|
Diamonds
Your
Guide to Diamonds of Quality
For centuries,
men and women have found that the sparkle and brilliance
of a quality diamond express their deepest emotions
and symbolize their enduring love. Yet with many
beautiful diamonds to choose from, and no two alike,
how do you pick the right diamond while spending
wisely? Educating yourself along with the guidance
of your trusted jeweler, Peter & Co. Jewelers,
will lead you to the answer.
To establish
a diamond’s quality, jewelers examine each
of the Four C's: cut, clarity, carat weight, and
color. The combination of the Four C's determines
the value of a particular diamond. The finest stones
possess the rarest quality in each of the Four C's,
and are the most valuable.
When you
start to think about buying a diamond, and the love
it will symbolize, you naturally want the best you
can afford and a beautiful stone you will treasure
forever. Diamonds can be found in a range of prices,
and you are certain to find one that suits your
taste and what you plan to spend. |
|
The FOUR C's
CARAT
Larger diamonds are found relatively infrequently in
nature, which places them at the rarest level. What also
makes a bigger diamond so desirable is that it shows off
a stone’s fine color and cut, and therefore its
brilliance, to its best advantage.
A diamond’s size is measured in carat weight, and
each carat is equal to 100 points. A 0.75 carat diamond
is the same as a 75-point diamond or a ¾ carat
stone.
While larger diamonds are highly prized, diamonds of
equal size may vary widely in value and brilliance, depending
on their qualities of clarity, cut and color.
CLARITY
The greater a diamond’s clarity, the more brilliant,
valuable, and rare it is. Virtually all natural diamonds
contain identifying characteristics, yet many are invisible
to the naked eye. Under the magnification of a 10x jeweler’s
loupe, natural phenomena, called inclusions can be seen.
These are nature’s birthmarks, and they may look
like crystals, clouds or feathers. Diamonds categorized
as internally flawless reveal no such inclusions. The
larger the inclusion or
the larger the number of inclusions, the lower the grade
and the less rare the diamond. The number, color, type,
size, and position of the clarity characteristics affect
a diamond’s value.
| 
