Diamond Buying Guidelines

You need to give attention to the diamond’s four C’s, color, clarity, cut and carat weight, when buying diamond earrings, diamond rings or any type of diamond jewelry. The measure of a diamond’s quality is these four characteristics. If these four characteristics have high ratings, the diamond jewelry is said to be much more beautiful and its value will be higher.

Diamond color grading

Diamond jewelries are conventionally ranked on lack of color; that’s why, the finest diamonds are practically clear. The color shades in “white” diamond jewelry are faint tinges of brown, yellow and grays. To convey the color, an alphabetical chart from D to Z is used. To have an idea of the differences in diamond color grades, imagine two glasses of water - one clear, the other that contains some drops of lemonade. Color diffusion in diamonds is approximately shown in the subsequent color chart:
D-F: Clear
G-I: Near colorless
J-K: Faint color
L-R: Recognizable color
S-Z: Obvious color

When the stone has a very different shade than gray, yellow and brown, or its color saturation goes beyond Z, it becomes a fancy colored diamonds. The amount and strength of color are the grounds for grading fancy colors. You’ll find a diamond in every color of the rainbow including black, purple, yellow, pink and blue. White diamonds are often less uncommon than fancy diamonds.

Importance of diamond clarity

The rate that shows description of the spots and blemishes of the diamond is clarity. If the stone has minimal inclusions and defects, it is more valuable. Brilliance could be powerfully affected by the clarity of the diamond. The attribute that gives brilliant beauty to the diamond is the light that reflects within it, which gets blocked when there are inclusions.
This is a list of diamond clarity grades from best to least, which is based on the observation of a trained gemologist:
FL (flawless): Under 10-power magnification, there aren’t any visible inclusions or blemishes of any sort, inside or outside the diamond.

IF (internally flawless): Under 10-power magnification, some external or surface blemishes like tiny scuff can be found on the diamond but it doesn’t have internal blemishes.
VVS-1 & 2 (very, very slightly included): Under 10-power magnification, this stone has tiny inclusions that a trained gemologist has significant problem seeing.

VS-1 & 2 (very slightly included): This diamond has mild inclusions which, under 10-power magnification, are moderately difficult to see.

SI-1 & 2 (slightly included): Blemishes of this diamond are somewhat easily seen with 10-power magnification, but with no magnification, are very difficult for a gemologist to notice.

SI-3 (slightly included): Part of this group are stones that come on the border between SI-2 and I-1.

I-1, 2 & 3 (included): Blemishes in this stone are apparent without magnification.

Diamond clarity enhancement

You will find in the product description that some diamonds are treated to enhance the clarity. Overstock.com is a website that identifies clarity-enhanced stones as described in the product description of each piece of jewelry. This is how the process goes:

To reduce their visibility, a very small amount of high-refractive-index glass material is introduced into surface-reaching feathers. The results of this treatment are effectively seen on very thin crevices and fissures. The natural color of the diamond is maintained despite this procedure; hence, it is still considered natural. With this enhancement process, zero weight is added to the diamond since only microscopic quantities of filler are utilized. When observing the diamond nearly parallel to the plane of the filled crack, a clarity enhanced diamond can be identified by a “flash effect”. Against a dim background, the flash effect seems orange or yellow and it commonly looks blue against a brilliant background. It is normally just the two colors and does not consist of a full spectrum of color. With ten times magnification, this optical effect could be best seen under a concentrated beam of extreme light.

It has been established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), after comprehensive research, that the filler substance could be damaged by excessive temperature or acids but is stable under normal wear situations. Get rid of clarity-enhanced diamonds before repair work and this damage can be easily prevented.

Diamond cut

Diamond cut comprises proportion, shape, symmetry and polish. When cutting diamond jewelry to its finest appearance, shape and proportion are all of remarkable significance. How diamond jewelry “scintillates” or shines is affected by its shape and proportion since brightness is mirrored and refracted within the stone, which in turn causes the diamond’s shimmer. The depth or shallowness of the diamond cut determines its face-up appearance. The way the brightness makes its way into and exits the sides of the diamond determines its polish. The stone symmetry is a description of both its depth percentages and length to width ratio. For stones, “ideal cut” is the best.

Diamond carat weight

The weight of the diamond is measured by its carat. The abbreviation “ct” or “CT” can be used to identify just one stone. When the diamond jewelry is set with multiple stones, the letters “TDW” is put in, meaning “total diamond weight”. To explain more - “1ct” may be used to identify a solitaire diamond engagement ring and “1ct TDW” for a 3-stone diamond anniversary ring. (Note: The measure of gold’s purity is not carat, but is spelled “karat” with “k” as abbreviation. So, in a 22k setting, you may have a 1ct diamond.)

Equating carat weight with the diamond’s actual size is difficult for most people. Hence, included here is a short guide for the comparison of carat weight to millimeters. In the example here, princess cut and round diamonds are used. Significant versions from these trial dimensions will be determined by the distinctions in the diamond shape, depth and cut of a specific stone.