THE 4 C'S OF DIAMONDS

Carat Weight

Carat is the unit of weight for all gemstones. One carat is subdivided into 100 "points". Therefore a diamond measuring 75 points is 3/4 carat in weight, or 0.75ct. There are five carats in a gram. The word "carat" comes from the seed of the carob tree pod which is found in tropical climates. These seeds were used until this century to weigh precious gems.

Clarity

The clarity of a diamond is determined by the amount and location of flaws, or blemishes, in the diamond when viewed under 10 power (10x) magnification. IGJLabs rates clarity grades in diamonds from Flawless to Imperfect 3 (see chart below). The Diamond Shopping Network offers you diamonds from the Imperfect 1 grade through Flawless.

Color

DIAMOND GRADING CHART Diamonds come naturally in every color of the rainbow. However most people are concerned with diamonds in the white range. The IGJLabs rates the body color in white diamonds from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow). The differences from one grade to the other are very subtle and it takes a trained eye and years of experience to color grade a diamond.

Cut

When we speak of cut we are more interested in the proportions of the diamond as opposed to its shape (Round Brilliant, Marquise, Pear, Princess, etc.) Every diamond regardless of its shape gets it brilliancy and scintillation by cutting and polishing the diamond facets to allow the maximum amount of light that enters through its top to be reflected and dispersed back through its top.