Your Guide To Understanding Diamonds

Your Guide To Understanding Diamonds

We know you all love diamonds, but it’s not too surprising how many questions we get about them. It can be confusing! Here’s everything you need to know about diamonds.

What Are The 4 C’s?

Put simply, the 4 C’s represent cut, colour, carat and clarity. These are all graded on a scale with the total giving a universal quality, and therefore value, of a diamond.

So, let’s break these four “C’s” down a bit:

Cut

The first “C” represents the Cut. This corresponds to the shape and beauty of a diamond and is the most important of any of the others. Cuts can vary significantly, but ultimately it is the cut which represents the sparkle and brilliance of the diamond.

An aspect of cut is the shape of the diamond. There are many different, unique shapes available but the two most popular are round and princess. This is likely due to the fact that they’re commonly bought as engagement rings.

Colour

Colour is the second most important “C” when grading, but it’s actually the lack of colour you’re looking for! Diamonds actually come in every colour imaginable, but it is a range of colourless to a very pale yellow which are most desirable, and what the grading scale is based on.

Diamond colour is graded from D (highest possible) down to Z (lowest grade).

Carat

Did you know that the carat (not to be confused with karat which is used for measuring gold!) actually refers to the diamond’s weight, and not size? Carat can go hand in hand with cut because of the sizing and weight.

One carat equals 200 milligrams or one-fifth of a gram. This equals roughly the weight of a paper clip.

Carat is the easiest of the “C’s” to grade since the weight corresponds directly to the grade.

Although you may be tempted to always go with higher carat diamonds as the higher the carat rating, the rarer (and bigger) it is. However, a slight drop in carat weight to compensate for a better cut and higher clarity and colour is always the way to go.

One trick that a lot of jewellers won’t let you in on is to “buy shy.” This means to go with a carat weight a touch below the whole or half mark. For example, a 1.9-carat diamond will be less expensive, but not look different than a 2-carat diamond!

Clarity

While still an integral part of diamond grading, clarity is typically the least important of the four “C’s”. Clarity is the grading of the diamond’s imperfections (inclusions). But since most diamonds have so few or are microscopic, these inclusions won’t interfere with light reflection nor blemish the diamond.

An FL (flawless), the highest grade rating, is only given to diamonds with ZERO inclusions. However, as long as the diamond is considered “eye clean” with no visible blemishes or impairment in light reflections, the diamond is considered quality.

At Impeccable Jewellery, we only buy from the best sources and carry the finest grades of diamonds. We are experts who can answer all your questions and help pick out the perfect diamond for you.

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