Cut is the style of cut the diamond is shaped. There are many different cuts,



but the main styles are Round and Princess. The Round Brilliant cut has become

the most popular. It has been mathematically and emperically perfected to produce

a great mixture of showcasing the diamond's luster, clarity, whiteness, fire,

and brilliance. The Princess cut is the second most popular diamond cut. It is

popular among diamond cutters because it wastes the least amount of diamond. The

princess cut showcases more of the fire and brilliance than the other traits.

Carat is another of the four c's. Carat is probably the easiest of the traits for

people to grasp and determine. It is basically just the weight of the diamond. A

carat is 200 milligrams. One thing to look for is Total carat weight. Total carat

weight, or t.c.w, is the sum of the weight all the diamonds in the jewelry piece.

The best thing to ask or look for when buying a multi-stone piece is what is the

main stone's weight.

Another of the 4 C's is Clarity. Clarity is how perfect the diamond is and is

graded in scales of either VVS1 (Very Very Slight), VVS2, VS1 (Very Slight), VS2,

SI1 (Slightly Included), SI2, I1 (Included), and I2. Imperfections happen when

the diamond was formed many many years ago. Inclusions are the main imperfections

in diamonds. Inclusions could be foreign material crystals, structural imperfections,

or other diamond crystals. Only 20 percent of all mined diamonds have the clarity

suited for gem quality.

The last of the 4 C's is color. Colorless, the most sought after color is not really

not a color. The color is graded and noted on a scale of D-Z. A diamond with the

color grade of D is considered colorless and is very valuable. Diamonds of D-F color

are considered colorless, then G-J are near-colorless, K-M are considered slightly

colored, and N-Y are usually light yellow or brown. This is from the nitrogen being

present in the diamonds. There are other other colors though that are rare. Fancy

diamonds are diamonds with unusual or intense color. Some fancy colors include

yellow, red, blue, green, and pink. There is a different scale gemologists use for

fancy diamonds but they are so rare that they aren't commonly used.

That is the basics when it comes to the popular four C's of diamond grading and

valuation. Everyone has their own tastes when it comes to diamond jewelry. Some

people like princess cut diamonds more than round cuts, or they may prefer the

higher priced solitaire rings and others like the multi-stone rings. People even

have differences in which category they would sacrifice in order to attain

greatness in another category. Such as some people may sacrifice color for

a bigger diamond.