Back in the old days, the cost of a diamond was mainly based on its characteristics and grade. So to minimize discrepancies in pricing diamonds, the grading system known as 4 C’s was established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1931. This grading scale was embraced by the industry and quickly became the universal standard for describing diamonds. While there are several different grading systems used in other countries, the GIA’s scale is more accepted and widely used.
The 4 C’s refer to the Cut, Carat weight, Color, and Clarity of the diamond. Here’s a brief description of each:
Cut
Generally, cut refers to the shape of the diamonds which comes in various shapes as presented below. Today, however, it’s primarily made to refer to how well the shape of a diamond is actually cut. For example, a round diamond could either be perfectly round or somewhat off-round. The cut grading scale of the GIA rates the overall cutting workmanship of a diamond as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor.
Carat Weight
The actual weight of the diamond is referred to as carat. The term is believed to have come from the word “carob”, a kind of dry fruit that contains seeds. The seeds were of common knowledge and considerably understood by most people, thus, diamonds and other precious gems were measured in relation to the equivalent weight of the carob seeds.
Technically, one carat is equivalent to .20 grams, meaning 5 carats is equal to one gram. Please refer to the chart below for a visual illustration of the relative diameters of round-shaped diamonds in various carat weights.
Color
The perceived color or, more precisely, the lack of color in a diamond is referred to as color. The chart below illustrates the various color grading scale of diamonds. Those that display a more apparent tint of yellow are commonly found and are considered less expensive. However, an obvious yellow tint is considered a fancy color, which is considered extremely rare and very expensive.
Clarity
Clarity is the term used to refer to the lack of or presence of internal and external imperfections in diamonds. These imperfections are seen using the 10 power magnification. Diamonds with less imperfections are more rare and are more expensive. The very rare and therefore very expensive diamonds are those that are considered flawless.
Diamonds that proliferate in the market today are not flawless and have visible imperfections even to the naked eye. These imperfections are made invisible to the eye by the scientists using a process known as clarity enhancing. A material closely resembling a diamond and possessing the same characteristics is filled into the imperfections using a high tech system. This results to a brilliant, very appealing and naturally-looking diamond at almost half the price of a non-enhanced diamond. Bear in mind that enhanced diamonds begin and end as 100% natural diamonds.
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Eli Zabib graduated in 1993 from Queens College with a BA in Accounting. He earned his GIA Graduate Gemologist degree and has over 15 years experience in the Diamond and Jewelry Industry. Eli is passionate about diamonds and wants to help people find their special diamond at a price that will make them smile. He is currently the CEO of http://www.YourSpecialDiamond.com
