof that the diamond has undergone an unbiased, professional examination. The diamond is evaluated using industry tools. The most widely known certification laboratories are the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the American Gem Society (AGS), the International Gemological Institute (IGI) and European Gemological Laboratories (EGL) to name a few.

A complete certificate typically includes the specifics of a diamond’s shape, measurements, weight, depth, table, girdle, culet, polish, symmetry, clarity, color, fluorescence, comments (optional), and laser inscription registry (optional). Aside from a diamond’s authenticity, certificates are also useful in case of loss, theft and damage for your insurance company.

Fluorescence

One truly unique feature to diamonds is fluorescence. This is when a diamond has a natural blue fluorescence that shows, or glows, under any source of ultraviolet light. Fluorescence effects the beauty and/or value of a diamond depending on the color grade you are buying and how much fluorescence it contains, whether very light to extreme. In higher color graded diamonds, such as D to F, fluorescence sometimes can interfere with the flow of light and make the stone look less brilliant. In lower color graded diamonds, such as G and below, fluorescence can actually help the stone to look whiter without loosing any or very little of its brilliance. Studies by the GIA have shown that it does not necessarily affect the brilliance of a diamond, except those graded with strong fluorescence.

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