Today diamonds are not just a girl’s best friend–men want them too. It might be because these stones hold a certain sense of mysticism that further adds to their value. However, it’s not enough that to just have a diamond. You have to make sure that it’s worth the money you paid for it. You will know by properly grading the diamonds.
Why You Should Only Buy a Graded Diamond
The process of diamond grading is accomplished in any of the different grading laboratories found all over the world. Other smaller and lesser known independent firms can also the task. A diamond expert evaluates the diamond and puts it into categories which a person who isn’t an expert can easily utilize as their guide in comparing diamonds. The truth is no two diamonds are perfectly alike, though the ratings in these categories give a sense of guarantee to a diamond purchaser. Your diamond should possess its own grading certificate identifying the clarity grade, color, cut, and diamond weight. Moreover, you will typically receive data on the diamond’s blemishes, proportions, symmetry of the diamond cut, its phosphorescence or fluorescence, and all other important information you need to know about your diamond.
Diamond Grading Procedure
When it comes to grading diamonds according to their value and quality, there are four known components taken into consideration. These include carat weight, cut, clarity, and color. When you understand these essential characteristics of the diamond and how they determine the worth of your diamond, it will be easier for you to pick a stone that matches your preference and your budget.
Diamond Color
Diamonds are not exactly colorless, although white or colorless diamonds become the basis in judging the shades of colored ones.
GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is a non-profit organization that provides formal grading procedures of gems such as diamonds. Their system is widely recognized all over the world. GIA has set their own guidelines in grading the color of diamonds. The color of the graded diamonds is matched with the control stones’ or preselected gems’ colors.
Diamonds should be graded as loose stones because colors of diamonds that are already in a setting are affected by the colors of the metal utilized in the mounting. Loose diamonds are placed under a loupe with a 10x magnification. A lettering system of D to Z is utilized to classify the amount of color the diamond has. D is only given to pure colorless diamonds.
Diamond Clarity
Clarity is defined as the inclusions or internal defects found in the diamond. The fewer inclusions it has, the more valuable the diamond. A completely flawless diamond is rarely found, as the majority of the diamonds mined possess imperfections that can even be seen by the naked eye.
The scale used for grading a diamond’s clarity ranges from F to I-3. This is further divided into two. Half of this scale classifies diamonds with visible inclusions, while the other half means that you need 10x magnification before these imperfections become visible. If the clarity grade of the diamond falls to I-3, then it will tremendously reduce the value of your gem. An I-3 stone has enough imperfections to minimize its sparkle and brilliancy. This diamond is not suitable to be made into fine jewelry. Clarity, like diamond color, however, still depends on the person’s preference. If you want a diamond with fewer, smaller inclusions, then prepare to spend more.
Diamond Cut
The cut of the diamond is its most significant attribute. This identifies how much of the light entering into the diamond is reflected or refracted from the stone, according to what an observer sees. Simply put, the brilliance and loveliness of a diamond is determined by its cut. Generally a consumer will have an easy way to determine if a brilliant round diamond is well proportioned or well cut. A chart with size to weight ratios matches the weight of the diamond to the appropriate diameter size.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a mathematician from Belgium by the name of Marcel Tolkowsky developed what is commonly referred to today as the ideal cut for all round diamonds. His formula suggests that if a diamond with an ideal cut has a carat weight of 1, then its correct diameter size should be from 6.3 to 6.5 mm. This is that most convenient characteristic to assess. Other important factors include depth percentage and table percentage, symmetry, and polish. This information is provided on a diamond certificate. In general, if the ratio of the size to its weight accurate, the whole bottom portion of the diamond transforms into a mirror. If the cut is poor, even a high-quality diamond will appear dull.
The quality of a diamond’s cut is determined by the following:
- Table percentage
- Depth percentage
- Height
- Thickness of the girdle
- Angles of the crown
- Depth of the pavilion
- Size of the culet
- Symmetry
- Finish
- Polish
A certificate will help you analyze the diamond’s cut in relevance to these factors. If you want more explanation, you can simply ask the diamond jeweler or appraiser. There are also proportion tables that you can obtain. They will provide you the parameters used by the industry in evaluating the brilliant cut diamonds, along with other oval, emerald, princess, marquise, and pear diamond cuts. Understanding the diamond cut is highly essential. If two diamonds possess exactly the same grade in quality, you can still have 30% difference of the stone’s cost simply because of its cut.
Carat Weight
Weight of diamonds is measured in terms of carats. One carat is equivalent to 100 points, a 0.75-carat diamonds has 75 points, so and so forth. Carat weight is the very first factor that you can determine when it comes to assessing a diamond. However, two diamonds of similar carat weight can have unlike prices. This might be due to the qualities of the stone. High-quality diamonds are available in a whole range of carat-weights.
Because diamonds aren’t measured by their sizes but by their carat weight, it’s possible that two diamonds of equal weight can have various sizes. For example, shallow-cut or flat diamonds have a larger diameter, look larger, and have shallow depth. On the other hand, pointed diamonds have smaller diameter, look smaller, and have greater depth.
Understanding all of these characteristics will help you purchase the best diamond you can on your budget, because you can figure out what is most important to you. If you really want that diamond to sparkle, perhaps you’ll get a smaller diamond with a better cut. Or if you want a big diamond, maybe you’ll accept one that’s more colored, or has a few more inclusions. Taking the time to learn about how diamonds are graded will definitely help you find the perfect diamond.
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