Diamonds for Dummies: The Four C's
I'm not a fan of talking about things I know nothing about. Of course, not many people are fans of this. But, truthfully, I don't know where I'd be without the internet. If I'm going to my mechanic, I do some research online first. If I'm going to look at a new set of golf clubs, I do some research first. Well, if you're a guy like me and you've never had to shop for an engagement ring, you probably know close to nothing about diamonds. So, in my attempts to self-educate, I jotted a few things down and figured, why not share them with like-minded men out there.
Certainly, I'm not going to sit here and spew out every last bit of information on diamonds—that could take a while. But, if you're looking to walk into the jewelry store a little confidence, some information about the "four C's"—cut, color, clarity, and carat—will give you the foundation you're looking for.
Cut
A diamond's cut is typically the most difficult aspect for a customer to understand, but I'll try to keep it in layman's terms. First off, cut does not refer to shape. It refers to the symmetry, proportioning and polish of a diamond. The angles and proportions of the stone will affect its brilliance—and, no, we're not talking about IQ. Basically, the better the cut, the more luminous the diamond will be.
Of course, especially if you're reading this, you're no diamond expert. So, make sure you only focus on the GIA or AGS cut grade on the certificate. These certificates will serve as your guide when examining cut.
Color
For simplicity's sake, we're going to stick with diamonds entering the GIA scale since it's the most widely accepted. This is when you hear someone refer to a diamond as a "G" or any other letter in the alphabet.
Diamonds are valued by how closely the approach colorless. So, for the GIA scale, the closer you get to the beginning of the alphabet the closer you get to colorless. However, you should note that "D" is the lowest they go. For the most part, though, letters are grouped together:
D-F: Colorless
G-J: Near Colorless
K-M: Faint Yellow
N-R: Very Light Yellow
S-Z: Light Yellow
Clarity
The clarity of a diamond refers to the visual appearance and the internal characteristics. When examining you want to look at inclusions and blemishes. Inclusions are the internal characteristics which affect the appearance of the diamond. Blemishes are surface defects located on the exterior of the diamond. Clarity grades are assigned under 10x magnification based on the stone's overall appearance. Again, however, you'll want to refer to the GIA scale.
Carat
Carat is probably one of the more common terms you hear when talking about diamonds. However, it's pretty much the easiest to grasp. Carat is basically a unit of weight—200mg to be precise. Carats also refer to how many points a diamond has. For example, a 100-point diamond is 1 carat. A 25-point diamond is .25 carats. And so on. However, you shouldn't be entranced by the amount of carats a diamond may be. Once you start rounding whole numbers—1, 2, 3—prices begin to skyrocket. The only person who will notice the difference between a 1.94 carat diamond and 2 carat diamond is you when you check your bank account.
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the truth about diamonds for dummies!!
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