Some of us may have or may not have heard about the 4Cs that are important to consider when thinking of purchasing diamonds. These considerations are very important because a diamond doesn’t come cheap. Investing in a diamond requires a considerable amount of money and without some knowledge on these matters; you may end up paying more for something that may not be worth for the amount you have foregone.
A diamond’s CUT is important for a diamond to shine and sparkle. A diamond has the quality to break light into the colors of the rainbow and has the ability to reflect light. For a diamond to achieve brilliance its facets or sides needs to be cut and polished in the right shape and size and must be angled appropriately with other facets to produce an exquisite stone. As the years progressed, diamond cutters have discovered those cuts that give the diamonds their best and greatest brilliance. The most popular cut nowadays is the brilliant cut which has a round shape and has 58 facets. It is important to take note that a diamond’s cut accounts for more or less 40% of the price of the diamond.
A diamond’s COLOR may range from colorless with a slight tint of yellow or brownish tint. There are also colored diamonds in the colors blue, black, pink, brown, purple, green and red which is the rarest of them all. It is advised that when you try to look at a diamond closely you should view it under a neutral colored light to be able to see its actual color. A diamond’s setting can have a significant impact on its color and appearance. When placed in a yellow gold setting, a yellowish diamond may appear to be white or near colorless while it may look somewhat less pure when in a white gold setting.
The diamond stone’s CLARITY is also an important consideration. Flaws or imperfections like inclusions enclosed in the stone, air bubbles or cracks can actually lessen the clarity of the gem. Of course, only quite a few diamonds are practically flawless having no fissures, cloudy appearance, scratches or substance inclusions. Very few have this standard of quality and diamonds having no imperfections or having only a few of them are of much more value. The factors that can affect a diamond’s clarity are the number, sizes, position as well the visibility of these inclusions.
The diamond’s weight is measured by CARATS and naturally the bigger the carat, the bigger is its effect on its cost and value.