Select a Diamond

Diamond Facts

4C’s of Diamonds

Cut

Round, princess, marquise, oval, cushion, asscher, emerald, heart or pear-shaped diamonds? What do you need to think about before buying a diamond of any particular cut? Why are the specifics of a cut so important? It is because the dimensions of a diamond determine the optical properties of a diamond. Different combinations of dimensions will affect the brilliance, fire, and scintillation of a diamond. Brilliance: The amount of light that leaves the top of the diamond is referred to as brilliance. High brilliance will cause a large amount of light to be returned to the eye of the observer. This makes the diamond appear very bright and beautiful. The brilliance of a diamond can easily vary by 30% even between a few grades of cuts. Fire: Also called dispersion, fire refers to the flashes of rainbow that can be seen in a diamond or refracted across a room. There is usually some trade off between fire and brilliance. Darker lighting will often make fire more apparent especially when there are only point light sources (such as candles). Scintillation: The placement of darkness within the diamond. Proper contrast provides for greater perception of returned light by the human eye. The most pleasing configuration for scintillation is the eight evenly distributed dark arrows as seen in a diamond, Hearts on Fire. The Difference Is Perfection - It's A Difference You Can See® Below is an example of a round brilliant cut diamond illustrating its cut characteristics.

Carat

Color

Diamonds also have different colors. The less color the better. The color is graded on a scale from D to Z.

Clarity

Almost all diamonds have inclusions, scratches, trace minerals or other tiny characteristics that take away from its value. The less inclusions there are the better the diamond and the higher the clarity. Clarity is graded as: FL / IF Diamonds: Flawless - has no external flaws, and internally flawless - has no internal flaws. Very rare and beautiful. VVS1, VVS2 Diamonds: Very, very slightly included. Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. An excellent quality diamond. VS1, VS2 Diamonds: Very slightly included. Unable to see inclusions with an unaided eye. SI1, SI2 Diamonds: Slightly included. Inclusions are visible with 10-x magnification, not with unaided eye. I1, I2, I3 Diamonds: Included. Noticeable to the naked eye.