Learn About the 4 C's

Diamonds come in all shapes, color and weight. The quality of these magnificent stones is determined by understanding the 4Cs of diamonds. These 4Cs are - Color, Carat, Clarity and Cut. Let have a quick look at what these mean.

Color: Diamonds come in all colors. Colorless diamonds are quite a rarity and are considered the purest and the most expensive diamonds. Gradation is the correct word to use for talking about the shades/colors of diamonds. So, the gradation of diamonds starts with colorless diamonds (the most expensive ones) and moves on to yellowish color. As diamonds increase in their degree of yellowish-ness their quality diminishes. But now diamonds can be seen in many other colors like pink, blue etc. (and these seem to be even more expensive). Quality of a diamond can be best judged by keeping them next to each other and comparing (in order to check the presence of yellowish tinge)

Carat: Carat is the unit for measuring the weight/size of a diamond. One carat is divided into 100 smaller divisions called points. One carat is 1/142 times an ounce (in weight). Normally we come across diamond rings which contain diamonds that are less than a carat. The concept of bigger the better does not hold good for diamonds. Along with carat, we should also look for color and clarity.

Clarity: Clarity of a diamond can be determined by inclusions (i.e., the internal flaws in the diamond). Since diamonds are found in mines as rocks, they contain flaws which can also be considered as birthmarks give to diamonds by Mother Nature. Besides the internal flaws, a diamond you also have blemishes on its surface. GIA grading system is quite commonly used for determining the clarity of a diamond and is a correct guide for determining the clarity of a diamond.

Cut: Today diamonds are cut with high end equipments to give it a desired shape. You can determine a good cut by its light-reflecting and its light dispersion properties. There are numerous different shapes of cut diamonds but the most common one is the round cut that is used predominantly for diamond rings. Others include princess cut which is square in shape, emerald cut resembling a box with truncated corners etc.