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Diamond Shopping Guide

By: Darren Barnett

When shopping for diamonds you should know what to look for. You have probably
heard about the 4 C's. The 4C's are the main traits that diamonds are graded
and valued for. The four C's stand for Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat.

Cut is the style of cut the diamond is shaped. There are many different cuts,
but the main styles are Round and Princess. The Round Brilliant cut has become
the most popular. It has been mathematically and emperically perfected to produce
a great mixture of showcasing the diamond's luster, clarity, whiteness, fire,
and brilliance. The Princess cut is the second most popular diamond cut. It is
popular among diamond cutters because it wastes the least amount of diamond. The
princess cut showcases more of the fire and brilliance than the other traits.

Carat is another of the four c's. Carat is probably the easiest of the traits for
people to grasp and determine. It is basically just the weight of the diamond. A
carat is 200 milligrams. One thing to look for is Total carat weight. Total carat
weight, or t.c.w, is the sum of the weight all the diamonds in the jewelry piece.
The best thing to ask or look for when buying a multi-stone piece is what is the
main stone's weight.

Another of the 4 C's is Clarity. Clarity is how perfect the diamond is and is
graded in scales of either VVS1 (Very Very Slight), VVS2, VS1 (Very Slight), VS2,
SI1 (Slightly Included), SI2, I1 (Included), and I2. Imperfections happen when
the diamond was formed many many years ago. Inclusions are the main imperfections
in diamonds. Inclusions could be foreign material crystals, structural imperfections,
or other diamond crystals. Only 20 percent of all mined diamonds have the clarity
suited for gem quality.

The last of the 4 C's is color. Colorless, the most sought after color is not really
not a color. The color is graded and noted on a scale of D-Z. A diamond with the
color grade of D is considered colorless and is very valuable. Diamonds of D-F color
are considered colorless, then G-J are near-colorless, K-M are considered slightly
colored, and N-Y are usually light yellow or brown. This is from the nitrogen being
present in the diamonds. There are other other colors though that are rare. Fancy
diamonds are diamonds with unusual or intense color. Some fancy colors include
yellow, red, blue, green, and pink. There is a different scale gemologists use for
fancy diamonds but they are so rare that they aren't commonly used.

That is the basics when it comes to the popular four C's of diamond grading and
valuation. Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to diamond jewelry. Some
people like princess cut diamonds more than round cuts, or they may prefer the
higher priced solitaire rings and others like the multi-stone rings. People even
have differences in which category they would sacrifice in order to attain
greatness in another category. Such as some people may sacrifice color for
a bigger diamond.

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