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Diamonds
A diamond is a transparent gem made of carbon, one of the earth’s most common
elements. The word diamond comes from the Greek word, unconquerable or
invincible. They are the hardest, the most imperishable, and the brilliant of
all precious stones.
Diamonds are among the most prized substances on earth. A diamond is the
ultimate symbol of undying love, passion, elegance, and glamour. Their
incomparable brilliance, elegance, durability and mystery have captivated our
imagination for thousands of years. Considering the endless fascination towards
and mystique behind this regal stone, it's no wonder that it has come to
symbolize the ultimate gift of love and romance.
Before you start diamond shopping, it is always helpful to have an
understanding of what you're buying so that you will know the exact quality of
the diamond you are considering. The 4Cs are the key characteristics of
diamonds: Cut, color, clarity, and carat.
Cut
People generally refer to the shape of the diamond as
the cut (princess cut diamonds, emerald cut diamonds, radiant cut diamonds,
round diamonds, and so on). On the contrary, cut is actually the craftsmanship
applied in cutting the facets of the stone. The cut of a diamond – its
roundness, its depth and width, the uniformity of the facets – has the most
effect on its sparkle, or brilliance. Even if the diamond has perfect color and
clarity, a poor cut can make a diamond look dull.
The width and depth have the greatest effect on how light travels within the
diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance.
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Too Shallow: Light
is lost out the bottom causing the diamond to lose
brilliance.
Too Deep: Light
escapes out the sides causing the diamond to appear dark
and
dull.
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Cut Determines
Brillance
The diamond's proportions, specifically the depth
compared to the diameter, and the diameter of the table compared to the
diameter of the diamond, determine how well light will reflect and refract
within the diamond.
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Diamond anatomy
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Place your cursor over a part of the
diamond to highlight the definition.
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Diameter:
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The width of the diamond as
measured through the girdle. |
| Table:
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The largest facet of a gemstone. |
| Table: |
The top portion of a diamond extending
from the girdle to the table.
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| Crown: |
The top portion of a diamond extending
from the girdle to the table. |
| Girdle: |
The narrow band around the widest part
of a diamond. |
| Pavilion: |
The bottom portion of a diamond,
extending from the girdle to the culet. |
| Culet: |
The facet at the tip of a gemstone. The
preferred culet is not visible with the unaided eye (graded "small" or "none").
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| Depth: |
The height of a gemstone measured from
the culet to the table. |
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Cut is perhaps the most important of the 4Cs to
consider. An expertly cut diamond, regardless of its shape, clarity, color, has
more fire and offers the greatest brilliance. If a stone is cut poorly, its
value is less because it will lack fire, scintillation, brilliance, and
therefore, beauty. The art of diamond cutting has evolved thanks to the
state-of-the-art technology and innovation.
Color
Color is the natural body color visible in a diamond. While most people think
of diamonds as being white or colorless, this is not exactly true. Diamonds
with very little color are the most highly valued and are priced accordingly. A
little color can diminish a diamond’s brilliance.
Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colors and
reflect this light as colorful flashes called fire. Just as when looking
through colored glass, color in a diamond will act as a filter, and will
diminish the spectrum of color emitted. The less color in a diamond, the more
colorful the fire, and the better the color grade.
D:
Absolutely colorless. The highest color grade, which is extremely rare.
E: Colorless. Only minute traces of color can be detected by
an expert gemologist. A rare diamond.
F: Colorless. Slight color detected by an expert gemologist,
but still considered a “colorless” grade. A high-quality
diamond.
G-H: Near-colorless. Color noticeable when compared to
diamonds of better grades, but
these grades offer excellent value.
I-J: Near-colorless. Color slightly detectable. An excellent
value.
K-M: Faint yellowish tint.
N-Z: Light yellow.
Although the great majority of diamonds come in shades of white, there are also
"fancy" natural colored diamonds in red, pink, blue, green, yellow, brown and
other colors. Fancies are valued for their depth of color, just as white
diamonds are valued for their lack of color. They vary in color richness or
saturation from "faint" to "vivid," with the latter grade reserved for stones
with the deepest saturation.
Though fancy colored diamonds rarely occur in nature, laboratories can easily
create them through irradiation and heating. This process can permanently turn
a natural colorless diamond into a fancy in a wide range of colors. Treatments
have also been developed to make lower-color white diamonds whiter. Irradiated
colored diamonds have a significantly lower value than natural fancy diamonds
and can be detected in a gem laboratory.
Clarity
Clarity, one of The Four "C"s of
judging diamond quality, refers to the presence of surface or internal flaws
within a diamond caused during its formation or during the cutting process.
Diamonds that are absolutely clear are the most sought-after and therefore the
most expensive. But many diamonds have inclusions — scratches, trace minerals
or other tiny characteristics that can detract from the pure beauty of the
diamond.
In the rarest and most expensive diamonds, the inclusions are too tiny to see
even at 10x magnification in good light, which is why these stones are called
"flawless" (FL) or "internally flawless" (IF) according to the quality analysis
system of the Gemological Institute of America. At the other end of the scale
are "imperfect" stones (I grades) with visible faults that mar their natural
beauty. Here is the GIA clarity grading system:
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Diamond clarity
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FL, IF Diamonds: Flawless:
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No internal or external flaws.
Internally Flawless: No internal flaws. Very rare and beautiful diamonds.
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| VVS1, VVS2 Diamonds: |
Very, Very Slightly Included: Very
difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. An excellent quality
diamond.
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| VS1, VS2 Diamonds: |
Very Slightly Included: Inclusions
are not typically visible to the unaided eye. Less expensive than the VVS1 or
VVS2 grades.
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| SI1, SI2 Diamonds:
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Slightly Included: Inclusions are
visible under 10x magnification, and may be visible with the unaided eye. A
good diamond value.
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| I1, I2, I3 Diamonds:
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Included |
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FL
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IF
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V V S 1-2
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V S 1-2
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S I 1-2
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I
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NOTE: Both the
pictures are for diamond clarity only. Please decide the picture you want and
take the text from the table beside the first picture.
Carat
The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. Since larger diamonds are rarer
than smaller diamonds, diamond value tends to rise exponentially with carat
weight. Read more about carat weight and learn how to balance diamond quality
with the size of your diamond.
Once you've determined what cut,
color, and clarity grade you're looking for in a diamond, it's easy to
determine the carat weight of diamond that will fit within your budget.
It is to be kept in mind that a 2-carat diamond does not appear to be twice the
size of a 1-carat diamond when viewed from the top.
When diamonds are mined, large gems are discovered much less frequently than
small ones, which makes large diamonds much more valuable. In fact, diamond
prices rise exponentially with
carat weight. So, a 2-carat diamond of a given quality is always worth more
than two 1-carat diamonds of the same quality.
Diamonds
: Finding the Right Shape
When most people think of diamonds, what comes to mind is the modern round
brilliant cut - and with good reason. Many experts consider this the "ideal"
shape for a diamond because it maximizes a stone's sparkle. According to the
Diamond Promotion Service, more than 75% of all diamonds sold are round.
But for those who want something a little different, a little more unique to
express their individual style and personality, there are options. There are
many other types of diamond shapes available. These non-round cuts, called
fancy shapes, are beautiful in their own right, and one of them may very well
be the cut of choice for you.
Here are some of the more common fancy diamond shapes:
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Round Brilliant - This 58-facet cut
features a facet arrangement that appears to radiate out from the center of the
diamond toward its outer rim, maximizing its brilliance.
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Emerald - A square or rectangular
shape with cut corners. Known as a step cut because its long rectangular facets
resemble stair steps. Inclusions and poor color are more apparent in this cut,
so make sure to select a stone of superior clarity and color
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Oval - A modified brilliant cut in
the shape of an oval. A style popular for women with small hands, because its
elongated shape gives the illusion of length to the hands and fingers
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Marquise - An elongated, boat shaped
cut with curving sides and pointed ends, developed in France in the 1740s for
the Marquise de Pompadour, a mistress of King Louis XV.
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Pear - A variation of the brilliant
cut, and a hybrid of the oval and marquise, with a teardrop-shaped girdle
outline and 56 to 58 facets. Like the oval, a good choice for a hand with
smaller fingers.
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Princess - A square or rectangular
modified brilliant cut, usually with 57 facets. This relatively new cut has
been quite popular recently. Requires more weight to be directed toward the
diamond's depth in order to maximize brilliance.
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Radiant - A rectangular or square
brilliant cut with 70 facets that combines the elegance of the emerald shape
with the brilliance of a round. Like the princess, requires more weight to be
directed toward the diamond's depth to maximize brilliance.
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Heart - A modified brilliant cut in
the shape of a heart with a table, 32 crown facets, 24 pavilion facets and a
shield-shaped culet. Essentially, a pear-shaped stone with a cleft at the top.
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Trilliant - A triangular-shaped cut
developed in Amsterdam, with 25 facets on the crown, 19 facets on the pavilion
and a polished girdle. Can either have pointed corners or a more rounded
triangular shape.
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In addition to these more common fancy shapes, there are a myriad of other
innovative and whimsical cuts, including star, flower, cloverleaf, kite,
baguette, barrel, bullet, crescent, half moon, shield, trapeze, pentagon,
hexagon, keystone, epaulet, and calf's head, to name a few. Many of these types
of cuts are used for smaller side stones that accompany the center stone of a
ring. There are also countless variations of the standard shapes.
Certification
The most important step in choosing a diamond is reviewing the diamond
certificate, referred to by diamond grading labs as a grading report. A grading
report documents the characteristics of a diamond, like the four Cs. Although
many diamonds look the same, it is not necessary that they be of equal quality.
Therefore, before purchasing a diamond, it is very crucial that you review a
copy of the grading report of your diamond, as this is your guarantee of
quality for that diamond.
Caring for
your diamonds
Many people think diamonds are indestructible, but
they do require care. Diamonds need caring to keep them looking at their
brilliant best. They are uniquely resistant to damage by heat or scratching,
and can be cut or polished only by another diamond — but an extremely hard blow
to the girdle can cause a diamond to chip. By having your diamond set in a
relatively protective setting and remaining conscious of it on your finger, you
can keep your diamond intact for a lifetime. Also, they should be cleaned at
least once a month to keep away the dullness that can be caused by skin oils,
soap, cosmetics, and even cooking grease.
Some more tips that will help preserve the life and beauty of the diamond:
> It is
advised not to wear diamond jewelry while doing rough work or the dishes.
Despite the durability of the diamond, it can be chipped by a
hard blow along its grain.
> Care should
be taken while doing household work to not let diamond jewelry come
in contact with chlorine bleach as it can pit or discolor the
mounting, even if it will not harm the diamond.
> Diamond
jewelry should be wrapped individually because a diamond can always
scratch another diamond.
> Take your
diamond jewelry to a jeweler every six months to have it professionally
cleaned and to have it checked for loose or bent prongs and
wear.
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