4 C's of a Diamond

The 4 C's - Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight - are an easy way to remember the important aspects that affect and determine the value of your diamonds, and essential to make an informed decision when buying your diamond studs! These categories represent the most important attributes of a quality diamond, allowing the true value of the stone to show through

Color

Color is an extremely important feature, directly impacting the value of the Diamond. The more colorless a diamond is, the higher is its value. The color grading of diamonds is signified by alphabets starting from letter 'D' which represents a colorless diamond and the letter 'Z' representing a diamond with intense shade of yellow or brown. This scale does not apply to rare colored diamonds like black, blue, yellow and pink stones.

diamond_color_chart_700

D	The Highest rating possible and reserved for completely colorless diamonds (these are extremely rare and valuable)
E - F	These diamonds appear colorless to the naked eye but small traces of color are detectable under a microscope only
G - H	Difficult to detect the visible difference unless the diamond is compared side-by-side to a D - F diamond, these stones are very close to being colorless and highly valuable
H - I	Like G - H, these diamonds are nearly colorless, but it is possible that they have a slight color tone that is visible. It is more likely the color can be visible in a yellow gold mounting
I - J	Near colorless these diamonds have slightly visible warmth color tone yet remain an exceptional value diamond
K - L	Noticeable color from faint yellow to light brown tones visible to the eye. This color grade is not recommended for engagement rings or statement diamond rings
N - R	The yellow/brown tint is visible to the naked eye
S - Z	The yellow/brown tint is obvious and will be noticed even when mounted

Diamondstuds.com DOES NOT CARRY "L - Z" GRADED DIAMONDS

Clarity

Almost all diamonds have minor imperfections. The diamonds with very few imperfections are the ones higher in value. These extremely small imperfections are usually only detectable by microscope and usually do not affect the visual appearance of your diamond. But if your diamond is larger, clarity becomes a more important factor. Clarity is rated from Flawless to Included

diamond_clarity_chart_700_01

Internally Flawless (IF)	Shows no Blemishes or inclusions when observed under 10x magnification and extremely rare
Very Very Slightly included (VVS)	Skilled diamond graders maybe able to find small blemishes or inclusions under 10x magnification
Very Slightly included (VS)	Skilled graders can spot blemishes or inclusions under 10x magnification, very minor faults (These make very affordable diamonds!)
Slightly Included (SI)	Blemishes or inclusions evident to skilled grades under 10x magnification
Included (I)	Obvious inclusions that may negitively effect the beauty

Diamondstuds.com DOES NOT CARRY "I3" GRADED DIAMONDS These diamonds do not pass or standards for light refraction and brilliance

Cut

The cut of a diamond in any shape is determined by ratios related to weight, dimensions and size. Below is a brief explanation about different types of cut grades.

diamond_cut_chart_700

Ideal	Cut to ideal proportions, this diamond has the most superior cut with a near perfect symmetry of facets forming 8 arrows on the top and 8 hearts on the bottom of the diamond
Excellent	These diamonds have perfect dimension-to-weight ratio and reflect the maximum amount of light. They are brilliant to behold, extremely rare and very valuable
Very Good	The cut is superior and reflects a great amount of light to the surface, there is a small price difference between very good and excellent
Good	These diamonds reflect a good amount of light to the surface, with an evident sparkle (Best Value diamond with fair price)
Fair	A small amount of light is reflected to the surface, but not as much as a higher quality cut would allow
Poor	The weight ratio of the diamond is off, disallowing the light to be reflected back to the surface and resulting in a lackluster diamond

The ideal hearts-and-arrows cut grade in Round diamonds determines the most superior cut with perfect symmetry and high polish of facets forming 8 arrows on the top and 8 hearts at the bottom. The following image illustrates the Heart-and-Arrows Diamond

heartsandarrows_500_01

Diamondstuds.com DOES NOT CARRY "POOR" AND "FAIR" GRADED DIAMONDS

Carat weight

The carat weight is the denomination of the weight and size of the diamond. A unit 'Carat' is equal to 200 milligrams in weight and the carat can be further denominated into 100 points which are called 'Cents'. The total weight of a diamond stud earrings is the sum of the weight of both the diamonds.

diamond_size_chart_1925