Clarity:

The clarity of a diamond was determined millions of years ago, when the diamond formed through heat and pressure. The part of the diamond which did not crystallize when it came to the earth's surface, are called blemishes or inclusions. Clarity refers to grading the number, size and location of the inclusions in the diamond. Inclusions are road blocks for light. When light comes down into a diamond, and it passes through to an inclusion, the inclusion blocks the light from being reflected back up to our eyes in the form of sparkle. Thus, the more inclusions a diamond has, the less sparkle it has. The diamond actually looks cloudier. The less inclusions a diamond has, the more sparkle it has, because there are less roadblocks for light.

Clarity	FL	IF	VVS1	VVS2	VS1	VS2	SI1	SI2	I1	I2	I3
Scale	Flawless-Internally Flawless		Very Very Slightly Imperfect		Very Slightly Imperfect		Slightly Imperfect		Imperfect

Clarity is graded by using gem scopes with a minimum of 10 power magnification. Clarity ranges from the highest grade of flawless (FL) to the lowest grade of imperfect (I). The more inclusions a diamond has can effect its durability and its value dramatically. Come into Arthur's, and let a diamond expert show you differences among diamonds.

Color:

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Colour assorting there the “white to yellow system” then “fancy colours” and separated on priority basis with respect to semi coated diamonds.

White colour shades are more valuable then yellow and browns. Particularly colour grading is done with the help of shading pad. Which contains thick whitish colour paper senses as a background to the diamonds. And the precise difference of colour can be easily recognised through the lnses of the Tripod. Even it is not much difficult to view the colour shades through naked eye. However until and unless there is enough daylight the diamonds should be focused under the help of florescent light.

One of the most important factor in valuing diamonds is the colour of diamond. Diamond are graded by the colour using a letter from D to Z (Z+ for fancy colours). D, E and F are colourless, very rare and more expensive. G, H, I and J nearly colourless, but a trained jeweller can detact of barely perceptible tint of colour. This minor variations can be demonstrated by watching different colour diamonds side-by-side.

Fancy colourColor refers to how colorless a diamond is, or to how much body color it has. In fact, diamonds range from perfecdtly colorless to yellowish, with many gradations in between. Colorless diamonds are the most beautiful and the rarest of all. Subtle color variations dramatically effect the value and the beauty of a diamond. When a diamond has more body color, it appears darker and less brilliant. The reason for this is when light passes through a diamond, to get its body color, it must absorb some of that light, thus less light is reflected back up to your eye. When a diamond is more colorless, it appears brighter and more beautiful. Less light is absorbed by the diamond and more light is returned to your eye in the form of sparkle. Therefore, color is very important to the overall beauty of a diamond.


Fancy Faint Yellow

Color	D   E   F	G  H  I  J	K  L  M	N   O   P   Q   R	S T U V W X Y Z	Fancy
Scale	Colorless	Near Colorless	Faint Yellow	Very Light Yellow	<--Light Yellow-->	Color

Many jewelers lack expertise to accurately classify a diamond's color. Others, regardless of their expertise, inflate the color grade in order to increase their profits. To protect yourself, ask to see many loose diamonds side by side in order to see color differences. One needs to see at least 4 to 5 loose diamonds at a time, and side by side, to see color differences. Also, never buy a diamond mounted in a setting. The best way to see color differences is when diamonds are loose.

CUT:

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The word “cut” has different meanings. It is synonymous to “the making” a combination of operations (Cleaving, Sawing, Bruting, Polishing) resulting in the shape of a diamond. These may have different forms and various “styles” : Brilliant Cut, Single Cut, Rose Cut, Mixed,...

Many Gemologist consider cut to be the most important of the 4 C’s (Clarity, Cut, Colour and Carat). If a diamond is not cut to good proportions reflected light will be lost through the side or bottom, resulting in a dull and less brilliant appearance. When diamond is cut from good to ideal proportions, light will reflect within the diamond crystal and disperse through the top, resulting in a display of brilliance and fire

The only one of the 4C’s that is within our control is a diamond’s cut. Cut is the result of the workers skill in transforming a rough diamond into the polished diamond.

Cut has the biggest impact on the beauty of diamonds and the least amount of difference in their price. The word cut has several meanings when it comes to diamonds. The cut of a diamond does not just mean its shape (round brilliant, princess, oval, cushion, etc.) but also addresses the symmetry, polishing, angles and the proportions of each physical aspect of the diamond.

Top to produce the much desired sparkle. The angles have to be exactly right to effectively reflect the light back to your eye.

Diamonds are cut by different diamond cutters with different levels of skill. Each rough diamond crystal has its own distinct inclusions occurring at random locations. Diamond cutters are trying to cut the biggest and heaviest diamond from the rough crystal. Cutting diamonds to the best possible cut usually means losing diamond carat weight in the cutting process. There is always a compromise between beauty and size. Some cutters are better than others and are also willing to take the extra time to do it right.

Most diamonds are not cut for beauty; they are cut for weight retention. This translates into huge differences in the beauty and value of the diamonds. The angles are off and a significant amount of light can not be reflected back up to your eye. Two diamonds may be the same size, and have the same color and clarity grades; but by just changing the cut grade of a diamond, there could be as much as 40-45% difference in value between those two diamonds. Also, a diamond cut for weight retention will look flat and unattractive next to a well cut diamond. Cut is the most important quality characteristic in determining a diamonds beauty and value.

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CARAT:

The name Carat is derived from the Greek name for the Carob tree. Ancient pearl traders used the seeds of Carob tree as unit of weight. Such a seed weights approx 0.197 gr.

In 1907, the carat weights was adapted to the metric system. The metric carat equals to 0.200 gram. In 1913, carat weight was standardized internationally and adapted to the metric system. One carat equals 0.2 grams - a little more than 0.007 ounce. In other words, it takes 142 carats to equal 1 ounce. It is the unit of weights for diamonds and precious stones. Diamonds, weighting less than 1 carat are measured in points (or cent).

A diamond of 10 points (cents) is a diamond that weighs 0.10 carat.
1 grain equals to 0.25 carat, A diamond of 4 grains is a diamond that weighs 1.00 carat.

1 Gram = 5 Carat
1 Carat = 0.2 Gram
1 Carat = 100 Cents (Points)
Pointers = Cent.
1 Carat = 4 grain
1 grain = 25 points (cents)
1.00 Carat = 0.200 Gram = 100 Cents = 4 Grains

Different terms are used to describe different sizes such as -2, star, melee, pointers, quaters, halfs, solitaire.

Two terms, carat and karat are often confused. In the US, karat refers to the fineness of gold alloys (pure gold is 24 karat; 14 karat is 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals) and carat refers to gem weights.

The weight of small diamonds is frequently expressed in points, with one point equaling 0.01 carats. For example, five points is a short way of saying 5/100 of a carat and fifty points equates to a half carat.