Are you interested in jewelry making?

It is important to understand diamond quality any time you are buying
diamond jewelry; whether rings, earrings, bracelets or necklaces.
Bands, wedding bands, wedding rings, engagement rings, watches and bangles...
all are enhanced by a beautiful diamond! Discount diamonds, set in 10k
or 14k gold... nothing beats the combination of quality and
wholesale diamonds.

Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds and more diamonds! Here
is a guide to understanding the "4 C's" of diamond grading: Cut, Color,
Clarity and Carat.

Cut refers to the facet arrangement, proportions and shape of the
diamond. Brilliant cuts usually have 58 facets, 33 on the crown
upper part) and 25 on the pavilion (lower part) of the diamond and
are oriented around a common center point. The largest facet is
the table, and the bottom facet (sometimes pointed) is the culet.
The narrow middle part is the girdle and is often faceted as well.
Baguettes and emerald cuts have parallel facets and are sometimes
called step cut. Careful placement of the facets (faces or sides)
determines how well the diamond sparkles (brilliance) and shows the
rainbow of colors (dispersion). All diamonds are not well-cut
because the cutter is working to make the diamond as large as
possible from the rough material. Usually a diamond loses about
half of its original size in the cutting process.

Clarity is the measure of imperfections in the diamond. Less
than 1/4 of diamonds mined are suitable for jewelry because of the
flaws, and even 80% of gem quality diamonds have characteristics
that are visible without magnification. Diamonds without flaws
are quite rare and thus more expensive. Availability increases
as flaws become more apparent in the diamond, and prices decrease
due to the reduced rarity. The clarity is graded in the "face up"
position with 10x magnification. The scale begins with Flawless
(Fl) and descends through (VVS1) and (VVS2), very very slightly
included; (VS1) and (VS2), very slightly included; (SI1) and
(SI2), slightly included; and (I1), (I2), and (I3), the included
(eye-visible) grades. Internal characteristics become increasingly
noticeable with each lower grade. Flaws in the last two grades
threaten beauty and/or durability.

Color in diamonds means the body color or tint. It does not
refer to the prism of colors emanating from a well-cut diamond.
The most common colors for diamonds are yellow and brown, but
they can be any color - even black. White diamonds are actually
rather unusual but are the most preferred. Since they are more
rare and more desired they are more expensive, too. Grading of
color is done with 10x magnification through the pavilion against
a white background. Color masters are often used for comparison
to determine the exact color grade or tone of color that the
diamond shows. The grading scale begins with (D) and ends with
(Z). (D), (E) and sometimes (F) are considered colorless; (G-J),
near colorless; (K-M), faint tint; (N-R), very light tint; (S-Z),
light tint. Each letter represents a slightly darker tone but
does not identify the hue. Diamonds darker than (Z) are considered
fancy and are specially marketed for their particular color.

Carat is strictly the weight of the diamond. The carat is 1/5
of a gram and is divided into 100 points. Thus, one carat can
be expressed as 1.00 carat or 100 points. Measurements can be
used to estimate the weight of mounted diamonds.



(Karat is a definition of gold purity. 24 karat gold is pure
gold; 14 karat means 14 parts out of 24 are gold with the balance
other metals. Most jewelry is made of alloyed gold to enhance
durability, reduce the cost and determine the color. For example,
nickel or palladium mixed with pure gold makes white gold, which
is harder than yellow gold and considered more attractive for
some diamonds and gemstones. Finished jewelry and gold are usually
weighed in grams.)