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Diamonds: Concepts, Considerations and Clarity -
15 Aug 2007

Diamonds: Concepts, Considerations and Clarity -
Selecting Just the Right Diamond

Summary of part 1: We began the discussion of how to choose the right diamond for your needs. We defined the terms and explained various cuts and the clarity of diamonds. In this article, we begin with...

Diamond Color
The color of a diamond refers to the relative amount of color in white diamonds. Truly clear diamonds reflect light best, and as they are also very rare, they are also more expensive. Diamond color is graded on a letter scale that goes from D, entirely clear, to Z, which has a yellowish or brownish color. Grades D,E, and F are considered to be colorless. Grades G, H, I, and J are considered to be near colorless, but any diamond between D and I will not have color visible to an untrained eye. As stones move from J to M the coloring may not be noticeable depending on the setting, but beyond M, the color becomes gradually more yellowish/brownish.

While stones which are more clear than colored are generally more expensive, some people enjoy the slightly warm color of more yellow diamonds. Of course diamonds that have more exotic colors, such as blue or pink or green, are not graded in the same way and are usually more expensive because of the rarity of finding high quality boldly colored diamonds.

Diamond Carat Weight
A carat is a unit of measurement equal to .2 grams or 200 milligrams. The word carat comes from carob seeds which were used to weigh precious stones in a balance. Because the formations process makes large diamonds more rare, diamond prices rise exponentially with carat size. Of the four grading qualities, carat size is the most obviously visible. Differences in cut, clarity, and color might only be visible to trained observers or under the microscope, but everyone will notice size.

Diamond Certification
There are 2 primary agencies which certify diamonds. They are the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gem Society (AGS) - in fact they are the two largest independent certifiers of diamonds. The difference between a certificate and an appraisal is that an appraisal tells you the monetary value of a diamond without describing its precise qualities, and a certificate describes the precise qualities without placing a specific monetary value on the gem. A certificate shows the specifications for that individual stone - its measurements, the grade of its cut, clarity, and color, as well as its carat weight. A certificate also maps out any flaws on the diamond, so that if that stone should be stolen or go missing, it could still be identified because each diamond is slightly different.

How do you know what you are getting when you buy a diamond? Certificates will help you to compare diamonds while you are shopping, ensuring you that you will actually be getting the diamond that you think you are getting. They will also be of use if you ever decide to sell your diamond. Certificates add a measure of "comfort" because without a certificate, you can find and purchase non-certified diamonds, but unless you are an expert you will only have the seller’s word for the diamond’s quality.

As is true in most fields of business, corruption can be found in the diamond trade as well. There is a lot of money involved and the corruption begins with the workers in the mine and ends at the top. Workers are often exploited like slaves and given little of the money which the larger corporations make on diamonds. People have been known to kill each other for the sake of the gems, and there is a significant black market for diamonds. Unfortunately, governments and organizations, especially in Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, often use the profit from diamond sales to support their continuing abuse of human rights and military operations. Buying a rock with a certificate is one way to protect yourself from buying stolen diamonds. Unfortunately buying diamonds that are conflict-free and free-trade can be difficult and expensive - fortunately there is a growing consumer demand for conflict-free diamonds, which means that a growing number of distributors are making an effort to be sure that their diamonds haven’t been used to support war or exploitation.

Diamond Shape
Diamonds can be cut into a number of different shapes. Most diamonds are round cut, and a number of other cuts - at least with larger diamonds - are determined by the original shape of the rough diamond. There is a list of standard shapes as well as the possibility of cutting custom shapes. The following is a short description of the most common diamond shapes:

Diamonds that have 58 facets per diamond are called Round and they account for 75% of commercial diamond sales - making it the most common diamond shape. The round shape is also often called round brilliant. An oval cut is rounded and perfectly symmetrical and apparently appreciated because of its lengthening effect on short fingers. Marquise cuts are like an oval only pointy on the ends like a football or lemon. A pear shape diamond is an oval on one side and marquise on the other side; it looks like a beautiful teardrop. A heart-shaped cut really doesn’t require much explanation and is often thought to be very romantic. For a heart-shaped diamond you will be even more able to tell the quality of the cut because there is so much detail to the cut. The emerald cut is essentially rectangular with cut off corners (not rounded) and flaws are more visible in emerald cuts because they have larger facets. Diamonds that are square or rectangular gems with square corners and have many facets are called Princess cut. The sparkle of princess cut is comparable to round cut and is one of the newest types of cuts and has become quite popular. Radiant cut diamonds are square or rectangular and have 70 facets as well as a high depth percentage to maximize sparkle. A cushion cut is somewhere between an oval and an emerald cut that is reminiscent of old style cuts that are no longer popular. Finally, diamonds with trilliant shape are triangles with or without rounded edges.

In part 3 we will discuss the types and styles of diamond settings and conclude with a brief primer on buying diamonds.

About the Author:
Kirby Hamilton loves diamond (his wife reminds him often). He's also the webmaster for a moving and relocation website where he assists visitors to find the just the right moving boxes, shipping companies, rental trucks, supplies to get o rganized, and of course bubble wrap, moving tape and moving supplies when they move from your homes or businesses.