The Four C’s

As you search for your perfect diamond, you'll need some information to help you decide which one to buy.

Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat are the "Four C's" which determine the quality and cost of your diamond.  So, here's what you need to know about them.

Cut

Cuts are given grades of VG (Very Good), G (Good), M (Medium), or P (Poor).

You may already have in mind a certain shape for your diamond.

The cut of a diamond is not the same as the "shape" of the diamond.  The diamond cutter evaluates each diamond and determines which shape will be the best.  The diamond is then cut into the ideal shape.  Round brilliant is the most popular and most costly shape.  The others, called fancy shapes, include oval, marquise, pear, oval and emerald.

If you'd like to see diamond shapes, here's our affiliate link to Mondera's site::

Diamond Shapes at Mondera

Imagine the ring you  have chosen on the hand of your bride.  You want it to be brilliant and fiery, flashing and sparkling as she moves.  These qualities are called brilliance, fire and scintillation.

Your diamond must also be cut symmetrically and be well-proportioned to reflect the light. If you are choosing a fancy shape diamond, look at it from the side and from the top.  If the halves do not match perfectly, the diamond cutter may have chosen to save the weight and sacrifice the symmetry.

Diamonds cut in fancy shapes such as marquise, pear or heart have points on the ends.  Check to see that the points are thick enough to stand up under wear.  Otherwise the points could be chipped.

Color

The color of your diamond is all about your preference.  Here are some tips to help with that choice.  White diamonds are graded on a color scale from "D" colorless to "Z" light yellow.  D to F are the most valuable, but diamonds graded G to I are still colorless to the naked eye.  J to M diamonds have a faint hint of yellow.  The diamonds from M to Z have increasing amounts of yellow tint.  With the popularity of fancy colored diamonds, more people are choosing tinted diamonds.  You can get a great deal on your diamond if you like the warmer tones.

Clarity

Get a magnifying glass that magnifies 10 times (or use the jeweler's loupe) and you can look into the interior of your diamond.  You are looking for impurities, called inclusions.  As diamonds are a natural substance, most of the inclusions are foreign materials planted in the diamond during formation millions of years ago.   If done correctly, the cutting and polishing process takes care of the obvious inclusions.

Grades go from IF (internally flawless: a completely pure diamond) to I3 (impurity visible to the naked eye).  Obviously, the more clarity in a diamond, the greater the value.  You don't want  a diamond with inclusions you can see with the naked eye.

To learn more about clarity, click here and scroll down to the section on clarity (we are an affiliate for Blue Nile).

Carat

So now, the bottom line is the price of the diamond you have chosen.  Diamonds are priced per carat (the diamond's weight).  One carat is 200 milligrams.  Taking into consideration the other 3 C's, the diamond's value is determined and multiplied by the carat.

Carat weight does not necessarily add to the overall value of a diamond.  Cut is a far more important characteristic.   So, first, look for a diamond with an exquisite cut.

Hope this helps you in your search!

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