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• 4C's of Diamonds
• Jewellery Care
• Gem Guide
• Anniversary Guide

The 4 C's of Diamonds

• Cut
• Clarity
• Color
• Carat weight

Cut
The most important of the 4 C’s is the CUT of the diamond.
A good cut will give the diamond its brilliance! The angles and the finish of the cut as well as the proportions, symmetry and finish is what give the diamond its brilliance.

Clarity
There is a great amount of pressure involved to create a diamond, therefore, it is not surprising to see inclusions on the inside of the diamond, such as clouds, feathers or crystals. Surface blemishes such as scratches and polish lines may also be apparent. The diamonds with the fewest inclusions are the clearest and most valuable as they are also the most rare.
The diamond is graded for clarity under 10x loupe magnification. Grades range from Flawless, being free of all inclusions, to diamonds which possess large, heavy blemishes and inclusions that are visible to the naked eye.

Color 
Color is a result of the composition of the diamond. It will not change over time. The term color refers to either the presence of, or the absence of, the color in the white diamond.
Jewellers use the GIA professional colour scale to grade the whiteness or colourlessness of the diamond. This colour scale begins at D, being the highest rating, and goes down the alphabet all the way to z to grade the stones.

Carat
The unit of measurement for a diamond is called a carat. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams.
The word "carat" comes from the carob seed once used in ancient times to balance scales. The shape and weight are so uniform, even todays sophisticated instruments cannot detect more than three one-thousandths of a difference between them.