The Four Cs

CUT:

The term "cut" refers to the facets, and their proportions, on the surface of a diamond. Some mistakes within a diamond's cut include:

• An incorrect number of facets (a round, brilliant diamond should have 57).
• Excessive weight (although a diamond with more carats tends to be more expensive, it can lessen its brilliance).
• The "large angle" effect (when a large, flat cut produces an angle effect across the crown.)
• The "nail head" effect (when the cut is too deep, a dark nail head may appear in the center of the stone.)

Sometimes cut is confused with shape. A diamond's shape is strictly the outward appearance of the diamond, such as pear, round or emerald.

CLARITY:

Is the most important measurement of a diamond's quality. However, be aware almost all diamonds have inherent natural blemishes called "inclusions." These flaws are sometimes referred to as clouds, pinpoints, substantial crystallization, nodes and naturals. These imperfections, along with scratches, burns or abrasions, are often invisible to the untrained eye, but apparent to professional gemologists. The measurements for clarity are (from best to worst): Internally Flawless (IF); Very, Very Slight Inclusions (VVS1/VVS2); Very Slight Inclusions (VS1/VS2); Slight Inclusions (SI1/SI2) and Inclusions (I1/I2/I3).

COLOR:

In nature, the rarest of diamonds are colorless. However, most diamonds contain tiny amounts of nitrogen that produce colors the untrained eye may not be able to detect. Although the variations of color differ from diamond to diamond, they affect the rarity and value of diamonds.

The color rating scale, from best to worst, is as follows: "D" (colorless) to "Z" (saturated). Past "Z," a diamond's color is considered "fancy." Fancy diamonds are very valuable and graded differently.

CARAT:

A carat is the unit of weight for diamonds. One carat is equal to .2 grams. Larger diamonds of high quality are extremely rare and are valued to reflect that rarity.