Basic Information About Diamonds

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Basic Information About Diamonds

If you are in the market for a diamond, you have no doubt heard about the "4 C's." The "4 C's" define the quality of a diamond, with the combination ultimately determining the cost of a diamond.

Cut

Color

Clarity

Carat

Cut

Cut is the most important "C" in determining the quality of a diamond.

First, cut is NOT the shape of a diamond. The shape of a diamond refers to the general outward appearance of the diamond (round, pear, heart). The cut of a diamond refers to the reflective qualities of the diamond.

Cut is the combination of the roundness, width, depth, and facets (the polished sides) of the diamond. All of these aspects of the diamond contribute to the brilliance of the diamond, working together to turn the light traveling through the stone into eye-catching magic.

For example, if a diamond is too shallow, the light will escape out the sides, instead of reflecting within the diamond and glimmering back. However, if the diamond is too deep, the light will escape out the bottom, making the diamond appear duller and darker than it should. It takes a fine balance of width and depth to make the light shine through to its fullest effect and make your diamond the brightest it can be.

This balance of width and depth makes up the symmetry of the diamond. The closer your diamond gets to the perfect or ideal level of symmetry, the more brilliant it will appear.

Symmetry is graded as:

·	Ideal Cut: about the top 3% of all diamonds based on quality of cut

·	Very Good Cut: the top 15%

·	Good Cut: the top 25%

·	Fair Cut: the top 35%

·	Poor Cut: all the rest - BrightDiamond.com does not carry any Poor Cut diamonds

The facets of the diamond are where the light shines through the stone or is reflected off. These facets should be highly polished to ensure that the full brilliance of the diamond comes through. Poorly polished facets can dull the effects of even the most ideally cut diamond.

Which grade of cut should I choose?

For the most brilliant diamonds, the Ideal Cut is the best. But you must choose a balance between cut and color to fit your budget. Diamonds in the other grades of cut offered by BrightDiamond.com are of excellent value and are still high quality, if not as brilliant.

Color

Color is probably the second most important "C" in determining the quality of a diamond.

Color in diamonds is truly a case in which less is more. The best diamonds are colorless or white, with lesser graded diamonds being nearly colorless to faintly yellow or lightly yellow. Colorlessness adds to the brilliance of the diamond by allowing more light to travel through the stone, thus showing the quality of the cut to its fullest advantage. Also, a slightly yellow color to a diamond may become more noticeable once placed in a gold or platinum setting. Diamonds do exist in colors other than white-red, blue, pink, orange, and even violet, the color of the famous Hope diamond-but the classic color for truly brilliant diamonds is white.

The color scale starts at D for the whitest diamonds and goes down to Z for light yellow diamonds. BrightDiamond.com sells only diamonds in the colorless and near colorless ranges.

·	D - F: These colorless diamonds are of the highest quality and are quite rare.

·	G - J: These near colorless diamonds have faint traces of color that are indiscernible to the unaided eye. These diamonds offer an excellent value.

·	K - Z: These diamonds have traces of color that are discernible to the unaided eye and are not carried by BrightDiamond.com.

What is fluorescence?

Fluorescence is the effect that is seen in some diamonds when they are exposed to long-wave ultraviolet light. It can make the diamond appear to emit light of different colors (blue, yellow, white, etc.). Some diamonds that give off strong blue light are preferred since it can make a near colorless diamond look even whiter.

Which color should I choose?

A diamond in the colorless range is, of course, of higher quality than one in the near colorless range. A colorless diamond with very little fluorescence is extremely valuable and desirable, but a diamond in the near colorless range is a good compromise if you need to stay within a certain budget. The color in the diamond will be virtually indiscernible to the naked eye, and the diamond will still be very attractive.

Clarity

Clarity is the physical appearance of the diamond as viewed under magnification, usually a jeweler's 10x magnifying glass. Diamonds that appear perfect or flawless to the naked eye can show blemishes (outside marks) or inclusions (inside marks) under magnification. Blemishes can include chips, scratches, small fractures, or mistakes made during polishing of the facets. Inclusions can include spots, trace minerals, and tiny cracks within the stone called feathers.

Slight inclusions are natural and very common. Truly flawless diamonds are extremely rare. Diamonds range in quality of clarity from flawless to internally flawless to very, very slightly included to very slightly included to slightly included to imperfect.

Clarity contributes to the brilliance of the diamond by allowing the light to work with the diamond's cut and color without the interference of outside blemishes or internal inclusions. Lower grades of clarity (i.e., greater imperfections) can be "hidden" by certain types of cuts to some degree, but they can never match the brilliance of a more flawless diamond.

Which grade of clarity should I choose?

While Flawless diamonds are the rarest, a diamond does not have to be flawless to be stunning. In fact, until you drop to the "I" grade, a diamond's clarity grade has an impact on the diamond's value and quality, not on the unmagnified diamond's appearance. Diamonds with VVS and VS grades are excellent choices for both value and appearance.

More affordable (and still a great choice) are those diamonds which gemologists call "eye-clean" - diamonds with no inclusions visible to the naked eye. These diamonds are SI1 and SI2 and unless the recipient carries a 10X loupe (a strong jewelry magnifying glass), she won't see the inclusions.

Carats

In contrast to color, where less is more, when talking about carats, more is definitely more. A carat is the unit of weight for diamonds, with one carat equal to 200 milligrams. Another system of measurement for diamonds is points, with one carat equaling 100 points (for example, a 50-point diamond would be one-half carats).

Because larger-sized diamonds are found more rarely in nature, they are more expensive. A single two-carat diamond will always be worth more than two one-carat diamonds of equal quality combined. Carats do not determine the quality of a diamond, only the size.

Which size diamond should I choose?

The size of your diamond will likely be the biggest consideration when buying a diamond. Which size is best for your situation, however, might also depend on what setting the diamond is to be placed in as well as exactly what message you want your diamond to give.

Additionally, diamonds that are the "perfect" weights of 0.25 carats, 0.50 carats, 0.75 carats, 1.00 carats and so on are more expensive. A diamond that is 1.01 carats will be less expensive than one that is 1.00 carats, and you can then purchase a higher-quality diamond.

·	Diameter The width of the diamond as measured through the girdle.

·	Table This is the large, flat top facet of a diamond.

·	Crown The upper portion of a cut gemstone, above the girdle.

·	Girdle The narrow rim of a diamond that separates the crown from the pavilion. It is the largest diameter to any part of the stone.

·	Pavilion The lower portion of the diamond, below the girdle. It is sometimes referred to as the base.

·	Culet The tiny facet on the pointed bottom of the pavilion, which is the portion of a cut gem below the girdle.

·	Depth The height of a gemstone, from the culet to the table.

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