The 4 C's

Learning the 4 C's of diamonds—carat weight, clarity, color and cut—will provide you with a good base understanding of how to select a diamond. In fact, it's impossible to determine the value of a particular diamond without combining and considering the 4 C's.

Carat Weight

As with any precious or semi-precious stone, the larger a diamond is, the more valuable it is.

A diamond's size is measured in carat weight, and each carat is equal to 100 points. A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-point diamond or a 3/4 carat stone. But you cannot judge a stone by size alone. Diamonds of equal size may vary widely in value and brilliance, depending on their qualities of clarity, cut and color.

Clarity

The purer the clarity of the diamond, the more beautiful and valuable it is.

Like any naturally occurring substance, diamonds contain identifying characteristics. While these natural phenomena—called inclusions—may not be visible to the naked eye, they can usually be seen through a jeweler's 10x- magnifying loupe or microscope. Mirroring nature, these inclusions often look like tiny crystals, clouds, or feathers. Diamonds categorized as internally flawless reveal no such inclusions and are treasured for their rarity and beauty. Diamonds with very, very small inclusions are graded as VVS1 or VVS2. The larger the inclusion, the lower the grade and the less rare the diamond.

The number, color, type, size and position of surface and internal inclusions affect a diamond's value. Major inclusions can interfere with the path of light that travels through a diamond, diminishing its brilliance and sparkle and therefore its value.

Color

When it comes to color, a pure diamond is considered the most stunning and most rare.

Diamonds are graded by color, starting at D and continuing through the alphabet. Truly colorless stones are given a D grading and are treasured for their rarity. While many diamonds appear colorless, they may actually have subtle yellow or brown tones and these color grades include P and Q. Although still beautiful, they will be less rare and therefore less valuable. "Fancy" diamonds—in well-defined colors that include red, pink, blue, green and canary yellow—are highly prized and particularly rare.

Cut

Cut may be the single most important factor in producing a truly magnificent diamond.

A well-cut diamond, regardless of its shape, sparkles with fire and light, offering the greatest brilliance and value. The cut is also the only factor that can be determined outside of nature. While a diamond's clarity, carat weight and color occur naturally, the hand of a master craftsman is necessary to release its sparkle, fire and beauty. When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light will reflect from one mirror-like facet to another and disperse through the top of the stone. The results are a display of brilliance and fire. Diamonds that are cut too deep or too shallow let light seep through the sides or bottom. As a result, poorly cut stones are less brilliant and less valuable than masterfully cut diamonds.