The_Four

The Four "C's" of Diamond Buying

A fully faceted Diamond is complete with 58 facets in all, which are small, flat, polished surfaces cut into a Diamond shape. The cut allows the Diamonds to make the best use of light by reflecting from one facet to another the dispersed throughout the top of the Diamond giving the stone it's "fire." When a cut is too shallow or too deep the light is allowed to escape before reflecting through the top of the stone.

Symbol	Meaning	Definition
F	Flawless	Free from all inclusions or blemishes.
IF	Internally Flawless	No inclusions visible at 10x magnification.
VVS1	Very Very Slightly Included #1	Inclusions that are extremely difficult to locate at 10x.
VVS2	Very Very Slightly Included #2	Inclusions that are very difficult to locate at 10x.
VS1	Very Slightly Included #1	Minor inclusions that are difficult to locate at 10x.
VS2	Very Slightly Included #2	Minor inclusions that are somewhat difficult to locate at 10x.
SI1	Slightly Included #1	Noticeable inclusions that are easy to locate at 10x.
SI2	Slightly Included #2	Noticeable inclusion that are very easy to locate at 10x.
SI3	Slightly Included #3	Some inclusions may be seen with the unaided eye.
I1	Included #1	Obvious inclusions. Somewhat easy to locate with the unaided eye.
I2	Included #2	Obvious inclusions. Easy to locate with the unaided eye.
I3	Included #3	Obvious inclusions. Very easy to locate with the unaided eye.

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Three Rivers, Michigan
www.UniQJewelry.com

(269) 278-UNIQ (8647)

Cut

Carat Weight

The size of a Diamond is determined by it's carat weight. A carat is divided into 100 points; for example, a Diamond said to be 1/4 carat is 25 points or .25 carats. The larger Diamonds are more valuable and are rare to find. However with Diamonds, bigger is not necessarily better; all four "C's" should be examined and taken into consideration.

Clarity

Most Diamonds contain inclusions which are a natural "birthmark" and are considered the "fingerprint" of a Diamond. The clarity of a Diamond is determined under a magnification power of 10 by the trained eye of a professional jeweler, who takes into account the number, type, and location of the inclusions. The fewer "birthmarks" in the stone, the more valuable.

Color

The Diamond is the only stone you would want an absence of color -- this adds to it's value. A Diamond devoid of color acts as a prism to form a rainbow of colors with the cut of the Diamond; commonly called "fire." This scale shows the color range from colorless to a degree of yellow tint. Visible differences between one color grade to the next are very subtle.