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Diamonds

Back ground

Diamonds are extremely rare and therefore expensive. They are often mined in places like South Africa. Diamonds have become a way of telling someone we love them through engagement rings and we are still fascinated by the way a good diamond flashes fire in the light. Diamonds are incredibly strong and long lasting. They cut glass. They are definitely associated with the word precious. Although diamonds are mined in many parts of the world, more than 250 tons of ore need to be blasted, crushed and processed to yield just one carat of rough diamond. And of that relatively small amount, it is estimated that only about one-fifth of all rough diamonds are suitable for gem cutting. Formed under high temperatures 50 or more miles under ground and the hardest mineral on earth. With its brilliant lustre and exceptional fire it makes the most highly prized of all gems. It is the birthstone for April and symbolizes eternity and courage, everyone’s best friend.

How diamonds are graded.

There are several ways in which diamonds are graded. These are how you can tell a diamonds value. A diamonds value is in its quality. An easy way of talking about diamond quality is the four c’s. Clarity, colour, cut and carat. Experts measure these on scales. An easy way to make sure you are getting good value for money is to buy an already certificated diamond. These do cost more money but you can be certain of the quality of your diamond. Below I am going to talk about the four c’s and how they are graded.

Clarity.

The following chart gives an idea how each grade might look under a 10x loupe microscope:

FL = Flawless -- no internal or external inclusions of any kind visible under 10x magnification to a trained eye, the most rare and expensive of all clarity grades
IF = Internally Flawless -- no internal inclusions visible under 10x magnification to a trained eye, but there may be some tiny external irregularities in the finish

VVS-1 = Very Very Slightly Included 1 -- usually just one tiny inclusion visible only to a trained eye under 10x magnification
VVS-2 = Very Very Slightly Included 2 -- tiny inclusions visible only to a trained eye under 10x magnification

VS-1 = Very Slightly Included 1 -- very small inclusions visible with 10x magnification
VS-2 = Very Slightly Included 2 -- several very small inclusions visible with 10x magnification

SI-1 = Slightly Included 1 -- small inclusions visible with 10x magnification
SI-2 = Slightly Included 2 -- several small inclusions visible with 10x magnification
SI-3 = Slightly Included 3 -- inclusions that may be visible to the naked eye for a trained observer

I-1 = Included 1 -- flaws that are visible to the naked eye
I-2 = Included 2 -- many flaws clearly visible to the naked eye that also decrease the brilliance
I-3 = Included 3 -- many flaws clearly visible to the naked eye which decrease the brilliance and compromise the structure of the diamond, making it more easily cracked or chipped

NOTE: Diamonds of clarity grade I-2 to I-3 are not suitable for engagement rings.

When you look at the above grading you have to remember diamonds of different clarity’s will be suitable for different things. Clarity is very important in a diamond engagement ring but for a pair of diamond earrings clarity may seem nowhere near as important. The higher the clarity of a diamond the more expensive it will be and this is important when working with a budget. In a lot of the grades the trained eye under a microscope can only see flaws in the clarity. If you are looking for a good deal therefore you can cut down on the clarity of a diamond a bit. Clarity is bound to affect your choice if you are buying a diamond engagement ring however. It must be considered very important. The scale above is just a guideline but I would consider it very useful.

Colour.

Colour of a diamond also affects its price. The more pure the colour of a diamond is the more rare it is. D is the most pure grade of diamond and is extremely rare and highly valued.

Although many diamonds still appear clear and are extremely beautiful they are less rare and less valuable.

To truly appreciate the difference between the colour grades the easiest way is to compare actual diamonds.

Though the shade difference on this scale appears huge, if you saw the actual diamond of this colour it would be hard to tell the difference between some of them. 

"Fancy" diamonds – in well-defined colours that include red, pink, blue, green and canary yellow – are highly prized and particularly rare. It is thought that extra substances get mixed in with these diamonds as they are being made and affect the colours. People will pay a lot of money for fancy diamonds though people rarely use them in their engagement rings.

Some diamonds also have fluorescence. They produce a colour reaction under UV light, which is contained in daylight and also in fluorescent-lit rooms.  Some diamonds will go a more blue colour which will make the appear clearer in uv light whilst others go a more yellow colour which may make them appear a lower grade than they are. When buying diamonds people normally opt for diamonds with little or no fluorescence. If a diamond appears to be more clear in UV light or blue it could be seen as a definite advantage and whether you choose a diamond of high or low fluorescence is often seen to be a personal preference.

Cut

There are several different areas of the cut of a diamond that affect both the price and the use of it. There are several different styles or shapes of cut, which can be used on a diamond, and it takes extreme skill to cut a diamond well. Below are the most common shapes. Often people consider the round cut to look the best on a diamond but recently the square cut diamond has become quite popular.

It is not just the shape, which is important to the cut. Sometimes diamonds are cut badly and this can cause the diamond to be easily breakable or look too small for its weight. A well-cut diamond is bound to be more expensive than a badly cut one.

Certain shapes of diamond need to be cut differently to be strong. The pear cut needs to be a lot thicker at one end to ensure the point is not breakable or too sharp.

There are other things, which are important as well. Proportion of a diamond has a big affect too. Diamonds can be too shallowly or too deeply cut. 

They need to be correctly cut to catch the light correctly. If it is too deep or shallow light will escape out of the bottom and there will appear to be shadows within the diamond.

A well-cut diamond will totally internally reflect the light creating a sort of prism affect, which causes the flash of fire you sometimes see within a diamond. This is what makes diamonds so sought after.

Carat.

A carat is the term used for the measurement of a diamond's weight. 1 carat is 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams, and there are 142 carats to an ounce. (The carat of a diamond is different to the word carat connected with gold. When connected with gold carat is a measurement of purity. Not weight as with a diamond.)

In fact, the name "carat" comes from the carob seeds that were used to balance scales in ancient times. While the use of seeds might sound like a pretty unscientific way to measure diamonds, according to historians, it was surprisingly accurate. These tiny, horn-shaped seeds were so uniform in size and weight that even today's sophisticated scales can't detect more than one three-thousandth of an ounce difference between them!

Today the means of measuring are much more advanced and the weight of a stone can be tested within its setting. This is important because two diamonds of the same size can look different within different settings.

Round brilliant cut

Princess cut

Carats are divided into points. 1 carat is 100 points. This means that a half-carat stone is sometimes called a fifty pointer. A quarter carat is called a 25 pointer. Points are useful in describing the size of a stone but are not technically correct in all cases.

Something else to remember is that a one-carat stone is always worth more than a carat of diamonds. Because a whole 1 carat stone is much more rare than 50 2 point stones. So a 2-carat stone is infinitely valuable. But 2 carats of diamonds is not worth as much.

So the important question is carats or quality. If you go for a low quality stone you can definitely go bigger. But is it worth it? Not according to the experts. Apparently you are much better off going for a compromise somewhere in-between.

Send mail to Michael@GoodchildsJewellers.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2003 Goodchilds Jewellers
Last modified: July 07, 2004