The 4 Cs are your diamond’s main attributes, its Carat weight, Cut, Color and Clarity, according to which your diamond is graded and categorized.
- Carat – The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. A carat equals 0.2 grams and is subdivided into points, with each carat containing 100 points. Since the density of diamonds is essentially constant, as the diamond’s carat weight increases, so does its relative size.
- Cut – The quality of the cut, or the “make” as it is often called in the diamond industry, determines how light entering the stone will react and how much light return will be obtained, and thus how much fire, scintillation and brilliance will come into view. This should not be confused with the shape of a diamond which is sometimes also referred to as the “cut.”
- Color – Diamonds come in a wide range of colors, ranging from colorless (sometimes called white) to yellow, and more rarely blue, green, orange and red. Nonetheless, the majority of diamonds fall within a color range that runs from colorless (limpid) to near colorless and then to light yellowish or brownish.
- Clarity – Refers to the purity of the diamonds or to the degree that it is free of inclusions. In principle, the value of a diamond increases in proportion with its clarity grade. The clarity of a polished diamond is affected by both external blemishes and internal inclusions, which were created either by nature during the crystallization of the gemstone or in the course of the cutting and polishing process (or as a result of wear and tear after being worn with jewelry).
An understanding of the key information relating to the 4 Cs gives diamond shoppers a sense of the quality of the gemstone they are purchasing.
The diamond certificate lists all the vital data contained in the 4 Cs, which represent your stone’s actual DNA. Hence, for all intents and purposes the sought-after diamond certificate is the 5th C.
