Diamond Grading: What Does it Mean to You?
If you have shopped for diamonds, you probably have run across diamond grading. If you are like most people, diamond grading seems to be some kind of abstract science. This article will attempt to make diamond grading easy for you to understand so that you can purchase your diamond with confidence.
Diamond Grading: Finding Out the Basics
Diamond grading should be in direct correlation to the price charged for the diamond. The grading is broken down into the four C's - carats, clarity, coloration, and cut. Each of these different categories contributes points to determine the overall grade. A carat grade is based on system where 100 points equals one full carat. So a three quarter carat diamond would contribute 75 points to the overall grading.
There are approximately 5 carats in a gram and the term comes for the seed of a carob prod tree, which were used until recently to determine the weight of many precious stones. Clarity is determined by the amount, kind, size and position of blemishes within the diamond. These blemishes occur naturally in the rock in which the diamond was created, and while diamond itself is pure carbon these minerals can come in the diamond during the cooling process and affect its purity.
This rating is somewhat subjective and should be determined by an experienced grader. The next C, color, is determined by how close to crystal clear the diamond is. Many diamonds very in color, but the most desirable are the ones that have no color at all. Some coloration is expected, and some diamonds have rich color that may be more desirable.
Grading is usually done by a master grader, but can also be done by machine. It is best to make sure that your diamond was inspected and judged by and impartial master grader to assure quality and consistency. The fourth c is cut. This can be the most difficult for a normal person to judge as differences in cut are not immediately seen without comparison to stones of higher cut quality.
A properly cut diamond will sparkle brilliantly while and improperly cut one not so much so. Again, you want a master grader to look at the diamond and examine it for you to determine how well it was cut. In absence of that, bring a diamond from a friend that you know was well cut to compare.
All four of these properties add up to give you the overall diamond grading. Each has its own weight in the scoring system, but all properties are important. It is these little difference that make a gem that weighs half a carat sometimes cost far more than one that is a full carat. The diamond grading system gives you a good way to compare the two stones. However this system is only as good as the person doing the diamond grading so be sure to get someone you can trust to verify the grade your diamond was given.
