Definitions

Diamonds occur in a wide variety of colors; steel, white, gray, blue, yellow, orange, pink, purples, red, green, brown and black. Essentially all of the colors of a rainbow. Colored diamonds contain inclusions and/or impurities which result in the discoloration of a particular diamond.

When speaking about diamond clarity, one is referring to the quality of a diamond relating to the existence and/or visual appearance of specific internal characteristics of a diamond known as inclusions, as well as surface defects known as blemishes. A universal diamond clarity grading scale is utilized to classify and categorize different qualities of diamonds.

Clarity: Refers to how clean or clear a diamond is internally

Often confused with the shape of a diamond, the cut is a reference to a particular diamond’s reflective qualities and abilities. Widely considered the most important of all the “Four C’s”, a high quality cut diamond will offer an incredible amount of brilliance and fire which reflects nearly all of the light which enters it.

Each and every shape of a diamond offers unique benefits and styles to a potential consumer. Understanding the difference between each of these diamond shapes can get confusing however. The fact that all diamond shapes are so different, they each offer their own unique characteristics to ultimately determine their overall quality for their particular shape.

A diamond certificate is in many ways a look deep into a diamond. These certificates are offered by independent and reputable laboratories which offer peace of mind to diamond consumers that they are in fact receiving a diamond with the value being claimed. These diamond grading laboratories will offer you proof and verification of a diamond’s characteristics like the cut, clarity, color, carat weight, shape, depth and other pertinent details regarding a diamond.

The weight of a diamond is measured by the number of carats it contains. The carat itself is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg and is most often utilized for measuring of diamonds, pearls and gemstones. The use of the carat measurement was instituted in 1907, at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, and soon thereafter was adopted throughout many countries worldwide. The carat is divisible into one hundred points of two milligrams each.