The 4C’s: Setting the Standards for Buying a Diamond
At JewelsBoutique.com, we believe that, like your most cherished jewelry, knowledge is priceless.
Selecting a diamond is the decision of a lifetime, and the process begins with the 4C’s. Setting industry standards, the 4C’s—Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight—is the time-honored system for determining a diamond’s worth. It is the collective—not individual—assessment of the 4C’s that assigns value to a particular stone.
Understanding this unique classification system is your key to choosing a diamond that you will treasure forever.Understanding this unique classification system is your key to choosing a diamond that you will treasure forever.
CUT
Ideal proportions 
The cut and polish of a diamond is the most important of the 4Cs. When a diamond Diamondis cut with precision and focus on correct facet placement, result init will maximize maximum the diamonds brilliance, scintillation and fire. When a diamond is cut to ideal proportions, light enters through the top of the diamond, reflects from one facet to another and exits toward your eye giving higher brilliance, scintillation and fire resulting in greater beauty.
Cut too deep
If a diamond is cut to deep, then some light escapes through the opposite side of the pavilion, or bottom, of the diamond. This makes the diamond appear smaller and less brilliant. Similarly, if the diamond is cut too shallow, some light will escape through the bottom of the diamond.
Cut too shallow
Well cut diamonds exhibit facets with the correct angles and perfect placement to maximize the diamonds brilliance. It is the quality of the cut and its final polish that unlocks the hidden beauty of diamonds.
COLOR
Though the majority of diamonds appear to be colorless, they are not. Most diamonds have at least some indication of color - this is normally yellow or brown. Diamonds with no color or very close to no color are considered very rare and valuable.
Variances in color come from natural elements, such as nitrogen and boron. These elements are incorporated into the diamonds anatomy during the diamond's creation phase.
Diamonds with strong color are called "Fancies", they can be red, blue, yellow, pink, purple. Natural fancy colored diamonds are the rarest and consequently more valuable.
CLARITY
Like people, every diamond is individual and unique. One way diamonds are different from each other, is the minute traces of crystals that may get trapped during the crystallization phase of a diamonds growth. These minute crystals are called inclusions.
Inclusions have been described as nature’s fingerprints. These fingerprints aid gemologists in determining the rarity of each diamond. Clarity is the term used to describe the number, color, size and placement of such inclusions.
Inclusions can affect the beauty of a diamond when they are so numerous or large that they become visible to the naked eye. These large inclusions can impede the flow of light (reflections) in a diamond making it sparkle less. Diamonds that have no eye visible inclusions reflect more light, and are rarer and more valuable. Diamonds that are flawless have no visible inclusions to a trained grader under magnification making them the most rare and valuable.
CARAT WEIGHT
A diamond's weight is the easiest characteristics to measure, and from the beginning weight has been used to determine the value of a diamond. Early diamond traders used carob seeds to weigh diamonds; they used the carob seed because it has an incredibly consistent weight. During those times, a 1 carat diamond equaled the weight of a carob seed. In modern day, the carat is a metric weight of 0.2grams or 1/142 of a standard ounce.
A carat is divided into 100 points; half carat diamond reads 50 points and is written as .50ct, three quarter carats are 75 points and written .75ct etc.
It is only possible to get exact carat weight on unmounted diamonds. Once a diamond is in a setting, its weight can only be theoretically calculated and estimated based on a mathematical formula and special measurements.
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
JewelsBoutique.com only sells diamonds that have been graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Use the links below to learn more about GIA:
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