The 4 C’s of diamonds, or any gemstone for that matter are cut, colour, clarity, and carat. Let us look at what you should know when buying the perfect diamond.
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The 4 C’s of diamonds, or any gemstone for that matter are cut, colour, clarity, and carat. Let us look at what you should know when buying the perfect diamond.
The better the cut, the more your diamond will sparkle. If the cut is too shallow, the light will ‘leak’ out the bottom and not be reflected back up out of the top of the diamond. If the cut is too deep, the light will reflect out the sides of the diamond and not back up out of the top of the diamond. The ideal cut will allow the light to reflect back out the top of the diamond, giving it sparkle.
The cut is graded as Ideal, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. Good and Very Good Cuts are the nicest cuts for a wedding ring, but for those who have a tight budget, they often opt for a slightly larger diamond with a Fair Cut. Although cuts are graded as to their quality, there is another consideration, and that is the shape of the cut. SLIDE As you can see there are a number of different shapes a diamond can be cut into. The thing to be aware of here is that when you are choosing your setting, which is the ring that the stone will be set into, certain settings work with certain shaped diamonds. Your jeweller will be able to guide you if you are having your ring custom made.
When it comes to diamonds, the clearer the diamond, the more rare and costly it is. Diamonds are graded D for the best grade, and the grades go down to Z. D Grade is absolutely colourless, and is an extremely rare diamond outside the scope of all but the wealthiest people. For example, the Taylor-Burton Diamond (yes, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton) which last sold for over $8 million has a D colour.
The third C is Clarity. First thing to know is that most imperfections in clarity are microscopic, and do not affect the beauty of the diamond to the naked eye. Clarity is graded as Flawless, Internally Flawless, 2 levels of Very, Very Slightly Included, 2 levels of Slightly Included, and 3 levels of included. The most popular clarity level for diamond wedding rings is the SI1 or the VVS2 level of clarity. The Taylor-Burton diamond is a Flawless diamond which is why it commands the price that it does.
The fourth C is Carat. Carat weight includes not only the weight of the diamond, but also its size across the top of the diamond or what is commonly referred to as its dimensions. A 1 carat diamond is considered to be a 100 point diamond. So a ½ carat is a 50 point diamond, a 1 ½ carat diamond is a 150 point diamond and so forth. The difference in actual dimensions of say a ¼ carat and a ½ carat is less than a millimetre. When viewed from the top, as diamonds are when set in a ring, the size of a 2 carat ring does not appear twice as big as a 1 carat ring. It is for this reason that Cut, Clarity and Colour are usually valued above the carat weight.
So, how do you decide what is the best quality ring for you? Here are some important facts.
Look at how the 4 C’s are always listed: Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat. This is the order of importance when choosing a diamond. So, the cut is of first importance because a well cut smaller diamond will appear larger than a poorly cut bigger diamond because of the sparkle. The top surface dimensions, which is what you see when the diamond is in the setting, also plays an important role. Clarity and colour allows for more sparkle, which is what most bride’s are looking for.
Your ring size should be in keeping with your hand size. Imagine a high quality, small diamond ring on a larger hand. It will appear small and insignificant. Going with a larger diamond of a slightly lower quality will be a much better match—unless money is no problem in your world.
I suggest you go ring shopping. Try on different shapes to see what shape looks best on your hand. Compare cuts and get a feel for what is right for you. It is not the size of the ring, nor the quality that really matters in the end. Most of the grading is not visible to the naked eye, but more a matter of investment. In the end, it is what is right for you and your budget, and what reflects your taste that is important. Enjoy shopping!