What is Diamond?
Where is it found?
What are the “Four Cs” of diamond quality?
What is Diamond Clarity?
What is a “Carat”?
What is Color?
What is Cut?
Diamond Wedding Tradition


What is Diamond?

A diamond is a mineral composed essentially of carbon crystallized at extremely high temperatures and pressures; in nature, diamonds form 150 to 200 kilometers (93 to 124 miles) or more below the earth's surface. Diamond is the hardest of all known natural substances (10 on the Mohs scale); its refractive index is 2.417, dispersion 0.044, specific gravity 3.52, and its luster is adamantine. Diamond forms in the cubic, or isometric, crystal system, has four directions of perfect octahedral cleavage, and shows a step-like fracture surface. Its color ranges from colorless to yellow, brown, gray, orange, green, blue, white, black, purple, pink, and, extremely rarely, red. Transparent and near-colorless in a desirable color, diamond is a highly valued gemstone; poorly colored or heavily included single crystals are used for a wide variety of industrial purposes; polycrystalline material is crushed and used as an abrasive powder. By: www.gia.org

Where is it found?

The most famous diamond bearing country is South Africa. The first diamond was reported in 1866. By 1869 an 83.5 carat diamond had been found and was named The Star of Africa. It was subsequently cut into a pear shape brilliant weighing 47.74 carats. The Golconda area of Southern India has been the source of some famous diamonds such as the Koh-i-nor (mountain of light 186cts cut to 108.92 cts and now in the Tower of London) and Jehangir. Diamond is widespread in Brazil, most stones being small but of good gem quality. Alluvial diamonds have been found in most states of the USA. White and fancy coloured diamonds such as pinks and pinkish browns are mined at Argyle in North Western Australia. Other important producers are Russia, now the fourth largest producer, and China. By: jewellerycatalogue

What are the “Four Cs” of diamond quality?

The key to a diamond’s value is its rarity, and no two diamonds are alike. Rarity is determined by a diamond's unique characteristics as measured by the Four Cs: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. Using these criteria, a small diamond of exceptional quality will likely be more valuable than a larger diamond of lower quality.

GIA is the creator of the famous 4Cs of diamond value (color, clarity, cut, and carat weight). It is also the corporate birthplace of the International Diamond Grading System TM. Today, GIA’s D-Z color-grading scale and GIA’s Flawless-I3 clarity-grading scale are recognized by virtually every professional jeweler and savvy diamond buyer in the world. The Institute is also known for having developed and patented the first modern jeweler's loupe. By: www.gia.org

What is Diamond Clarity?

1. Is a measure of a diamond's internal flaws and impurities. A diamond that is virtually free of interior or exterior inclusions (commonly reffered to as flaws) is of the highest quality, for nothing interferes with the passage of light through the diamond. To determine a diamond's clarity, it is viewed under 10x magnification by a trained gemologist. Small inclusions neither mar its beauty nor endanger its durability.

2. Created by nature, most diamonds contain unique birthmarks called “inclusions” (internal) and “blemishes” (external). Diamonds with few birthmarks are rare —and rarity affects value. Using the internationally recognized GIA Diamond Grading System, diamonds are given a clarity grade that ranges from flawless (F), to diamonds with more prominent inclusions (I3).


By: www.gia.org

Flawless - No internal or external flaws.

Internally Flawless - No internal flaws. Very rare and beautiful diamonds which are quite expensive.

VVS1, VVS2 - Very, Very Slightly Included: Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. An excellent quality diamond.

VS1, VS2 - Very Slightly Included: Inclusions are not visible to the unaided eye. Less expensive than the VVS1 or VVS2 grades.

SI1, SI2 - Slightly Included: Inclusions are visible under 10x magnification, SI clarity diamonds are usually of the best value since inclusions are not visible to the naked eye and prices are reasonable when compared to prices of the VS2 clarity and up grades.

SI3 - Slightly Included-EGL: SI3 is an EGL grade and is not recognized by GIA or other gemological institutions. It may be graded by GIA as either SI2 or I1. SI3 diamonds never have any black inclusions or cracks visible to the naked eye, but may have some very minor white inclusions which can be seen with the naked eye.

I1 - Included: an I1 clarity diamond will have a visible flaw which can be seen with the naked eye, but there should only be one major flaw which is not too obvious. If your budget only allows for an SI3 or I1 clarity diamond, be sure to examine it thouroughly before purchasing and make sure you can not see any inclusions.

I2, I3 - Included: These diamonds will have inclusions visible to the naked eye, and will have many black spots from the black inclusions and appear cloudy from the white inclusions, feathers and cracks.
By: Diamond Info

What is a “Carat”?

Diamonds are weighed using metric carats. A carat weighs about the same as a small paper clip. Just as a dollar is divided into 100 pennies, a carat is divided into 100 “points.” This means that a diamond of 50 points weighs 0.50 carats. But two diamonds of equal weight can have very different values depending on their clarity, color and cut. By: www.gia.org

What is Color?

Colorless diamonds are extremely rare and highly valued. Most diamonds are nearly colorless with yellow or brown tints. The GIA Diamond Grading System uses letters to represent colors, beginning with D (colorless) and ending at Z (light yellow or brown). The GIA Gem Trade Laboratory uses a Z masterstone to distinguish between normal range and "fancy" yellows. If a stone shows a natural yellow color slightly deeper than the Z master, its color is designated as "fancy light yellow" on the Diamond Quality Analysis Report. By: www.gia.org

D-F : Colorless: perfect or almost perfect color.

G-J : Near colorless: good to very good color, and this diamond may "face up" colorless when mounted, especially in white gold or platinum.

K-M : Light but noticeable yellow or brown tint. Not recommended for larger diamond stone purchases, especially in engagement rings.

Out of the 4 C's, color and cut are the two most important characteristics of a diamond. Do not compromise on color. An "H" color or better is usually best.

What is Cut?

A. The mere fact that there are traditionally 58 tiny facets in a diamond, each carefully cut and sharply defined, and may be only two millimeters in diameter, strikes many in the buying public as little short of miraculous. But this precision is essential to the potential beauty of a diamond. As a matter of fact, overall appearance – the brilliance, fire, and scintillation that makes diamonds uniquely beautiful – depends more on cut than anything else. There are no internationally recognized grades for cut, as there are for color and clarity, and ther are differences of opinion within the trade about some aspects of cut. Even the Federal Trade Commission is vague about it, compared to the rigor with which other aspects of diamond quality are described. But the affect of cut on a diamond's appearance is indisputable. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) describes cut as the proportions and finish of a diamond or colored stone. Proportions are the size and angle relationships between the facets and different parts of the stone. Finish includes polish and details of facet shape and placement. Cut can also mean shape, as in round brilliant, emerald cut, or marquise cut. By: www.gia.org

Diamond Wedding Tradition

The custom of exchanging wedding rings dates back as far as the comic Roman poet Plautus in the 2nd century BCE. Wedding rings were then valued because of interior inscriptions recording the marriage contracts signed in the presence of the Emperor's image. The custom was continued and mostly Christianized by the 4th century by St. Augustine. Byzantine wedding rings are thick gold bands with round or oval bezels depicting the couple face to face, or receiving Christ's blessing of their union. The tradition of giving rings in the engagement and marriage ceremony as tokens of everlasting love has taken the diamond into its present-day popularity. By: diamonds-ny