How To Choose The Right Diamond
What makes a diamond a diamond? The decision to buy a diamond starts with the conversation around the 4 Cs of Diamond grading. While every customer may not be aware of the terminology, it is one that revolutionised the industry in a way that no purchase of a diamond is complete without delving into these.
What may seem as an artful investment, actually begins with a highly scientific methodology to create a universal language for customers to have precise information and awareness on how the grading and standards of a diamond are evaluated. These 4 Cs of diamond grading are cut, colour, carat, and clarity.
Diamond Carat
Carat asks the question of how much weight can one really carry? Carat is the one characteristic from the 4 C’s that can be objectively measured as it determines the weight of the diamond. Contrary to popular belief, carat is not the unit of size but of weight. One unit of a carat is defined as 200 milligrams or 1/5 of a part a gram. Carats are subdivided into 100 points to give a value up to the 100th decimal place. This is because while there may not be a significant weight difference between a 0.99 carat and 1 carat, the price difference can be a lot.
Carat weight of a diamond is equally important in lab grown diamonds. However, the carat characteristic is not the most important of the 4 C’s since even though lab grown diamonds allow for higher carat diamonds to be created, a higher carat diamond with a cut that isn’t fine enough or clarity that has visible imperfections will account for a poorer quality diamond than a diamond with lower carat but higher cut and clarity.
Diamond Colour
Diamond colour is assessed through the lack of colour visible in a diamond. The clearer the diamond, the greater the grade of the diamond. The purest of diamonds are considered to be colourless. The hues a diamond dispels lies within the tints of yellow and brown which are caused due to structural imperfections or impurities specifically such as nitrogen which is known to absorb certain wavelengths of light giving the diamond a yellowish hue.
The Colour scale for diamonds evaluates the intensity of the colour. The universally accepted language for understanding the colour of a diamond goes from D to Z on the scale. While these are not necessarily visible to the naked eye, the scale also places the diamonds at different points on the scale based on the quality of the diamond.
The D - Z scale is divided into 5 parts
D - F are colourless diamonds and most highly valued on the scale for having close to no colour and if any traces are there in F graded diamonds they are only visible to a gemologist when viewed face down.
G - J are near colourless and when set in jewelry the light traces of colour will not be visible to the untrained eye since the colour is only visible when viewed face down against a white background.
K - M show faint traces of colour and are ideal for those looking to add a slight colour to go with the metal of their jewelry.
Fancy coloured diamonds are not placed on this colour scale. However, at Izora we specialise in coloured lab grown diamonds including shades of yellow, pink, blue, and green.
Yellow and Blue Diamonds are the most commonly produced and highly sought after. Pink and Green Diamonds are rarer due to the complexity of achieving a uniform, natural-looking hue.
Yellow and Blue Diamonds are ideal for vibrant, statement jewelry. Pink Diamonds are rare and feminine, making them perfect for engagement rings and special pieces. We do not recommend opting for dark, muddy-colored diamonds that lack brilliance
Diamond Clarity
Formed under extreme pressure and heat, it is not uncommon for these diamonds to have inclusions or imperfections in them caused due to trapped crystals in the diamond. Clarity is determined on the basis of the lack of the number of flaws or imperfections in a diamond. The clarity is based on the size, location, visibility, and the number of imperfections in the diamond. The clarity also impacts the way light travels through the diamond and the dispersion of light. This implies that purchasing a diamond with a low grade for clarity will affect the sparkle and brilliance of the diamond.
- The clarity grading scale is meant to be read by an expert and professional in the field and goes from flawless to included.
- Flawless diamonds have no inclusions or imperfections and are hence the rarest and most valuable of diamonds.
- Internally Flawless diamonds may have certain flaws or imperfections but aren’t enough or sizable enough to be captured even under a microscope.
- Very very Slightly Included diamonds have imperfections that may affect the dispersion of light and are more likely to be visible under a microscope.
- Very Slightly Included diamonds could possibly have imperfections that are more easily visible
- Slightly Included diamonds have imperfections that could be visible to the untrained common individual
- Included diamonds are lowest on the scale for having flaws that are clearly visible and would be lacking radiant sparkle.
Diamond Cut
The cut of a diamond is what lends to how sparkly a diamond will be. Masterful craftsmanship goes behind achieving the perfect cut which is what defines the brilliance, scintillation, and fire of a good diamond. The cut is responsible for how the diamond interacts with light. While it may seem like the cut also equates to the shape of the diamond, this is not so. The assessment of the angles and depth of each of the 58 facets is done through the round brilliant diamond which is the only shape to have standardised facets. However’ this does not imply that the other fancy shaped diamonds are poorer in quality as they can display much of the same sparkle.
An ideal cut diamond is a perfectly cut diamond that interacts with light in a way that it reflects back most of the light creating exceptional sparkle. The brilliance, dispersion, fire and scintillation are the true indicators of how good the diamond cut is.
Brilliance is the amount of light the stone reflects instead of absorbing. If the diamond reflects most of the light falling on it, it creates a shiny surface.
Dispersion is the flashes of colour the light separates into when it falls on the surface of the diamond.
Fire is determined through dispersion. The flashes of colour the light disperses into creates a fiery look on the surface of the diamond.
Scintillation is defined as the colours that seem to dance on the surface of the diamond when it is in motion.
Cut being a component of craftsmanship is achieved equally well in lab grown diamonds if not more considering that a synthetic rough is easier to craft since they have fewer imperfections as compared to mined diamonds.