Diamond Buyers Guide
Diamond Buyers Guide
The most important things to consider when you purchase a diamond are the 4 Cs - cut, clarity, colour, and carat weight. A universally used grading system for diamonds, which determines its value and rarity.
Diamond Cut
The brilliance of a diamond depends heavily on its cut, as it is the diamond's reflective qualities. Diamonds are cut by skilled craftsmen to bring out the very best in a diamond.
Diamond Clarity
Most diamonds contain inclusions (flaws) which occur naturally and give each diamond its own unique characteristics. Most inclusions are invisible to the naked eye. The fewer inclusions in the diamond, the greater the clarity and the more valuable it is.
Guide to diamond clarity classification:
F = Flawless
IF = Internally Flawless
VVS1 and VVS2 = Very Very Slightly Included, very difficult to see with 10x magnification
VS1and VS2 = Very Slightly Included seen only with 10x magnification
SI1 SI2and SI3 = Slightly Included easily seen with 10x magnification
I1and I2 and I3 = Included and visible to the naked eye.
Diamond Colour
Colourless diamonds are the most expensive and sought after, as they tend to sparkle more. The more colour a diamond contains, the less sparkle, and therefore less desirable and valuable. Whiteness is graded with a colour scale that begins at D for colourless and ends with Z for a brownish-yellow
Colourless = DEF,
Near Colourless = GHIJ,
Faint Yellow = KLM,
Very Light Yellow = NOPQR,
Light Yellow = STUVWX and on…
Diamond Carat
This is a measure of a diamond’s weight, not its size. The larger the carat weight the rarer and more valuable it becomes.
