4C – Diamond Guide

The 4C concept is used internationally to group specific diamond characteristics to determine diamond quality.

When considering buying a diamond, it is essential to know the 4Cs.

cut, color, clarity and carat.

Bruce

The only characteristic of a diamond in which man has a contribution is its cut. It is of exceptional importance, because the ideal proportions of the stone best reflect light rays towards the eye, and give it that diamond shine. The most common type of cut is round (Round Brilliant Cut), and such a diamond is called brilliant. There are some other standard shapes: Princess, Emerald, Marquise, Oval, Heart, Pear, Baguette…

The color

Diamond is the only gemstone that can be found in all colors of the spectrum. Although the prevailing opinion is that diamonds are colorless, they have hints of yellow, gray and brown in them. The most valued are the rarest, which are colorless, or so-called. fancy color diamonds, pink, blue and red. There are also black diamonds. GIA (  Gemological Institute of America) has created a classification of diamonds by color, and it starts from the mark D (colorless) to Z (yellow). Determining the color is a very complex process and must be performed under specific, given conditions, so it is impossible to determine the color of a stone already embedded in jewelry, due to the reflection of the metal.

Cleanliness

Diamonds are formed by the action of high pressures and temperatures on carbon over millions of years deep inside the earth’s crust. Therefore, they most often contain admixtures of other minerals or substances, the so-called. inclusions. Immaculately clean diamonds are the rarest, and therefore very valuable. According to the GIA scale, they are marked with the letters IF (internal flawless). It goes without saying that the classification process is carried out with the help of a magnifying glass that magnifies 10 times.

Carat

A carat represents the weight of a diamond. One carat equals 0.20g. The value of diamonds per carat increases progressively with size, as larger diamonds are rarer. In other words, a one-carat diamond is much more valuable than 100 tiny diamonds of 0.01ct each.