The Basics of Loose Diamond Selection

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What do I Need to Know When Selecting a Loose Diamond?

Everyone knows that it is important to understand how to select a diamond. Everyone has also heard about the 4 c's of diamond selection. This site will serve as a place to ask all of your questions about diamonds and learn more than you knew you could!

Diamond Cut

What does a diamond’s cut refer to? Cut has to do with the angles and proportions that a trained craftsman makes. Diamonds begin rough and are then converted into the more polished version that we wear as jewelry. Diamonds reflect light from one facet to another, dispersing the light to reflect it out of the top for greater brilliance. The better the cut, the more brilliant the diamond will appear. A less well-cut diamond may leak some light out of the sides or bottom and can be seen under close scrutiny.

Color

Color, like clarity and carat weight, is determined by natural forces as diamonds are formed in the earth. Diamonds can be that wonderful icy color which looks great against white gold or platinum. They can also be a warmer white (warmer colors look nice against yellow gold) and many other shades as well. The most colorless diamonds are considered the most valuable, and they are graded on a scale from D (the most colorless) to Z (least colorless). Diamonds that are meant to be colored, such as yellow, blue, or pink, are graded differently, and may even be more valuable than their clear counterparts.

A Diamond's Carat

The Carat of a loose diamond is another, and perhaps the most obvious, indicator of the loose diamond’s value. It has to do with weight rather than size. A single carat is 200 milligrams or 100 points. Larger diamonds are, of course, worth more. Traditional carat size for a loose diamond range begin around1/3 carat and up to 2 carats. Larger sizes are available and are elegant to say the least.

Clarity

Clarity, along with cut, determines brilliance, and is a measure of the size and quantity of internal flaws a diamond contains. Most diamonds being sold at a store will not have any inclusions (flaws) visible to the naked eye, so clarity is determined by viewing the diamond under very strong magnification. A diamond rated IF is the most valuable and is considered “internally flawless.” Few diamonds meet this standard, and the ones that do will be much more expensive.

Loose Diamond Links

2006-06-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

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Information on Loose Diamonds

The Basics of Loose Diamond Selection

Loose Diamond Links