4 C’s

 

CUT. COLOUR. CARAT. CLARITY. 4 C’s- universal grading system for objective comparison of diamond quality – developed by GIA

CUT    Cut refers to the angles, proportion, brilliance, fire and symmetry of a diamond and is the most important feature in a diamonds appearance. Facet positioning and proportions determine the beauty of a diamond. SAY YES TIP: Staying within the “Very Good-Good” cut range will give you a valuable and beautiful diamond without spending too much or compromising just to benefit in other areas of the 4 C’s CUT GRADES: IDEAL The diamond is cut to achieve its maximum brilliance, fire and scintilation. Extremely bright and attractive. EXCELLENT The diamond is cut just outside ideal proportions. Very bright and lively, extremely attractive.  VERY GOOD The diamond is cut just outside ideal and excellent proportions. Very bright, lively and attractive. GOOD The diamonds are cut with a slight reduction is brilliance. Can still appear bright. MEDIUM/FAIR The diamond is cut with an obvious sign of light leakage, lacking in brilliance and fire. Will appear dull. POOR Diamond is cut with severe lack of brilliance, fire and scintilation. Appears very dull and lifeless.

COLOUR When looking at a diamond, the human eye notices the diamond’s cut first and its color second. The less color in a diamond, the more colourful the fire, and the better the color grade. A color grade ranges from D-Z. The color grade range is from colourless to diamonds with tints of yellow, grey or brown. Most people focus on buying a colourless or near colourless diamond. Some diamonds have colour including blue, green, yellow, pink and red. These are classified as “fancy” colours are very rare and extremely valuable. SAY YES TIP: – To the naked, untrained eye, you will start to see slight yellow or brown at the colour grade – I. – Color grades G-H will offer excellent value as they are Near-Colorless. Color is only slightly noticeable when compared, with a trained eye, to diamonds of higher grades. – I would professionally recommend that you buy no lower than colour grade – H. ***Fancy colors such as pink, red, blue and green are very rare and expensive. Such fancy colors do not follow the normal color/pricing scales and are categorized separately. COLOUR GRADES: D, E, F Colorless G, H, I, J Near Colorless K, L, M Faint Yellow N, O, P, Q, R Very Light Yellow S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z Light Yellow

CARAT Diamonds in picture are not to scale A diamonds weight is expressed in Carats. 1.00ct is equal to 0.20 grams. Carat weight is often confused with size, however it is a measure of weight. Carat Weight does not determine value alone. Two stones of equal weight can vary in price if a there is a difference in quality of – cut, colour, and clarity. SAY YES TIP: – Majority of diamonds used in retail creations are 1.00ct or less, as larger diamonds are more rare and expensive. – The smaller the finger, the larger the diamond will appear Whether looking to jump the one carat hurdle or make an breathtaking creation with smaller diamonds for a brilliant effect, I can located high quality stones that reflect your budget

CLARITY     CLARITY describes the purity of a diamond and has a direct effect on price and beauty of a diamond. Clarity indicates how “clean” the diamond is, or how many characteristics it has. Most diamonds have clarity characteristics, and their rating is determined by the number, size, nature, and location of the characteristics. SAY YES TIP: I would professionally recommend not buying a clarity grade any lower then a SI-1. Clarity, along with Cut, is the most important factor in price variations when purchasing a diamond. A trained observer starts to see inclusions with the naked eye at SI-3, the average eye detects inclusions at I-1. CLARITY GRADES: FL Flawless Most rare and expensive. No internal or external inclusions of any kind visible IF Internally Flawless No internal characteristics visible may have tiny external irregularities in the cutting finish VVS-1 Very Very Slightly Included 1 Tiny characteristics very slightly visible only to a trained eye under 10x magnification VVS-2 Very Very Slightly Included 2 Tiny characteristics slightly visible only to a trained eye under 10x magnification VS-1 Very Slightly Included 1 Very small characteristics visible with 10x magnification VS-2 Very Slightly Included 2 Characteristics are very small and may vary slightly in amount or size to VS1, visible with 10x magnification SI-1 Slightly Included 1 Small characteristics visible with 10x magnification SI-2 Slightly Included 2 Several small characteristics visible with 10x magnification SI-3 Slightly Included 3 Characteristics that may be visible to the naked eye for a trained observer I-1 Included 1 Characteristics that are visible to the naked eye I-2 Included 2 Many characteristics clearly visible to the naked eye that also decrease the brilliance I-3 Included 3 Many characteristics clearly visible to the naked eye which decrease the brilliance and compromise the structure of the diamond, making it more easily cracked or chipped

 

 

 

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