The four Cs

When choosing a diamond ring you will have to consider the four Cs:

Cut: how the diamond is cut
A diamond shines when it is properly cut. The cut can be considered the most important of the four Cs because the more the diamond shines the more beautiful the diamond is. The reflection of the light that enters the diamond depends on the facets (the polished edges). An ideal cut gives the diamond the strongest reflection. A diamond appears bigger when the reflection is stronger. A less than ideal cut will have less reflection. There are several types of cutting that have different results on the reflection.




Types of cutting:

• Ideal: light will be reflected almost completely. A very rare cut and therefore expensive.
• Very good: almost as much reflection as the ideal cut
• Good: still a good reflection but less than "Very Good".
• Fair: the least acceptable amount of reflection for a diamond in my opinion.
• Poor: the diamond has been cut so deep that there is almost no reflection.

Color:  the color of the diamond
Color stands for lack of color of a diamond. The less color the higher the quality. Natural diamonds have a faint yellowish color. Diamonds with little or no color are more expensive. The color is indicated by the letters D to Z. D is the highest possible rating, so no color is visible.

When choosing the color of the diamond it's very important to take into account the color of the setting. For example a yellowish diamond does not look good in a platinum or white gold setting.

• D: the diamond is completely colorless. This is very rare and therefore very expensive
• E-F: colorless. Only small traces of color can be seen by an expert.
• G-H: almost colorless. the color is hard to see with the naked eye unless you put another diamond next to it for comparison.
• I-J: nearly colorless.
• K-M: visible color
• N-Z: distinct color

Clarity
The clarity refers to the purity of the diamond. Every stone has small imperfections and diamonds with little or no cracks, scratches or nicks are of higher quality. The clarity of diamonds is indicated by the following:

• FL, IF: flawless, internally flawless. There are no external or internal imperfections. The best quality availble.
• vvs1, vvs2: very very slightly included. The imperfections are very difficult to detect.
• vs1, vs2: very slightly included. The imperfections are not clearly visible.
• si1, si2: slightly included. The imperfections are visible only when magnified. Still a good quality diamond.
• i1, i2, i3: included. The imperfections are visible to the naked eye.

Carat weight
The weight of diamonds is described in carats. A carat is 100 points. So 50 points is 0,5 carat.
When choosing a diamond  we will have to take the other three Cs into consideration. The carat weight alone doesn't tell anything about the quality. For example if a diamond has a poor cut, the quality will be ruined even if the carat weight is high.