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Diamonds 101DIAMONDS 101
RARE + PRECIOUS = VALUE
Despite the fact that diamonds seem to be readily available in our world today, diamonds are extremely rare and very precious. After intense pressure and temperature, diamonds were formed billions of years ago approximately 100 miles beneath the earth's surface. It takes approximately 250 tons of ore from the Kimberlite mine to produce a one-carat gem quality diamond. A diamond will probably touch four continents, before it is purchased to wear. The science phenomenons involved in the life of a diamond include: * natural formation deep inside the earth * discovery of a diamond mine * mining skills and technology * planning and cutting diamonds from the rough piece * implementing the best cut for beauty * Setting the diamond into a jewelry piece THE FOUR C's OF DIAMONDS
To truly determine the value of a diamond one must evaluate the four C's of the diamond. Each step up in each "c" category adds value to the diamond.
#1 CARAT In the jewelry industry bigger is not always better. A carat is the weight of a diamond. One carat is equal to 100 points. A half carat is equal to 50 points.
(An easy comparison is one dollar is equal to 100 cents)
#2 CUT The cut is very important factor for the sparkle of a diamond. When a diamond is perfectly cut, it maximizes the light that comes in and reflects it back out of the diamond giving that amazing scintillation and
beauty. .gif) The term color is actually used in comparison to colorless. Diamonds are graded according to how much tint appears within it. The best color grade is D and becomes more color tinted as you continue alphabetically. .jpg) #4 CLARITY
Probably the most confusing characteristic, clarity, describes the flawlessness or presence of inclusions. These characteristics are formed inside the diamond during the crystallization process. There are imperfections that may also occur on the surface during the cutting process.
FL / IF Flawless or Internally Flawles VVS1 /VVS2 Very, Very Small Inclusions. Requires 60X magnification to clearly see inclusions. VS1 / VS2 SI1 / SI2 Small Inclusions. Typically requires 10X magnification to clearly see inclusions. In larger carat weights, SI diamonds sometimes reveal their inclusions to the naked eye. Nonetheless, as long as you are careful to consider each stone individually, you can often find the best value in an SI1 or SI2 diamond. I1 I2 / I3  |
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