Your Guide to Finding the Perfect Diamond
The 4 C’s are a handy way to assess the quality of a diamond prior to purchase. The C’s stand for Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight. The 4 C’s, along with the International Diamond Grading System
were created by GIA [the Gemological Institute of America] in the middle of the twentieth century, to protect diamond buyers with a set of universal benchmarks from which all diamonds could be judged. Diamond quality is determined by the combination of all 4 C’s.
Remember these 4 C’s and find your perfect diamond
Cut
One of the most attractive things about a diamond is the way it sparkles. A masterfully cut diamond will be cut in such a way that it returns maximum light out of the diamond, no matter the shape of it—whether it is a round, oval, princess, pear, or other fancy shaped diamond. A diamond that is cut too shallow may have light leaking out the bottom of it, and a diamond that is cut too deep may have light leaking out the side, rather than returning incoming light back up through the top of it.
When evaluating the quality of a diamond’s cut, GIA looks at the following factors, in addition to how well the diamond interacts with light: shape and cutting style, polish and symmetry, and the measurements of the diamond.
Color
Diamonds come in a stunning array of colors, but for white diamonds, color evaluation is based on the absence of color. Fancy colored diamonds such as pink, yellow or blue, are graded on a separate scale. White diamonds are graded on a chart marked D to Z, where D represents the most colorless diamonds and Z represents the highest concentrations of color. The more colorless a diamond is, the more rare and valuable it is. While the color difference between a D and a Z diamond will be obvious, it may be more difficult to perceive the difference between a D and a G once mounted. Even though a more colorless diamond might be more valuable, your personal style and preference might cause you to favor a diamond with more color or warmth in it.
Clarity
Diamonds are given a grade on clarity based on the size and number of inclusions or blemishes it has, where they are positioned on the diamond and how visible they are. The clarity scale has eleven grades starting with the rarest and most valuable Flawless (FL), all the way down to three categories of Included (I), where the inclusions are visible to the naked eye. The bulk of diamonds on the retail market are mid-range, with inclusions that are only visible under 10X magnification.
Carat
A diamond’s size is measured by carat weight. A carat is subdivided into 100 points, allowing precise measurements to the hundredth decimal place. Diamonds greater in weight than one carat are described in carats and points. Diamonds that weigh less than one carat may be described by points alone. Two diamonds of equal carat weight may have vastly differing values, based on the other 3 C’s: cut, color and clarity. When you’re shopping for a diamond, remember to consider all 4 C’s rather than focusing solely on the size.
The Uneek Difference
At Uneek, we source high quality, beautiful diamonds. Our buyers take into consideration the clarity, color and size of every stone purchased. Our team of expert diamond setters then work with the stones natural beauty to bring out its hidden brilliance. The result is a stunning stone that will be the centerpiece of your beautifully crafted custom jewelry piece.
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