Buying the right Diamond
For many people, a Diamond is the most crucial purchase of their life. Diamond is a splendored thing. It symbolizes status, elegance, magnificence, prosperity, shine, purity, intricate workmanship, eternal love and more! It really compresses all your dreams and aspirations. We recognize the importance of your knowing exactly what you are buying.
This guide lets you understand the four Cs – Cut – Color, Clarity and Carat as well as Diamond Shapes and Certifications. With this guide, you will be better prepared to choose the Diamond that is right for you.
Cut
Cut refers to the basic shape, overall finish, angles and proportions of all the 57 facets of the Diamond. The exactness of the facets gives a Diamond its fire and brilliance. Cut sums up the total impact of the Diamond and is an indicator of its luster and fire which are the result when light enters the Diamond and is reflected back to the viewer.
An ideal/ excellent cut lends more sparkle and scintillation to the Diamond. Customers can ensure maximum luster to the diamond by insisting on ideal/ excellent cuts which unfold the diamond’s facets. As the lower VG and good grade costs only 2 to 5% less compared to Ideal/Excellent. Discerning customers prefer Ideal/Excellent.
Colour
Diamonds are available in following color grades:
D,E,F : Colorless | G,H : White (Nearly Colorless) | I,J : Slightly tinted White | K,L,M : Slightly tinted
Clarity
It is an indicator for purity. Most Diamonds have inclusions and blemishes either inside the stone or on the surface respectively.
However, some are so small and insignificant that they are not visible to the naked eye. Common people can only evaluate these with difficulty. Only trained and vastly experienced Diamond experts can evaluate clarity, that too under 10X magnification.
Hence, most customers prefer to concentrate on color rather than clarity to influence their decision on an individual diamond.
Carat
Carat indicates the weight/size of the diamond.
In terms of weight, a 5 Carat diamond weight 1 gm. So one Carat is .200 m.gms in weight. 1 Carat is equal to 100 points/cents. As large Diamonds are quite rare, bigger the Carat, more is its price.
Shapes
Diamonds come in many shapes and sizes. As even the smallest stone is valuable, it is shaped appropriately to suit individual choice and setting in jewellery. Shape refers to the overall outline of the Diamond when viewed from the top. The Jewellery setting determines the choice of the diamond or diamonds for it.
Most common shapes are : Round Brilliant, Princess Cut, Pear Emerald Cut, Radiant Cut, Cushion Brilliant, Heart Brilliant, Marquise Oval Trilient
Diifference Between Certified & Non-Certified Diamonds
Practically there is no difference between a diamond that is certified and one that is not certified. A certificate just makes the purchase authentic and valuable.
The consumer buying a Diamond or any Jewellery product relies a lot on certificate of authenticity. A certified Diamond comes with a legal assurance of the nature and quality of the Diamond. These certificates can include various variables such as quality, certificate No. on the girdle, authenticity that it is natural, its color, clarity and weight. The Diamonds are certified by globally reputed Certification Laboratories.
The certificate no laser inscribed on the girdle of the Diamond assure you the positive identification of your Diamond. This process does not affect the quality of the stone and is permanent till it is re-polished. This inscription is visible under 10X magnification. All reputed Jewellers have high quality microscopes that enable the customer to view the inscription. This can then be compared with the certificate issued by the recognized laboratories. To ensure that the certificate is also authentic the customer can visit the website of the specific laboratory and avail the online service that displays that particular certificate containing all the properties of the Diamond purchased.
An uncertified diamond on the other hand, does not have any authenticated grading report. The buyers just trust what seller or manufacturer claims. An uncertified Diamond need not be a bad one; it can be equally beautiful and attractive as a certified diamond, only the customer does not have any benchmark to go by.