THE DIAMOND GUIDE - THE 4 C’S

 CUT

The shape and proportions of a diamond are determined by its cut. Of all existing diamond shapes, the most recognised are the brilliant, oval, marquise, pear-shaped, heart-shaped, emerald and princess cuts.

CARAT

A carat is a standard unit to measure the weight of a diamond. One carat equals 200 milligrams. This can be divided into points, where 0.75 carats = 75 points. A diamond’s value varies according to its number of carats and its rarity. Diamonds may equal in weight but vary in price due to the difference in quality. This means that a smaller diamond with a high carat weight may be more valuable than a large diamond with a lower clarity, colour or cut.

COLOUR

Diamonds are graded from D (colourless) to Z (light yellow). The closer a diamond is to colourless, the more extraordinary and rarer it is.

CLARITY

All diamonds have imperfections called inclusions. These are formed deep within the diamond and occur naturally. Clarity refers to the presence, visibility, number and size of inclusions in a diamond and is graded from flawless to included. A diamond will reach a higher level of clarity depending on the flaws seen under the loupe. A perfectly pure diamond is extremely rare, and priced accordingly.

FL - IF - VVS1 - VVS2 - VS1 - VS2 - SI1 - SI2 - I1 - I2 - I3

(flawless, internally flawless, very vert slight inclusions, very slight inclusions, slight inclusions, included)

If you have any questions regarding diamonds, please get in touch here by email on info@cassia.co.uk