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All
diamonds are rare, but some more valuable than others.
Four
characteristics determine a diamond’s value:
these 4 C’s are Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight.
| Cut:
Cut
reflects light, and the better the cut, the more your
diamond sparkles! These are the principal diamond shapes:(shown
left to right) Brilliant, Marquise, Oval, Pear, Heart,
Emerald, Square. |
| Clarity:
Every diamond is unique. Minerals trapped during crystallization
cause natural characteristics called “inclusions.”
A gemologist determines the age of the diamond and the
number, color, nature, size and position of the inclusions
determine the clarity of a diamond. The fewer the inclusions,
the more valuable the diamond. |
| Carat
Weight:
A carat is a standard metric weight of 0.2 grams (or 1/142
of an ounce.) Each carat is divided into 100 points. So
a 1/4 carat is 25 points or 0.25. Once a diamond is mounted,
the weight is estimated by using special gauges and formulas.
Carat weight has no bearing on a diamond’s cut, color
or clarity so a very large diamond could actually be worth
less than a smaller diamond. |
| Color:
The
closer a diamond is to having no color the more valuable
it becomes. Diamonds with no color at all are very rare.
There are some strong colored diamonds, called Fancies,
that are very prized for their color of red, pink and
blue. Most gem quality diamonds, though, have a hint of
yellow or brown, even if they appear to be colorless. |
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