Color

Color – One of the Four Cs

Diamonds come naturally from the Earth in almost every color of the rainbow. In most cases, the whiter the diamond, the more valuable it is. Fancy colored diamonds are an exception to the rule. Diamonds that are rated yellow colored past D are rare and are more valuable.

Color is the second of the four c’s in importance in determining the overall beauty of the diamond. The color of a diamond is rated using a Color Scale – GIA’s scale is the most widely used – which classifies the stones in alphabetical order starting with the letter D, being the whitest or colorless, or best, and goes down the letter Z, being near-colorless, with slight hints of yellows or browns.

The lack of color, or whiteness in a diamond, allows maximum light to pass through the stone and disperse that beauty back to the observer. A white diamond will look very clean, crisp, and brilliant, with a lot of dazzle. A yellow diamond will not really look yellow, as it will look darker and dirty brown, without nearly the same brilliance. These are differences that you can clearly see, as you do not need to be a trained expert or certifies gemologist to see these differences.

G, H and I are near-colorless diamonds that look colorless to the naked eye. These are the whitest stones commonly available in the engagement ring market.

A diamond rated G and H on the color scale is your best choice for quality and value.

Clarity

Clarity – One of the Four Cs

When diamonds were formed, small imperfections such as tiny bubbles, scratches or minerals found their way into the diamonds crystal. These flaws or inclusions make each diamond different and unique and is sometimes referred to as nature’s fingerprints.

Clarity, one of the four c’s, documents a diamond’s inclusions by the number, size, and position of internal and external blemishes it has. Inclusions are not usually visible to the naked eye. To determine a diamond’s clarity grade, it must be examined loose (unmounted), under 10x magnifications by a gemologist.

It is extremely important to view the diamond loose for clarity grading because it is very easy hide flaws in a setting to make a diamond appear better than it is. There is nothing wrong with flaws as long as you know about them and you are not paying a premium for a lesser diamond.


Diamond’s clarity is rated according to their position on the GIA Clarity Scale:

F: Flawless. No internal or external flaws.
IF: Slight flaws inside the diamond.
VVS1-VVS2: Just slightly flawed. Slight imperfections that are hard to see using 10X magnification.
VS1-VS2: Very slightly flawed. Imperfections not detectable with unaided eye but visible using 10X magnification.
SI1-SI2: Slightly flawed. The imperfection is not visible with the naked eye but is easily seen with magnification.
I1-I3: Flawed. The imperfections are noticeable to the naked eye.

Generally, a diamond rated SI-1 or above looks flawless to the unaided eye. Even a tiny inclusion visible to the naked eye will bump the diamond to an SI-2 or I-1. A diamond rated SI2 and VS1 on the clarity scale is your best choice for quality and value.