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A Little Bit About Diamonds

WiredBrain | Oct 2, 2009 |

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Are you looking to purchase diamonds? In this guide I will give you some advice about choosing and buying diamonds.

The first step is to consider the 4 Cs of diamonds: cut, clarity, color, and carat.

Cut

The cut refers to how well the diamond reflects light and this is dictate by the angles and finish that is applied to the diamond by the jeweller. The better the cut the better the sparkle of the diamond and a stone can be ranked by following grades:

* Ideal
* Premium
* Very Good
* Good
* Fair & Poor

The ideal cut is the highest grade and the most costly. If you are looking for a pleasant looking but cheaper diamond then a good cut grade is worth a look.

Clarity

The clarity of a stone refers to the visibility of any flaws. All stones have flaws but some are more visible than other. There are two types of flaws. Inclusion are the flaws the occur inside the diamond and blemishes are the once that appear on the surface. Clarity is graded on the following scale:

* Flawless (F)
* Internally Flawless (IF)
* Very Very Slightly Included (VVSI)
* Very Slightly Included (VS)
* Slightly Included (SI)
* Included (I)

It is only until that you drop below SI that you can actually see the flaws without a microscope. Therefore, it is possible to buy diamonds at the SI level that look just as good as the F level, even though they are cheaper.

Color

When talking about diamonds, color actually refers to the lack of color. The clearer a diamond is, the more valuable it will be. The clearer the diamond the more light it will reflect and the more brilliant it will be. Color is graded on the following scale:

* Colorless
* Near Colorless
* Faint Yellow
* Very Light Yellow
* Light Yellow

While a faint taint of yellow will appear in diamond graded 'faint yellow', the appearance can be minimized by placing the diamond in the right type of jewellery. You should choose a color that fits your budget.

Carat

A carat refers to the weight of the diamond and the larger the stone, the heavier it is. Put simply, the bigger the diamond the more costly it will be. The size of the stone is also something that you can't hide. Basically, you want to buy the biggest diamond that you can fit into your budget.

There you have it. Now you can go ahead and purchase a set of blue diamond earrings for yourself or a set of diamond cluster earrings for the special lady in your life.