When shopping for diamonds or jewelry in the past, you may have heard the term “4 C’s” thrown around, but might not have been too sure what this meant. 

When it comes to diamonds, the 4 C’s of cut, color, clarity, and carat are fundamental to understanding the cost of your diamond. Each of these attributes help determine the overall look of the diamond and understanding them is your first step to being a well informed jewelry shopper!

Cut

The first C, cut, helps determine how light shines through a diamond. Cut is incredibly important because it affects how brilliantly a diamond sparkles. If a diamond is cut too shallow or deep, it will allow light to escape and not have the desired effect that most jewelry shoppers are looking for.

Contrary to what many might believe, diamond cut is actually very different from diamond shape. While diamonds can be cut into a variety of shapes: round, princess, emerald, oval, heart, and so many more, cut specifically refers to the way light interacts with the diamond’s facets. A good way to remember this difference is that shape is the outline of the diamond while cut is the arrangement of facets to create a stunning, sparkling diamond. To learn more about gemstone shapes click here (need link).

Ultimately, a diamond’s cut is the factor that really makes a diamond pop! Even a pristine diamond with no inclusions or blemishes won’t shine the right way if not cut properly. Here are some terms you should know when it comes to a diamond’s interaction with light:

• Brilliance - The total light reflected from the diamond, which allows for brightness.
• Fire - The dispersion of light into the colors of the color spectrum.
• Scintillation - The pattern of light and dark areas and the flashes of ‘light’ when the diamond moves, also known as sparkle!

Other characteristics like weight ratio, durability, polish, and symmetry are all aspects of a well-cut diamond that are completely dependent on the skill of the cutter. Based on these assessments, diamonds are given one of the following grades: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor.

Color

The next C is color! Diamonds come in a variety of colors and this is usually the first attribute jewelers in the industry base price on according to the “Rap Sheet”, an international pricing guide. Rapaport diamond prices are the main source used by dealers worldwide to establish the prices of diamonds in all major markets.

Rather than measuring the color in a diamond, this measurement actually refers to a diamond’s lack of color: the less color, the higher the value. The exception to this scale is fancy color diamonds (pinks, blues, purples, and yellows for example). Most diamonds you’ll find in jewelry stores are colorless or near colorless, with a slight trace of yellow or brown. 

At Blingdd, we categorize our diamond jewelry into four different categories - diamonds, yellow diamonds, black diamonds, and chocolate or cognac diamonds - and each of these has different color gradings.

For our conventional diamonds we use GIA’s Normal Color Range Scale, the D-Z Scale. This industry standard scale starts with D, which means colorless, and increasingly has a more natural, colorful tint until the letter Z. Each letter has an acceptable range of color it must fall within. Here are the categories of this scale:

While the scale does go all the way up to Z, we at Blingdd don’t sell diamond with any color grading lower than N. We want to make sure that you are buying the best diamond jewelry out there and these lower graded diamonds simply don’t meet our quality standards.

When it comes to our yellow diamonds, we use a different scale that goes from Fancy Vivid (being the highest rating) to Light. You can see a detailed scale below.

For our black and chocolate or cognac diamonds, we use the following scale for color grading:

• Fine
• Strong-fine
• Medium-strong
• Medium
• Weak-medium
• Weak

Clarity

The third fundamental attribute of diamonds is clarity. To understand why the measure of clarity is so important, it is crucial to first understand how diamonds are made. Because diamonds form under extreme heat and pressure deep within the earth, they can contain inclusions (internal) or blemishes (external). What’s trapped inside the diamond usually affects the price more than the blemishes on its exterior. Diamonds without any of these birthmarks from nature are rare, which are reflected in a significant price increase.

GIA’s international clarity grading system uses 11 clarity grades that range from flawless to obvious inclusions. This system is based on what a diamond grader with a trainer eye can see in or on the diamond using 10x magnification!

The clarity grades are as follows:

FL- Flawless

Absolutely no inclusions or blemishes. These diamonds are rare and expensive.

IF- Internally Flawless

No inclusions and only blemishes seen by a skilled grader with 10x magnification.

VVS1 and VVS2- Very Very Slightly Included

Inclusions are very difficult to see, even by a skilled grader with 10x magnification.

VS1 and VS2- Very Slightly Included

Inclusions are minor, and most VS1 or higher diamonds will still appear clean to the naked eye.

SI1, SI2, SI3 - Slightly Included

Inclusions are noticeable to a skilled grader with 10x magnification and possibly to the naked eye.

I1, I2, I3- Included

Visible inclusions to the naked eye that might affect the diamond's transparency and brilliance.

Carat

Finally, the final C: carat. This is the easiest to master of all the C’s, and refers to the weight measurement of a diamond. Every carat equals 1/5 of a gram, or 200 milligrams, and each diamond is weighed to the nearest hundredth of a carat, or a “point”. So, a 0.10ct diamond can also be referred to as 10 pointer or 1/10 of a carat. Similarly, a 1 carat diamond is 100 points.

The magic numbers of carat weights, 1/4ct, 1/2ct, 3/4ct, 1ct and so on, have an approximate corresponding diameter in mm. For example, a 1ct diamond is approximately 6.5mm from edge to edge. Similarly, as the carat weight and size increases, so does the price. The larger and heavier the diamond, the rarer it is, causing price to increase exponentially.

While you might be tempted to buy a diamond with a larger carat weight, the overall appearance of the diamond from its shine to its brilliance also play incredibly important roles. 

With the 4 C’s in mind, it is very easy to understand how two diamonds that might look very similar can actually be completely different gems based on their cut, color, clarity, or carat weight. 

Each of the 4 C’s contribute to making a stunning diamond for your piece of jewelry and should always be looked at in totality to truly determine the value of a diamond. 

Understanding the basics of these characteristics and how they can affect a diamond’s look and price is one of the first steps in making sure you truly understand your jewelry and are informed enough to make the best possible purchase!