Diamond Information
Understanding The Four C’s
-Cut
The cut of a diamond (its roundness, its depth and width, the uniformity of the facets) all determine a diamond’s brilliance. We consider cut the most important diamond characteristic because even if a diamond has perfect color and clarity, a diamond with a poor cut will have dulled brilliance.
The width and depth will have the greatest effect on how light travels within the diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance.
Too Shallow: Light is lost out the sides causing the diamond to lose brilliance.
Too Deep: Light escapes out the bottom causing the diamond to appear dark and dull.
The diamonds proportions, specifically the depth compared to the diameter, and the diameter of the table compared to the diameter of the diamond, determine how well light will reflect and refract within the diamond. Polish and symmetry are two important aspects of the cutting process. The polish grade listed in many certifications describes the smoothness of the diamond’s facets, and the symmetry grade refers to alignment of the facets. With poor polish, the surface of a facet can be dulled, and may create blurred or dulled sparkle. With poor symmetry, light can be misdirected as it enters and exits the diamond.
-Color
Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colors and reflect this light as colorful flashes called fire. Just as when looking through colored glass, color in a diamond will act as a filter, and will diminish the spectrum of color emitted. The less color in a diamond, the more colorful the fire, and the better the color grade. While the majority of gem diamonds appear to be colorless, others can contain increasing shades of yellow to brown, some of which are referred to as champagne diamonds. Other diamonds of exceptional color–red, blue, green, pink, and amber–are known as “Fancies.” At Charles Frederick we only stocks colorless and near colorless diamonds.
Colorless D E F - Near Colorless G H I J - Faint Yellow K L M - Very Light Yellow N…R - Light Yellow S…Z
-Clarity
Because of their unique optical properties, diamonds, more than any other gemstone, are capable of producing the maximum amount of brilliance. While minute crystals of diamond or other minerals are contained in almost all diamonds, a diamond that is virtually free of inclusions and surface markings will be judged as flawless. In these diamonds, nothing interferes with the passage of light or spoils the beauty. But these diamonds are extremely rare and will command a high price.
To determine a diamond’s clarity grading, it must be examined under a 10x magnification by a trained, skilled eye. What minute inclusions there may be make every diamond unique. These are, in fact, nature’s fingerprints and do not mar the diamond’s beauty nor endanger its durability. Without high magnification, you may never see these inclusions. However, the fewer there are, the rarer your diamond will be.
| Clarity Chart |
| FL | IF | VVS1 - VVS2 | VS1 -VS2 | SI1 - SI2 | I1 - I3 |
| Flawless | Internally Flawless | Very, Very Small Inclusions | Very Small Inclusions | Small Inclusions | Imperfect |
-Carat Weight
As with all precious stones, the weight–and therefore the size–of a diamond is expressed in carats.
“Carat” is often confused with size even though it is actually a measure of weight. One carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. A carat is divided into 100 “points” so that a diamond of 25 points is described as a quarter of a carat or 0.25 carats. Size is the most obvious factor in determining the value of a diamond, but two equal sizes can have very unequal prices depending on their quality. Since larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature. A 1-carat diamond will cost more than twice a 1/2-carat diamond (assuming color, clarity and cut remain constant).
Here are some other examples that show the approximate size of diamonds of varying carat weights.
| Carat Chart |
| .50 carat |
1.0 carats |
1.5 carats |
2.0 carats |
3.0 carats |
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