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The Larger a Diamond, the More Rare Larger diamonds are found relatively infrequently in nature, which makes them among the rarest. A diamond's size is measured in carat weight, and each carat is equal to 100 points. A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-point diamond or a 3/4 carat stone. While larger diamonds are highly prized, diamonds of equal size may vary widely in value and brilliance, depending on their qualities of clarity, cut, and color. Carat weight is the only factor that has no bearing on the beauty. Diamonds of all sizes can be beautiful or not. The weight is a very substantial factor in the cost—along with the other 4C’s. Clarity Grades of Diamonds One of the least important of the diamond grades is clarity. Unfortunately, it is what many jewelers claim is most important because it is easy to demonstrate. Anyone can put a diamond under a microscope and see if it has inclusions. It takes gemological knowledge to cut and/or color grade a diamond. Jewelry merchants with little or no formal gemology training or with training and little desire to teach the consumer, often resort to a quick demonstration of clarity, which has made it the most important grade to many consumers. This could not be further from the truth. By definition, any grade of diamond of SI-2 and up requires magnification to see the inclusion. Who even carries a loupe with them to view their friends’ diamonds? Since any diamond of SI-2 clarity and up is considered "eye clean” (meaning you must have magnification to see any inclusion) why worry about clarity above the SI2 range? Of course, if you are told you are getting a VS1 you want make sure you actually are. But you can save lots of money by buying a diamond that is well proportioned, with good color, but is in the SI1 or SI2 clarity range. To put it another way, a perfectly cut diamond of D color and SI2 clarity will look the same to everyone around you as a perfectly cut diamond of D color VS1. However, the SI-2 diamond could save you thousands of dollars. Quick Explanations of each Clarity Grade Below is a breakdown of the diamond clarity grading scale. Note that these are only used to demonstrate the general level of inclusions that qualify a diamond to fall into any one grade. The study of diamond clarity is lengthy and involves many types of inclusions. Grades
Note: Any diamond from the SI2 clarity grade and up is considered eye clean, meaning that you should not be able to see any inclusions without magnification. It is important to note that there are some in the diamond industry who use a SI3 clarity grade. GIA does not recognize this as a grade, however, EGL does and so does Rappaport (the price sheet). It does indicate a very nice looking I-1. You will pay more than the I-1 price, but not as much as the SI-2 price. You get what you pay for. There is nothing wrong with that. There are three rules of thumb to go by regarding the I-1, I-2, I-3 grades:
Grades
One final note: Don’t rule out an I-1 diamond just because you think it will be ugly. Beauty is in the cut—not the clarity. That nice I-1 might be the perfect one. You really need to see the diamonds in person to tell for sure. Diamond Color Grading Basics The color of the diamond will affect the price and to some extent the beauty of the diamond. Everyone has an idea of beauty, so this is one of the personal choices. Perfectly clear diamonds are desired by most, but some color will not necessarily detract from the overall beauty. Diamonds are graded by a comparison to a GIA standard Master Grading Set. The range is D to Z, with D being most colorless. To achieve the highest degree of accuracy, diamonds must be color graded loose and with the proper equipment. The stones should be upside down to provide the best viewing of the crystal color, and a proper "North Light" source should be employed. Any diamond grade offered while a stone is still in its mounting should be noted as provisional, based on the limitations of grading a mounted diamond. D, E, F colors are known as the colorless range. These are generally the most desired and the most expensive of the colors (unless you are looking at ‘fancy’ colors). G, H, I, J colors are the range of color known as near colorless, or “face up colorless”. They generally look colorless when mounted and viewed from the face. They do show a slight tint of color from the side view. The difference is great brilliance making the diamond appear whiter than it is. (Another reason why cut is so important.) K, L, M colors are a less expensive and very affordable range of color. This range is called faint yellow. If your diamond is very well cut round or even an antique cut or emerald cut, it can look wonderful in this range. This, of course, is personal preference. The lower colors "N" through "Z" have an increasing amount of yellow tint, ranging through the off colors and ending at the end of the scale, beyond which diamonds are considered to have a fancy yellow color. Be wary of jewelers offering fancy yellow colored diamonds, however. Sometimes they grade off color yellows as fancies without a proper gemological evaluation by a recognized gemological laboratory. The term fancy beside any diamond color imparts a higher value and higher price to the stone. Do not accept the term fancy for any diamond you purchase unless it is accompanied by an origin of color report and/or diamond grading report. Gemstone Shapes: Which Is Right for You? How do I choose? Diamond and gemstone jewelry comes in a bewildering array of standard and fancy (unusual) shapes. Selecting which one is right for you is really a matter of personal taste--after all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What are the options? Of course, the most popular gemstone shape is the round brilliant. Everything else is considered a fancy shape. Important fancy shapes include emerald, marquise (resembling a football), pear, oval, square (princess) and baguette (rectangle). Baguettes are often used as accent stones surrounding a larger center stone. Heart, trillion (triangle), flower, and briolette (drop-shaped) are also important fancy cuts. Which are more expensive? Fancy shapes (below 1/2ct sizes) are more expensive, but the Rounds are generally more expensive in the larger sizes (over 1/2ct). The current popularity of a cut determines the market price. These change by generation. The Marquise was popular (and expensive) 20 years ago, now you can find bargains on this cut because Princess cut has taken its place in the popularity contest. What else is there? Although the cuts already mentioned account for the vast majority of gemstone shapes on the market today, there are many, many other shapes available. Some are variations of these standard shapes, with a different number of facets or slightly different parameters. For instance, the cut-corner triangle cut is a triangle from which the corners have been clipped. The shield cut is a variation of the emerald cut resembling the shape of a shield. The nostalgia craze and the popularity of the heirloom/estate market also has brought a number of old-fashioned cuts back into the public eye, such as the cushion cut (a type of rectangular cut) and the rose cut (a round cut featuring triangular facets that form a point on the top of the stone). What about branded diamonds? Many diamond companies in recent years also have introduced branded diamonds that feature new cuts (or modifications of existing cuts). These will be more expensive versions of the basic shapes. Sometimes they are better—sometimes not. The ones that come with a brilliance analysis proving their brightness are better, but why pay more for that if you can get a regular cut diamond that performs just as well? You must decide if it is worth the extra money (maybe thousands of dollars more). Round or Fancy shapes? While the round brilliant is generally regarded as the shape that most showcases a stone's brilliance and fire, each fancy shape has its own special qualities and unique appeal. In general, when people think of a diamond, the round shape comes to mind. They are the most common type of diamond cut, and due to their popularity, the standards used to grade Round diamonds are generally well known and easy to apply due to their uniformity. Fancy shaped diamonds on the other hand, are much harder to grade due to their irregular shapes. One thing you will be able to spot immediately is that a fancy shaped diamond will not be as brilliant as a round brilliant cut diamond. The shape of a properly cut round diamond is symmetrical. The diamond takes in light and reflects back to the eye a large proportion of the light that enters it. Once you diverge from the round shape, light "leaks" out of the diamond which leaves less light to be reflected back, reducing its brilliance. However, there are not specific angles and proportions to any of the shapes that will guarantee a stone to be beautiful. You must LOOK at the stones and compare them. The brightest will stand out in the crowd. Anyone who will tell you that certain angles and percentages will always be perfect are only trying to sell you something—not get you the prettiest one possible. Keeping in mind that the fancy shapes are all going to need to be viewed in person to pick the best, here are some of the most popular of the shapes:
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