Diamond Choice & The 4 Cs

People want to make sure that the jewelry that they purchase has quality. The importance placed upon this during jewelry shopping means that there should be a useful method to ensure a quality purchase. This method is “The 4 C’s”, the main way to determine the quality of a diamond, and a proven assistance in getting the most out of your purchase.

Carat

The beginning of this method is to consider the carat, or the weight of the diamond. The higher the carat, the higher the diamond’s overall quality. As a point of comparison, top-level diamonds weigh 24 carats or above. However, two diamonds may have the same carat, but the remaining C’s may actually cause the diamond to differ in their overall value, so it is not the sole attribute to pay attention to.

Color

The color of a diamond is very important as well. There is even a scale used to determine its value based off of what the color is. This diamond color scale has an alphabetic range, from D to Z. Higher quality grades are D-grades, which are colorless, and are considered to be the purest diamonds overall. Of course, the coloration of a diamond can vary drastically, from white to black diamonds and many colors in between. Colored diamonds may catch your eye, but the pure white or colorless diamonds generally do have a higher value. J-graded diamonds are the beginning of the colored side of the scale, containing the lower end of diamond values, and colors that can typically be seen by the naked eye.

Clarity

Diamonds are not perfect. They have blemishes and imperfections no matter what the quality or value may be, and just like the coloring of a diamond, there is also a grading scale for each gem’s overall clarity. This is the third C to watch out for on your shopping trip. The actual scale is complex, but the ideal choice would generally be a valuing between the grades of VVSI and SI1, which in a practical setting do not appear to have imperfections if viewed without technological assistance. The most expensive grade, FL, is for all intents and purposes flawless.

Cut

The final C to pay attention to is cut. There are many variations of this aspect of a diamond, and it ultimately comes down to what your preference is. The importance of this aspect comes from the fact that this is what determines how light bounces, reflects and gives a shine to a diamond. Cut it unproportionately, and the diamond would visually appear to be dull. However, this C, in particular, is one where each cut has their own way to be attractive to the purchaser, thus it is left up to choice and personalization.

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