Choosing a Diamond: The 4 Cs

Your ultimate guide to choosing the right diamond...

Some pieces from our Diamond Collection

Check out more from our diamond collection

Choosing a diamond can be an intimidating process. After all, it's not just the aesthetics that you need to consider. There's also clarity, colour, cut and carat weight to consider too. Whether you're purchasing a diamond for an engagement, birthday, or simply to impress, it's a life skill to become calm and confident in choosing the right diamond. To get over this fear and build your confidence in purchasing diamonds, join us in this series of choosing gemstones where we learn all about diamonds.

A Quick Intro to Diamonds

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, as sung by Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe. Yet, there are many reasons for diamonds becoming the traditional symbol of love and union today. Its indestructibility, unique DNA and value through its ability to sparkle has created measurements to look out for: namely clarity, colour, cut and carat weight. If you feel empowered after this and are interested, book an appointment with us below or check out some of our services.

Also check out...

Choosing a Diamond: Our Diamond Buying Checklist

Choosing a Diamond: The Purpose

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The 4 C's

The foundation of appraising a diamond's value and overall aesthetic is the 4Cs. These stand for clarity, colour, cut and carat weight. Join us as we look at each of these categories in turn.

Clarity

To measure clarity, we examine the amount of scratches, or incursions, there are within a stone. As it is impossible to count every single incursion even with the help of a loupe (a tiny magnifying glass for inspecting gemstones), incursions are judged on the basis of a scale, which you will see on the 2nd picture. This GIA report of one of our diamond pieces grades the centrepiece diamond on a scale from Flawless to I3. As you can imagine, Flawless and Internally Flawless diamonds, which have no observable incursions under 10x magnification, are the rarest available diamonds on offer and are the most valuable as a result. In fact, stones of such a scale make up only 1% of all known diamonds. Note however, that incursions are a natural aspect of diamonds so do consider getting a flawless diamond checked out at a lab to see whether it is in fact natural or lab-grown.

Colour

While the typical image of a diamond is that of being completely colourless, they actually come in a variety of different hues from yellow, green and all colours of the rainbow. However, it's not as simple as saying that the existence of a hue will detract from its value, as some diamonds would be seen as more valuable due to its vibrant hue (see for instance, the Hope Diamond). Such diamonds are typically known as Fancy Colour due to the notable vibrancy of the hue. Have a look at our Fancy Colour Diamond at the end of the slideshow for instance.

To measure the colour of diamonds, we can have a look at two concepts. Traditionally, for the colourless diamonds, we would use GIA's D-to-Z colour scale (see picture 2 on slideshow), symbolising diamonds that are colourless to those with a light hue. However, where the hue becomes the main factor, the factor to consider would be the rarity of the colour itself, with yellows and browns being typically more common than reds, greens or blues.

Cut

Cut refers to the shape the stone has been crafted into. As you can see on the photo, there are many different ways a diamond can be cut, and such cuttings influence the design of the jewellery, the way which the stone interacts with the light, and global fashion trends around the world. For example, our creative team at Dynasty Jewelry may find more use for a Pear Cut diamond in establishing a modern and trendy every day diamond ring or necklace, as opposed to using the traditional round cut for a classic engagement ring. As such, to the end-user, diamond cut is not really a measure of value but rather a characteristic of personal preference. However, for the diamond enthusiasts among you, I suggest taking a look at GIA's round cut grading which grades each stone from "Excellent" to "Poor", which is the only cut to be graded according to the GIA.

Carat Weight

The final and most accurate marker of diamond value is the carat weight. 1 carat is approximately equal to 0.2 grams, which for any other object would seem negligible. Yet, diamonds can significantly change in value based on even 0.5 of a carat due to its rarity, uniqueness and strength.

Another term that you may hear jewellers say when talking about carat weight is the word "point". Simply put though, a 0.70 carat weight stone may be referred to as a "70 pointer".

While weight is typically the most accurate predictor of a diamond's value, it is nevertheless important to note that the value is ultimately reflected by the 4Cs, so a smaller stone can still be more valuable if for example, there are less inclusions.

Conclusion

Looking at the 4Cs is an effective framework for understanding the basics of a diamond's value, but to truly feel secure when buying a diamond ring for your significant other, check out our checklist here. Also, feel free to check out our article on how stone cutting has influenced fashion throughout the years; or if you feel like having a look at our inventory, check out our product page or book an appointment with us.

Thank you!!