Diamonds - the 4 C's - White Diamonds

The 4 C’s of Diamonds - White Diamonds

Color: D color is the “whitest,” rarest diamond color, and costs the most. E, F, G, and H, I, and J are the colors most used for diamond solitaires. The further one goes down the alphabet, the more a yellowish tone is present. As long as she loves the look and brilliance of the stone, your choice will be acceptable.  Diamonds can be found in every color of the spectrum, but in white diamonds, the most valued gemstones are those with the least color, allowing them to reflect and refract light. White diamonds are graded on a scale beginning with D, indicating a total colorlessness, progressing down the alphabet for lower qualities. The best way to see the true color of a diamond is by looking at it against a white surface.

Diamonds come naturally in every color of the rainbow.  Most people are concerned with diamonds in the white range. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) rates the body color in white diamonds from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow).   The best color for a diamond is no color at all. A totally colorless diamond allows light to pass through it easily, resulting in the light being dispersed as the color of the rainbow. Colors are graded totally colorless to light yellow. The differences from one grade to the other are very subtle and it takes a trained eye and years of experience to color grade a diamond. 

Clarity: Flawless is the rarest, most expensive clarity grade. VVS 1 and 2 (very very slightly included) and VS1 and 2 (very slightly included) have no eye-visible flaws, and are the grades most often used for solitaires. However, the SI (slightly included) and I (included) grades frequently have no visible flaws, or flaws that would be hidden by the mountings.  A diamond's clarity is determined by any external irregularities and the number of internal inclusions. Most diamonds contain some inclusions, but many are microscopic in nature and can be seen only under powerful magnification. Spots, bubbles or lines are marks that make each stone unique, but generally, the fewer the inclusions, the more valuable the stone. Clarity is graded on a scale ranging from flawless to imperfect. To be graded flawless, a diamond can have no inclusions visible to a trained eye using a 10-power magnification in good light.

The clarity of a diamond is determined by the amount and location of flaws, or blemishes, in the diamond when viewed under 10 power (10x) magnification. GIA rates clarity grades in diamonds from Flawless to Imperfect 3 (see chart below). The Diamond Shopping Network offers you diamonds from the Imperfect 1 grade through Flawless.  Most diamonds contain very tiny birthmarks known as "inclusions." An inclusion can interfere with the light passing through the diamond. The fewer the inclusions, the more beautiful the diamond will be.  Diamonds have the capability of producing more brilliance than any other gemstone. A diamond that is free of inclusions and surface blemishes is very rare…and therefore very valuable. 

Cut: Many experts believe that the cut is the most important of the 4Cs. Two diamonds of the same shape, color and carat weight can look dramatically different to the naked eye. One can look brilliant and scintillating, while the other looks dull and lifeless. The difference is that the brilliant stone has been expertly cut so the light entering the stone reflects off the internal facets and is directed back through the table (or top of the stone). With poorly cut stones, the light enters the stone and is reflected out the sides or bottom.  This is what gives a diamond its fiery sparkle. Each diamond, regardless of shape, is cut according to an exact mathematical formula. For example, a round, brilliant-cut diamond has 58 facets, or small, flat, polished planes that are designed to yield the maximum amount of light. This reflection, known as brilliance, is an extremely important factor in evaluating the quality of a diamond.

When we speak of cut we are more interested in the proportions of the diamond as opposed to its shape (Round Brilliant, Marquise, Pear, Princess, etc.) Every diamond regardless of its shape gets it brilliancy and scintillation by cutting and polishing the diamond facets to allow the maximum amount of light that enters through its top to be reflected and dispersed back through its top. A correctly cut, "well made", stone is pictured in diagram 1. As you can see if the angles are correct the light that enters is dispersed properly back through the diamond's top facets. When a stone is cut too shallow (diagram2) or too deep (diagram3) the light that enters through the top is allowed to escape through the diamond's bottom and does not allow the maximum beauty of the diamond to be realized. 

Carat: A carat is simply the weight of the stone. There are 100 points in a carat, and a carat weighs exactly .02 grams.  The measurement of a diamond's weight, this word is derived from the carob seeds that were used to balance scales in ancient times. For jewelry purposes, carats are further divided into points, a one-carat stone equaling 100 points. Therefore, a half-carat stone may be referred to as 50 points, a quarter-carat, 25 points, etc. 

This is the weight of a diamond measured in carats. As the carat weight of a diamond increases so does its rarity and therefore its price.  

One carat is divided into 100 "points," so that a diamond of 75 points weights .75 carats. The carat-weight of a diamond is the easiest measurement to determine. Most importantly, two diamonds can be of equal carat-weight, but their value can differ greatly due to their cut, color, and clarity.