The 4C’s are the first thing that you need to understand when you are looking to buy a diamond. All of us have heard of the 4C’s – but do we really know what they mean. Here’s a brief note of each of them
Colour
Colour of a diamond is a degree of its colourlessness. The Ideal diamond is completely colourless and hence the most rare & expensive. Most diamonds however possess varying degress of yellow or brown. Colour however is difficult to spot with the untrained eye. Infact in the case of mounted diamonds less than 1/2 carat in weight it is almost impossible for people without gemmological training to see differences in the top 5 to 6 colours.
The GIA – D to Z colour scale is the standard colour scale that is used to calibrate colour of diamonds across the world. The Scale starts from D (colourless Diamonds) and goes to Z (Light Yellow).
Clarity
Clarity relates to the existence and visual appearance of internal charateristics called inclusions and surface defects called blemishes. Diamonds that are absolutely flawless are the most sought after and hence the most valuable. The GIA Clarity Grading Scale goes from FL (Flawless Diamonds) to I3 (Visibly Included)
Clarity however has very little impact on the beauty of a diamond upto the I Grades. In India the most popular Clarity Grades are IF to VS.
Cut
Cut can easily be referred to as the least understood C. It often tends to get confused with shape which refers to the physical appearance of the diamond i.e. round, heart etc.
The Cut of a diamond refers to its proportions and affects its light return propeties known as fire and scintillation. Of all the 4C’s cut has the greatest effect on the beauty of a diamond. Gemmologists therefore refer to Cut as the most important of the 4C’s. Even if a diamond has perfect colour and clarity, poor cut will dull its brilliance.
GIA Grades cut as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Excellent Cut diamonds typically have 97% light return and hence they are the most brilliant.
Carat Weight
Carat Weight is simply the weight of a diamond and determines the size and appearance of your ring or jewellery. By definition 1 carat is 200 mgs. Since most diamonds sold in the market weight less than 1 carat, the carat is usually sub divided into “points” or “cents”. There are 100 cents in a carat. So if a diamond weights 3/4 carat it weights 0.75 cents.
I hope this post gives the reader a quick overview on the all the 4C’s
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