Although many girls love diamonds, they know surprisingly little about it. Many individuals tend to make mistake of buying the biggest diamond they can afford without taking into consideration factors such as color, cut, and clarity. I have seen some friends who are really happy and excited when their fiance give them a 1 carat diamond. Everyone would give comments like "wah~ Your diamond is so big etc." The thing is just because its big (Don't think its big now since quite a few ppl ard my age has a 1 carat diamond) doesn't mean its good. We must always remember about the 4Cs. Clarity, Carat, Cut & Colour. If the diamond is 1 carat but all the other 3Cs have lousy grading, the diamond is still crap.
Lets learn more about the 4Cs:
Clarity
Best
Lousiest
LousiestLoupe Clean or FL: "flawless" in that no inclusions are visible under 10 times magnification.
IF: "internally flawless" with no inclusions visible under 10 times magnification, only small blemishes.
VVS1 and VVS2: "very very small" inclusions that are difficult to see under 10 times magnification. VVS1 is a better grade than VVS2.
VS1 and VS2: "very small" inclusions and visible under magnification but invisible to the naked eye.
SI1 and SI2: "small inclusions" that can be noticeable to the naked eye, if you know where to look.
P1, P2 and P3 or I1, I2 and I3: "imperfect" and visible to the naked eye. For P3 (or I3), the inclusions are large and obvious and impact the brilliance of the diamond.
VS1 and VS2: "very small" inclusions and visible under magnification but invisible to the naked eye.
SI1 and SI2: "small inclusions" that can be noticeable to the naked eye, if you know where to look.
P1, P2 and P3 or I1, I2 and I3: "imperfect" and visible to the naked eye. For P3 (or I3), the inclusions are large and obvious and impact the brilliance of the diamond.
Clarity should take priority over color, as this is what gives it the diamond sparkle. Even thou IF is better than VVS1 by 1 grade, the price of the diamond is alot more expensive. Just like VVS1 is alot more expensive than VVS2. So you should get the idea.
Colour
Well, I think the chart speaks for itself. Doesn't need much explanation. Apart from fancy coloured diamonds, absolute white (D colourless) is the best and rarest colour nature offers. Once again, although the naked eye cannot differentiate a Grade E colour from a Grade D colour, a grade D diamond is alot more expensive.
Carat
The heavier the diamond, the rarer it will be within the marketplace, however the other qualities must also be considered for it to be compared and than valued. For example a 2 carat diamond with very, very slight inclusions (VVS) is rarer and more expensive than a 2 carat slightly included (SI ) stone. The carat weight should be one of the last decisions you come to when making your diamond selection. If your diamond selection is under .5 carats, you should probably choose color over clarity. Two carat diamond are not really twice as big as a one carat diamond, it just weighs more.
Cut
The cut is the most important element to control brilliance, scintillation and fire. The sparkling quality of the cut is to be determined by 3 separate factors:
1. Proportions
2. Polish
3. Symmetry
Proportions:
Too shallow and / or too deep cut diamonds will loose brilliance through the side and bottom. The result is a dull diamond with less brilliance, affecting the ultimate value in terms of quality and price!
GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Proportion Grading: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Unusual
Polish:
All facets of a diamond are carefully polished to eliminate all imperfections, characteristics such as abrasions, scratches, nicks and polishing marks on the surface of the diamond to give the mirror shine and the final beauty touch.
GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Polish grading: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Unusual
Symmetry:
It takes into consideration of the balance and regularity / evenness of facets.
Facets are compared in opposing pairs, defined as following:
GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Symmetry grading: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Unusual
When Proportions, Polish and Symmetry are graded as Excellent it is known as Triple Excellent.
Nowadays, the most common cut we see on the market would be Hearts & Arrows. It is also the one I like most!!!~~~ Now! After this super long post, you should have an idea of how to choose your diamond!! One more thing before I stop writing. Although most diamonds comes with certificates, please ensure that the certificates are certified from a well established institutes.
The Trustworthy Grading and Diamond Certificates are mostly from:
HRD – Diamond High Council of Antwerp World Diamond Centre (non profit!)
IGI – International Gemological Institute View
GIA – Gemological Institute of America
