When purchasing a diamond, it is important to understand how your diamond is graded. Diamond grading covers four main considerations: cut, clarity, color and carat. These considerations are also regarded as the “Four C’s.”
CUT: The majority of diamonds are cut round with a full 58 facets to maximize brilliance. The cut is what determines the sparkle, or the amount of light reflected through the diamond.
CLARITY: A diamond’s clarity is the description of its purity. Virtually all diamonds contain naturally occurring internal characteristics called “inclusions” The size, nature, location and amount of inclusions determines clarity grade as we as the cost of the stone.
COLOR: You may not know it, but most diamonds have a slight hint of yellow hue. The diamond color scale is based upon the amount of yellow found within a diamond. The color scale ranges from D to Z. D representing colorless and continues down the alphabet with increasing presence of yellow to Z, light yellow.
CARAT: A carat is measurement unit to .2 grams. Fractions of a carat are referred to as “points” or fractions. For example, a 1-carat diamond weighs 100 points. Diamond weight is measured to the hundredth of a carat.
Our sales specialists are experts in the industry and are thoroughly educated in diamond grading. To learn more about the diamond grading process, please visit our store located in Creve Coeur or feel free to give us a call to speak with one of our knowledgeable team members.
