Your Essential Guide to Diamonds
Today, the process of buying a diamond can be nerve-wracking. At Lauray’s the process is far more relaxed. Since you are on our website, we assume you want to know a little more about diamonds.
Here’s an overview of the diamond terminology, highlights, and key facts you should be acquainted with. Then stop in, and let’s get started!
Shape
The shape of the diamond is often confused with the cut. The shape of your center diamond is a personal choice and most certainly reflects something about you! Each shape has unique properties to consider when you’re choosing a diamond.
Round Brilliant
The most popular; cut for maximum brilliance.
Princess Cut
A square brilliant with lots of sparkle.
Oval
A modified brilliant-cut with similar fire; elongated shape creates the illusion of greater size.
Cushion
A square cut with rounded corners, much like a pillow.
Asscher Cut
An elegant square shape with blocked corners that make diamonds appear octagonal.
Emerald
Rectangular with parallel facets and blocked corners; produces an elegant hall-of-mirrors effect.
Marquise
An elongated shape with tapering points at both ends; flatters the finger.
Pear
Teardrop-shaped, with a great deal of sparkle.
Radiant Cut
A combination of an emerald cut and the round brilliant; typically with blocked corners.
Heart
A sentimental cut that is sometimes hard to find.
Vintage
Old European cuts that are more geometric and offer a glimpse into history.
Understanding the Four Cs
Cut - where the brilliance happens
Cut is what makes a diamond catch light and sparkle. It is the only aspect of a diamond controlled by man and the art of the cutter! It’s the man-made cut that has the biggest impact on your diamond’s appearance and quality. Invest in a quality cut grade first and foremost. It’s not that the other C’s aren’t important, but sacrificing sparkle for a larger diamond in our opinion isn’t the best choice.
As important as cut is, no standardized criteria for cut grading existed before the mid-20th century. When criteria were finally standardized, they included brightness, fire, scintillation, weight ratio, durability, polish, and symmetry. A cutter working with a rough diamond tries to maximize each of these to make the diamond rare and valuable. Needless to say, it takes a master level of craftsmanship to achieve maximum sparkle.
What is the best cut? A diamond with the ideal proportions for its shape. Think of it like this: The bottom of the diamond has facets, and those facets act like mirrors. When the facets are cut at the proper angles, light enters through the top of the diamond, bounces off the mirrors, and returns to your eye in a full spectrum of color. The effect is simply beautiful!
If you have a poorly cut diamond with incongruous proportions, it will allow light to escape out of the bottom and sides, resulting in a dull and dark appearance. For a really brilliant diamond, with excellent polish and symmetry, you should choose a cut grade of Very Good or Excellent. Perfection in cut will also increase your diamond’s value, making it truly stunning.
Color - where less is more
Just because a diamond looks white doesn’t mean it’s colorless. Truthfully, the white diamond spectrum ranges from totally colorless to light yellow. The amount of color in a diamond is signified by a special lettering system that ranges from D to Z. The letter D is given only to rare, totally colorless diamonds. In other words, the more colorless a white diamond is, the greater its beauty and value.
A colorless diamond can be graded D, E or F. Less than ¼ of 1% of all the diamonds in the world fall into this category.
A near colorless diamond can be graded G, H, I or J. The majority of diamonds sold in the diamond industry are represented by one of these grades.
Colored diamonds, such as pink, blue, chocolate or bright yellow, are also available, but they are rated on a different scale than white diamonds.
(Photo courtesy of Gemological Institute of America)
Clarity - let's clear this up
Part of a diamond’s mystique is the fact that they are created by incredible natural forces, formed by tremendous heat and pressure deep within the earth. Understandably, the powerful process can result in internal “inclusions” and external “blemishes.” These are fancy words in the diamond industry for a diamond’s birthmarks, which also give each diamond distinct characteristics.
The number, size, nature and position of its inclusions and blemishes determine a diamond’s clarity. No diamond is perfect, but the closer it comes to perfection, the higher its value. A “flawless” diamond is very rare, and inclusions affect a diamond’s beauty, and price.
Internally Flawless
Very Very Slight Inclusions
Very Slight Inclusions
Slight Inclusions
Imperfect
Carat Weight - beyond size
This one may seem fairly self-explanatory, but there are a few things you need to know. Carat weight is a measure of a diamond’s weight, and a reflection of its size. So two diamonds of slightly different sizes may have the same carat weight. Size also depends on how evenly weight is distributed and the quality of the cut. So two diamonds with the same carat weight can vary greatly in value, depending on the color, clarity and most importantly, the cut. It’s really a matter of deciding what matters most to you, size or quality, and then finding the best combination of size, color and clarity for your budget.
