Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat

CONFIDENCE!

The FOUR C's represent the jewelry industries guide to help us understand how different factors influence or take away from the beauty of a loose diamond.
We have added the FIFTH C, Confidence , because we feel it is the most important. You may read and re-read and then read some more about the 4 C's, and still end up with a less than beautiful diamond! However, having confidence in a jeweler to spend time explaining how each of the 4 C's relate to the beauty of a particular stone will insure your purchase is going to be the right one for you.

CUT

“Cut” is the least understood and perhaps the most important of the Four C's as it relates to the beauty of a loose diamond. The first 3 C's are important, but the cut of a diamond can make a huge difference in terms of the value and beauty of a stone. A diamond with an inferior cut can have superior color and clarity, yet
yield a stone that is lifeless and dull. If it is fire and brilliance you wish to see radiating from your diamond, choose a well cut stone, meaning one that has been cut to specific proportions. The laws of physics relating to light are instrumental
in the placement of tiny triangular facets within the diamond. There are 58 mirror like facets within the round brilliant stone. Each plays its part in sending a rainbow of colors dancing throughout the stone. If one or more of these facets is misplaced during cutting the ability of light to travel within the stone is incomplete.

Most people will confuse the term “Cut” with the shape of a diamond however shape is nothing more than the “intrinsic shape” of the diamond as viewed from
the top of the stone. Inherently, the cutter will decide when viewing the rough which shape will give him the best finished product. The most common shapes
for a finished loose diamond are round, marquise, oval, princess (square) pear, emerald, radiant and heart.

The diamond cutter has two basic types of cuts in his arsenal, the step cut and
the brilliant cut. The step cut has elongated parallel facets that usually span the
length or width of a stone as seen in an emerald cut diamond. The brilliant cut
has triangular facets that are intricately placed to reflect light from one facet to
another within the stone. A round brilliant cut diamond will have 58 of these triangular facets-33 above the middle of the stone (the girdle) and 25 below.

Now you can begin to understand how cut can play such an important role in the beauty of a diamond. If the cutter does not align his facets properly or if he has poorly formed facets, the light will enter the top of the stone, become misdirected and exit the stone prematurely. However, if the facets are precisely aligned, light will enter the stone and travel from facet to facet to facet and create a brilliant display of fire and sparkle

COLOR

The “color” of a diamond refers to its degree of “yellowness” or body color.
The ideal and rarest diamond is completely colorless, and therefore it will be the most expensive. The Gemological Institute of American (G.I.A.) grades color alphabetically from D (totally colorless) to Z (yellow):

In order for a diamond to be considered “colorless” G.I.A. requires that it be
graded a D, E, or F. Since the D-Z color scale is continuous, the difference
between an F and G is very small and most times undetectable to most shoppers.
In fact, most people will not begin to see yellow in a diamond until the color grade is lower than J. It may help to know the type of setting you plan to use when selecting a particular color grade. If you plan to mount the stone in a platinum or white gold setting, consider a diamond in the D-G range. Yellow gold however will be much more forgiving to a less than colorless stone.

CLARITY

Clarity is a measure of tiny internal flaws or birthmarks inside a stone.
The fewer the flaws, the more valuable the stone. Completely flawless diamonds are extremely rare.

There are many different types of flaws. Some are very obvious when viewed under a 10X microscope, and some are difficult to find. There are several clarity levels used in grading a stone from FL (completely flawless) to I1-I3 (imperfect). I2-I3 diamonds will contain flaws you can see with your naked eye. For this reason, you may want to avoid purchasing a stone with an I2-I3 grading.

Many people make clarity the least important of the 4 C's when purchasing their diamond. The reason being, why spend a huge amount of money for a VVS stone when you may be able to acquire an SI stone that will look the same to the naked eye?

CARAT WEIGHT

“Carat Weight” is quite simply the weight of a diamond. A carat is usually subdivided into points. A one carat diamond is said to be 100 points. A ¾ carat diamond = .75 points, a ½ carat diamond = .50 points and so on. Do not confuse the weight of a stone with its size . You may find a diamond that is one carat by weight, but looks much smaller or much larger. Again, this will relate back to the cut. Ideally, a well cut one carat round diamond will have a diameter of 6.5mm.

In closing, I think you can see why we have added the Fifth C'. CONFIDENCE .
You should CHOOSE A JEWELER who will share with you ALL the important
factors in selecting the perfect diamond.

Visit Hostetters Jewelry today for the personal service you deserve.
We stock a large selection of beautiful diamonds and would be happy to
assist you in choosing just the right stone. We are jewelers you can trust
to support your fine jewelry needs today and into the future.