Captivating, charming, classic, chic… Those are the 4Cs, right? No, the real 4Cs – carat, cut, clarity and color – are the factors used to determine a diamond’s quality and value. The four components are essentially what give a stone its sparkle and fire.
Understanding the 4 Cs is priceless, and knowing all of your options for purchasing quality diamonds is just as important. Indistinguishable to the naked eye, and even under a microscope you cannot tell the difference between a mined diamond and a lab grown diamond, and their quality is dependent upon four factors:
Carat: A carat is a measurement that jewelers use to calculate the size of the stone. Typically, the larger the carat weight, the higher the price, because larger diamonds are more rare.
Cut: The cut of a diamond varies greatly from one to the next, and the price changes with it. The round cut is the most common cut, but other, more exotic cuts like the brilliant or cushion cut may be more expensive. This is because it takes longer to make more complex cuts and these cuts demand a higher quality stone in order to showcase the expected fire and sparkle.
Clarity: Stones are rarely perfect, even if it looks flawless to the naked eye. During their formation, diamonds develop small inclusions and imperfections inside, and the presence or lacks of these are measured by “clarity.”
Color: The diamond color scale starts at D, or colorless, and ends at Z, which is a light-yellow color. Diamonds on the lower end of the scale – especially D, E and F – are practically lacking in color, which enhances the diamond’s overall dazzle.
Where the diamond is just the beginning…of a lifetime of happiness!
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