Delving into The Deep: The 4Cs of Diamonds and What They Say About Your Gemstone

Changes over the last millions of years have created unique, dazzling and mesmerizing diamonds. Just like your love, diamonds are indestructible, and beautiful at the same time. That is why you should be able to tell real diamonds apart from fake ones or synthetic ones.

Real diamonds are priceless. The result of eons of developmental processes deserves special recognition. Diamond expert Ira Weissman from his website at Diamonds.pro shares that there are 4Cs that define a diamond. Color, cut, clarity, and carat are the four cardinal parameters of any diamond certified by the leading gemological societies of the world.

Color

As you would find in most jewelry magazines and romcoms, the best of the best diamonds are colorless. What they do not tell you is that even a "colorless" diamond can have several shades of color. They can range from brilliant white to a subtle pale yellow. The gradation in color is usually due to the presence of other minerals in the surrounding. The color grade runs from D (colorless) to Z (pale yellow). You can also refer to a 0 to 10 color gradation scale; with 10 being a light yellow or light brown.

There are several types of beautifully colored diamonds that still qualify as pure and precious. You will find blue, pink, orange, green and red diamonds in natural collections. Their color gradation goes beyond the previously mentioned scale, and the experts usually grade them based on color depth and intensity. Although colorless diamonds are more precious than their colored kin, many buyers prefer yellow diamonds or orange diamonds due to the warmth they render to the jewelry design.

Cut

The brilliance of a diamond depends significantly on the expert who gives it the first cut. Symmetry is the primary determinant of an expert cut. A diamond that is too flat does not facilitate enough refraction. It does not have enough shine or dazzle. It creates a significant angle effect on the crown area. The diamond that is cut too sharp (deep) will form a dark blotch in the center where the refracted light does not reach.

The right cuts will facilitate the reach of the refracted light in all corners of the diamond. The stone will light up evenly and sparkle equally from all sides. A real expert maximizes the light inside by creating facets with perfect proportions.

Apart from the basics of cut, each diamond can assume several shapes and facet arrangements. However, these are part of aesthetics and jewelry design, and you should not confuse these with the craftsmanship that determines the diamond's brilliance and value.

Clarity

Diamonds are the results of a complicated process that involves tremendous heat and pressure. Deep within the earth, the raw materials come in contact with several other minerals during the process. It is quite common to find diamonds with inclusions and blemishes on the surface. These are just parts of the formative process. Nonetheless, these dampen the brilliance of diamonds and can affect the dazzle. Diamonds with a higher clarity are usually rare.

To categorize diamonds according to their inclusion levels, experts have created a grade from FL (flawless) to I3 (inclusions 3). As per the universal standard of clarity grading, the size of the diamond has a critical role to play with clarity. Large diamonds with fewer facets allow easy spotting of an inclusion. Smaller diamonds can either exclude these flaws or have a higher number of facets to hide these inclusions.

Carat

It is the most quantitative of all the parameters that comprise the 4Cs. To measure carat, all the jewelers or the experts need is an accurate digital scale. Diamonds are the miracles of nature, and just like all the other natural wonders, diamonds come with different "signatures." You cannot compare two diamonds by weight, just like you cannot compare the work of two painters by size.

The only way you can understand the importance of carat is if two diamonds are identical in color, cut and clarity. In that case, the bigger diamond of a higher carat will be of higher value than the smaller one. However, if the cut of the stone is not perfect, the extra weight becomes a burden that reduces the total brilliance of the diamond. The most massive diamond (highest carat) may not always be the most brilliant cut. Consider this before you make your buying decision.

The 4Cs dictate the quality and value of any natural diamond. Individually, none of these qualities can determine the price and brilliance of the natural gemstone. Only all four of them together can determine the value of your chosen gem. It is quite impossible to observe some of the more delicate qualities like inherent flaws, slight colorations, and imperfection in cuts without training and tools. Therefore, always consult an expert before purchasing a gemstone.