Quality Diamond Jewelry

 Picking a high quality Diamond:
     When picking a diamond or an item of jewelry that includes diamonds it is important to use the "4 C's" - cut, clarity, colour and carat weight.

Cut:
The cut of a diamond determines the brilliance of it. A classic cut diamond has 58 facets (flat surfaces) on it. There are 33 on the top, 24 on the bottom half and one on the bottom - a tiny facet called the "cutlet". Each facet needs to be placed by the diamond cutter in exact geometric relation to one another. A diamond is said to be "spread" when the proper proportions are compromised to make the diamond seem like it weighs more. The classic shapes that diamonds are cut into are: round, oval, pear, marquise, heart shapes, emerald, baguette, brilliant, and radiant.

Clarity:
Inclusions are anything that mares the clarity of the diamond. The fewer the inclusions, the clearer and more brilliant (and more expensive) the diamond will be. Jewelers use machines called "loupes" to study the clarity of diamonds. A "flawless" diamond is when no inclusions can be seen under a 10x magnifier in the jewelers loupe. Completely flawless diamonds are extremely rare. Diamonds are then graded according to their clarity.
The grading goes as follows:
- IF - Internally flawless
- VV1, VV2 - Very, very slightly included
- VS1, VS2 - Very slightly included
- SI1, SI2 - Slightly included
- I1, I2 - Imperfect - Inclusions easy to locate with 10X magnification
- I3 - Imperfect - Inclusions easy to locate with the naked eye

Colour: The more colourless a diamond, the more valuable it is. Most diamonds may appear colourless to the naked eye, however the majority contain slight traces of yellow or light brown. A single increase of colour grade can boost a diamonds value by thousands of dollars. Engagement rings are traditionally colourless. From the bellow grading, D would be the most expensive and rare.

Colour grades go as follows:
- DEF (0+, 1+): Colourless
- GHIJ (1-4): Near Colourless
- KLM (5-7): Faint Yellow
- NOPQR (8-12): Very light Yellow
- STUVWXYZ (13-20): Light Yellow

     In nature, diamonds can also occur in shades of red, pink, blue, green and deep yellow - these are called "Fancy Diamonds"..
Carat Weight: The standard measure of a diamonds weight is "carats" (ct). It is important when considering size to also consider cut, clarity and colour. A larger diamond is not very valuable if it lacks brilliance, purity and high grade colour. However, large stones are harder to find than small ones, therefore size does increase the value of a diamond.

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