Diamonds

The 4 C's of Diamonds:

  1. Cut
  2. Colour 
  3. Carat
  4. Clarity

Cut: 

A diamonds cut refers to its proportions and finish which influences the value of a diamond. A skilled professional will work on a diamond stone to give it its cut, transforming it from its natural form, and cutting it into a finished shape to be used in Jewellery.

The cut should not be confused with shape, which refers to the shape of the finished diamond, such as: Round Cut Diamonds, Princess Cut Diamonds , Asscher Cut Diamonds, Radiant Cut Diamond, Cushion Cut Diamond, Emerald Cut Diamond, Marquise Cut Diamond, Oval Cut Diamond, Trilliant Cut Diamond, Heart Cut Diamond, Pear Cut Diamond, Baguette Cut Diamond. 

The cut of the diamond affects the way in which the light hits the stone, effecting the sparkle. The way a diamond is cut affects three important diamond-attributes:

  • Brilliance – Diamond brilliance refers to the diamond's ability to reflect and refract light. Light enters the diamond and is either reflected out of the top (reflection) or the light travels to the center of the diamond and then bounces off the internal walls (refraction).
  • Fire – is simply the colored sparkle that you can see when the stone is exposed to light.
  • Scintillation – Scintillation is the play of white and colored flashes of light seen when the diamond is viewed in motion. Viewable with the naked eye,scintillation is the life of the diamond.

A diamond that is cut too deep will allow most of the light to be lost through the sides of the stone as light is reflected to opposite facets at the wrong angle. This can give the diamond the appearance of having a black middle. If the diamond is cut too shallow, then the light may be lost through the bottom of the stone, and so produce a dulled reflection.

The quality and grade given to the cut of the diamond can be measured by the following attributes:

  • Proportion – This refers to the relationship between the table size, crown angel and pavilion depth. This affects how the stone interacts with light (making it sparkle), and there are many proportion combinations available.
  • Symmetry – This refers to the precision of the shape and the placement of the facets, and again affects the stone's relationship with light.
  • Polish – This refers to the overall condition of a gem's facet surface, and is the finishing touch put on a newly cut and crafted diamond.

Colour: 

After diamond cut, diamond color is the second most important characteristic to consider when choosing a diamond. The highest quality diamonds are colorless, while those of lower quality have noticeable color, which manifests as pale yellow in diamonds. 


The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grades diamond color on a scale of D (colorless) to Z (light yellow or brown). D-Z diamonds are also known as white diamonds, even though most diamonds, including H color diamonds and G color diamonds, have varying amounts of color.
The GIA diamond color scale is the leading industry standard of diamond color grading. Before this was the standard, other color grading scales used A, B and C, so GIA started their scale at D to avoid confusion. 

There are six categories on the GIA diamond chart, with color grades that range from absolutely colorless to light in color. Diamonds rated D are the most devoid of color and very rare, whereas G color diamonds and H color diamonds are near colorless, and since they’re priced lower they are excellent value diamonds. The more you move down the color chart, the lower the color grade is, and the more noticeable the light yellow hue becomes.

Carat: 

The term 'carat' refers to the weight of a diamond, not the size. One carat of diamond weighs 200 milligrams or 1/5th of a gram. One carat of diamond can be divided as 100 points of diamond. As such, this can then be divided down, so that 50 points of diamond refers to half a carat of diamond and 25 points refers to a quarter of a carat of diamond.

Many people consider the carat to be the main factor that determines the value of a diamond, as in many instances the bigger the diamond, the more you'd expect to pay. However, this is not the sole factor in determining a diamond's wealth, and should not be the only factor taken into account, as the other C's can have a big impact.

Two diamonds of the same carat may differ dramatically in value, if their colour and clarity are extremely different. So it is important to remember to check the other factors alongside the carat, and not just assume that the higher the carat weight, the higher the value of the diamond, as this is not always the case.

Clarity:


Diamonds are beautiful, but they all have small imperfections. This is why every single individual diamond stone has a unique fingerprint. Like colour, the level of imperfections in each diamond can differ hugely, and so clarity refers to the level of flawlessness the diamond has. Imperfections are classed as inclusions (internal flaws), which can make the diamond look cloudy, and blemishes (external marks) such as scratches. The fewer imperfections a diamond has, the more flawless it is, meaning the diamond is considered to be rarer and more valuable.

However, bear in mind that most imperfections will be invisible to the naked eye, and perfect clarity is exceedingly rare in a diamond. Assessments are carried out under a 10x magnification, and upon this examination, a diamond will be graded for clarity against an approved scale, as was the case for colour. Inclusions may affect the brilliance or sparkle of a diamond, as it is possible they can cloud the way the light hits or bounces off the diamond.

The GIA clarity grading scale almost exactly matches the one used by the IGI, which is what we at PawnBroker Gold use to grade our diamonds. The full GIA scale runs as below:

  • FL: flawless
  • IF: internally flawless
  • VVS1-2: very, very small inclusions
  • VS1-2: very small inclusions
  • SI1-2: small inclusions
  • I 1-3: inclusions may be visible to the naked eye

The IGI scale combines grades FL & IF, grouping them together as the very best clarity available.