Your guide to learning about the 4C's of Diamonds
Today, the 4Cs is the universal method for checking the quality of any diamond. Greenleaf Diamonds uses it too, so every stone is described the same way.
At Greenleaf Diamonds, a talented team brings the best quality and service to every piece, in 14K and 18K gold, platinum and genuine gems.
The 4Cs
Like a fingerprint, every diamond has its own distinguishing characteristics. The 4Cs—color, clarity, cut and carat weight—are the universally acknowledged standards for evaluating the quality of a diamond.
Cut
What Is Diamond Cut?
Cut is the most important of the 4Cs. It denotes how the facets of a diamond interact with light because of the shape. Cut is judged by polish, proportion and symmetry. More significant than any other of the 4Cs, the cut determines the stone’s beauty.
Why Is Diamond Cut Important?
Poor diamond cuts yield dull appearances even if the stone has a high clarity grade and color. Well or perfectly cut diamonds reflect and refract light for maximum sparkle and brightness.
Factors that Impact Diamond Cut Quality
Among the 4Cs, cut is the only characteristic that human hands have an effect on during the whole process that focuses on quality. Two diamonds may have similar carat weight, clarity, and color, but the cut is what determines the superiority. Put simply, the cut has a sturdy relationship to the degree and quality of a diamond’s sparkle. Three factors govern a diamond’s cut:
-
Precision of cut
It relates to how the angles and size connect to the different parts of the stone. -
Symmetry
How precisely do the various facets of a diamond intersect and align? -
Polish
Connects to the outside finish of the diamond as well as the details and placement of the facet shapes.
In industry, the highest cut grade diamond, triple excellent, is a piece of diamond with an “excellent” rating in the precision of the cut, polish, and symmetry.
Diamond-Cut Chart
Cut is graded excellent, very good, good, fair or poor. A diamond cut too deep or too shallow lets light escape through the bottom and sides, and misaligned facets interrupt the movement of light.
Categories of Diamond Cuts
There are three diamond cuts used to craft every diamond shape. They include brilliant cut, step cut, and mixed cut.
This is the most popular facet arrangement. It is made of triangular and kite-shaped facets, all set to enhance or improve brilliance, or light return. The round brilliant diamond, which has 57 to 58 facets, is the most brilliant of the diamond cuts. Oval, cushion, pear and heart-shaped, and marquise diamonds are also cut using the brilliant faceting style and are similar to the round brilliant in the degree of sparkle.
Step-cut diamonds have trapezoidal facets that run parallel to the diamond’s girdle, resembling a set of stairs. This faceting style accentuates a diamond’s color and clarity. The most well-known step cut is the emerald cut.
Mixed cuts have a blend of brilliant and step-cut facets. One example has a step-cut crown and a brilliant-cut pavilion.
Clarity
Meaning of Diamond Clarity
Diamond clarity is a standard used for evaluating the rarity and purity of the stone. Grading for clarity typically happens by the visibility of particular characteristics under 10-power magnification. A stone is graded as flawless if, under 10-power magnification, no inclusions (internal flaws) and no blemishes (external imperfections) are visible.
Diamond Clarity Chart
Diamond inclusions are internal flaws.
FL
FL diamonds are Flawless
IF
IF diamonds are Internally Flawless
VVS1 VVS2
VVS diamonds (1 and 2) are Very, Very Slightly Included
VS1 VS2
VS diamonds (1 and 2) are Very Slightly Included
SI1 SI2
SI diamonds (1 and 2) are Slightly Included
I1 I2 I3
I diamonds (1, 2 and 3) are Included
The Importance of Diamond Clarity
Diamonds with poor clarity grades have multiple inclusions that have a direct impact on their sparkle. For the reason that inclusions encumber the refraction and return of light, the lower the clarity grade, the cloudier the diamond will appear.
Color
Meaning of Diamond Color
When checking diamonds, color is the natural tint inherent in white diamonds. Naturally, most white diamonds hold a slight tint of yellow. The closer a diamond is to have a “colorless” state, the rarer it is. In industry, the standard for grading color is evaluating every stone against a master set and assign a letter grade from “D” (colorless) to “Z” (light yellow).
Diamond Color Chart
Colorless (D to F) and near-colorless (G to J) diamonds are the most sought after for white diamond jewelry.
DEF
Colorless
GHIJ
Near Colorless
KLM
Faint Yellow
NOPQR
Very Light Yellow
STUVWXYZ
Light Yellow
Importance of Diamond Color
When evaluating the 4Cs, color is the second most vital since the color grade directly affects the appearance of the stone. Diamonds with a poor color grade may look slightly yellow as opposed to having the desired brilliant white. Strong fluorescence can, in some lighting, give a diamond a milky look.
Carat
Meaning of Diamond Carat
A carat denotes the actual weight of a diamond and not the size. Diamonds are weighed to a thousandth of a carat, and one carat equals 0.20 grams. A well-made stone is cut for beauty, not just for weight.
Diamond Carat Charts
Carat weight can look different across diverse diamond shapes like round brilliant, princess, pear, oval, cushion, marquise, emerald, radiant or heart. A diamond can possess a higher carat weight without appearing bigger and two diamonds having identical carat weight may well vary in size if one is cut deeper than the other. In other words, it is imperative to note that carat weight does not always mean size.
Carat Weight in Diamonds
Taken by itself, carat weight does not determine the value of a diamond. For instance, two one-carat stones can differ widely in price when clarity, color and cut are taken into consideration. When that is understood, it is clear that large diamonds of peerless quality are rare.
Meaning of "tw"
"Tw" is an abbreviation for total weight in association with diamond carats. Online, "tw" might be used to describe the total carat weight of all diamonds included in a piece of jewelry.
Hunting for that perfect diamond can seem rather daunting. The best way to simplify the process and limit the number of problems you encounter is to think about the 4Cs. These are the 4 most important aspects to a diamond: Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight.