Have you heard of the 4Cs of a Diamond?
The 4Cs refer to Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight.
You probably have heard these terms before, but do you know why jewelers and gemologists use them? These terms are used to measure and describe the quality of a diamond, and understanding what they mean is super important if you’re planning to buy a diamond for your engagement ring, your diamond earrings, or any big diamond purchase!
Until the mid 20th century, there was no universal scale used to asses diamond quality.
What one person judged an “A” color would be another person’s “C”. This means that it was very difficult to know what quality of diamond you had, both for customers and jewelers! That is why the Gemological Institute of America ( GIA) developed the 4Cs as the first universal standard for diamonds.
Today labs all over the world use GIA’s 4Cs to describe diamond quality. Many jewelers and gemologists study at GIA to become experts. This includes our own Karla Dison, a GIA-certified Gemologist.
Today, the 4Cs are the gold standard to describe diamond quality. So let’s learn more about those 4Cs!
Color
The color grade describes how much color is in a diamond, with the ideal being colorless.
The GIA color grading scales begins with a D as the most colorless. Sometimes you hear people describe diamonds as “white”, but really the highest quality diamond is colorless, like a drop of water. GIA writes that a, “chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond has no hue, like a drop of pure water, and consequently, a higher value. “
Why does the color grading scale begin at a D, and not an A?
Well, remember all those different diamond grading methods we talked about earlier? When GIA looked at all the grading systems in the mid-20th century, they realized that A, B, and C were confusing. There were so many conflicting methods, A, B, and C meant nothing. They decided to start with D as the most colorless to differentiate from those other systems. So today, the color scale starts at D, describing diamonds that are perfectly colorless.
The color grading scale begins at D, and goes all the way down to Z. Diamonds that are low on the color scale can appear brown or yellow.
Fancy colored diamonds, like bright vivid yellow, blue, pink, and more, have their own fancy color grading system, and don’t use A – Z like white/colorless diamonds. (Make sure to follow our blog to see our future post about fancy colored diamonds!)
Clarity
Clarity describes any inclusions or blemishes inside a diamond.
If a diamond is Flawless, or F clarify, it means it has absolutely no inclusions or other “flaws” that can be seen under a 10x magnifier. The clarity scale ranges from F, or Flawless, to I, or Included. Diamonds rated I in clarity are called I1, I2, or I3, which shows the scale of the inclusions. Any diamond in the I range will have inclusions visible to the naked eye. But, as we will learn, that is not always a bad thing!
What are inclusions? To understand this, we need to know how diamonds are created.
Natural diamonds form when carbon gets exposed to incredible amounts of heat and pressure deep underground over a long period of time. During this process, small crystals can get trapped in the diamond and develop irregularities in its atomic structure. The bigger those inclusions are, the more they affect its clarity.
Sometimes inclusions or blemishes are very beautiful, looking like a distinctive birthmark. So for example, “Salt and pepper” diamonds are full of visible inclusions, but they are prized because of the artful appearance and unique quality of those inclusions!
Cut
Cut refers to the shape of the diamond, whether it is a round, square, marquise, ect. But for diamond grading, the cut refers to how well the specific diamond is cut, too.
The cut of a diamond determines how well a diamond’s facets interact with light. This is a big part of what makes it so sparkly! A diamond will a poor cut will look dead, dark, and not have nearly the sparkle of an ideal cut diamond – even if those diamonds have the same color and clarity.
Over the years, diamond cutters have determined the exact ideal proportions for a diamond to bring out its natural sparkle. If a diamond is too shallow or too deep, light will escape out of the bottom or the sides. Ideal cut diamonds reflect the most light back out the top, with no light lost.
Whatever shape diamond you prefer, it is super important to make sure that you are getting an excellent and proportional cut. This will ensure that you are getting a lively and sparkly diamond!
Carat Weight
Carat weight is how much a diamond weighs!
What is a carat? A metric carat equals 200 milligrams. which is divided into 100 ‘points’. This means we can use very, very precise measurements to the hundredth decimal place!
Often you will hear jewelers and gemologists talk about diamond weight using just ‘points‘. For example, a 0.25 carat diamond is a quarter carat. We can also call that a “twenty five pointer”, or as weighing “twenty five points”.
If every other factor is equal, a diamond’s price will increase with its carat weight. The larger a diamond is, the more rare and desirable it is. However, the other three Cs – color, clarity, and cut – do make a huge difference on cost as well.
All 4Cs together determine the price of a diamond.
That’s the 4Cs of a diamond!
Together, the 4Cs help us describe diamonds and provide a scale that everyone agrees on. Deciding what cut, color, clarity, and carat weight you want will depend on what look you’re going for and your personal budget. We are happy to suggest combinations that help you get the very best diamond for your budget!
We have lots of diamonds in stock, and a bunch of diamond partners who can send us diamonds “on memo” really fast, so you can see any size and quality in person before making your final choice. Stop into the store to see our beautiful diamonds in person!
