Carat, Colour, Clarity and Cut; The Four Cs Explained
What makes a diamond special? Is it the cut? Or maybe it's the carat size? The colour and clarity?In fact, it's all of them. And all four factors, known as The Four C's, will help you see what makes a truly dazzling diamond. Here's a look at the criteria:
Carat
The carat refers to the weight of a diamond. As a diamond's weight increases, its value does also. For example, a 3-carat diamond is worth much more than three 1-carat diamonds - something to keep in mind when choosing among different ring designs.The word carat comes from a natural source: the seeds of a carob tree. Diamonds were traditionally weighed against these seeds until a more scientific and accurate method was employed.The unit of weight used for diamonds and other gemstones today is a metric carat, which is equal to 0.20 grams. Nearly 142 carat equals once ounce.
Colour
The colour of a diamond is a true differentiator. A truly colourless diamond is a rarity, but you'll find a wide range of beautiful stones that reflect a warm white to yellow shade. The best choice here is a matter of personal preference.
Most diamonds have at least a trace of yellow or brown body colour, however, the colour palette of a diamond is richly varied; diamonds can cover the entire spectrum of colours. Naturally coloured diamonds are rare and referred to as fancies. These diamonds can come in tints such as a green, intense yellow (canary), red, blue, pink, amber and even black. Because of their rarity, fancy colours are held in very high esteem, especially when there is intense colour saturation.
Aside from certain fancies, the most valuable diamonds on the market today are completely colourless stones. In this respect, the diamond is the only gemstone whose colourlessness renders it more valuable.
There are international standards which have been established to grade the value of a diamond based upon its colour.
At Michael Hill, we use the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) diamond grading system because it is the system most widely used and referred to by jewellers all over the world. On the GIA scale, diamond colour grades are indicated from colourless to yellow as D through Z. The top grade colour is called D.
Clarity
The Clarity is also important. After a diamond is cut, its unique inner beauty shines through. Every diamond is different, and tiny, natural imperfections, arise during formation - the fewer the imperfections, the higher the value. Flawless diamonds are quite rare, and clarity defines the distinctive beauty of each stone.