Basic Diamond facts

Every diamond is immensely old, formed long before dinosaurs roamed the earth. The youngest diamond is 900 million years old and the oldest is 3.2 billion years old.

Every diamond is unique; no two are alike.

The word 'diamond' comes from the Greek term adamas meaning unconquerable.

Diamonds exist in many colors, the rarest of all is red.

Diamonds were first mined in India more than 2800 years ago.

Each stone loses, on average, more than half its original weight during cutting and polishing.

The word"carat" comes from the carob tree whose seed was used as the standard of weighing precious stones.

Les than 5% of all the diamonds made into jewelry are larger than one carat.

4 C's Of Diamonds

Various characteristics of diamonds are graded and categorized by the diamond industry. Learning about diamonds is first learning about the "four Cs" of diamonds which are considered the most important grades and categories:

• Cut
• Clarity
• Color
• Carat weight

These are the criteria jewelers use when grading diamonds, and they're the ones you'll need to understand to buy the right diamond for you. We stock all sizes, shapes and qualities of diamonds and we recognize that finding the right diamond can be a challenge.

The Four C's

Cut

The term cut refers more to the proportions of the diamonds than to its shape, i.e. round, marquise, emerald, princess, oval, pear, etc. Every diamond, regardless of its shape, gets its brilliance through expert cutting and polishing which allows the maximum amount of light entering the table (top flat surface) and crown (angled top surface) to be refracted back out. A diamond need not be an "ideal" cut in order to be beautiful and brilliant, but it does need to be cut within certain ranges.

Color

Diamonds occur naturally in every color of the rainbow, but for most consumers, the ideal color of a diamond is actually an absence of color. The Gemological Institute of America has established color grades ranging from D, E, F (colorless) and near colorless (G,H,I,J) to Fancy Intense Yellow to help consumers quantify the color of diamonds. The color or, more accurately, absence of color, in a diamond contributes significantly to its brightness and scintillation.

Clarity

The clarity of a diamond is determined by the number and location of naturally occurring internal characteristics called inclusions when it is viewed under 10-power (10x) magnification. The location and size of these inclusions is important because they can interfere with the refraction of light, thus impacting the brilliance of your diamond. Inclusions that are not under the "table" of the diamond, generally have less impact on the brilliance of the stone.

Carat Weight

Carat refers not to the size of the diamond, but to the weight. It is possible for a diamond to weigh one carat, but look significantly larger or smaller. Carat weight is affected greatly by cutting, but size is the first thing most people notice about a diamond and is often the criterion by which the casual eye appraises a stone.

The Gemological Institute of America, GIA, is the creator of the famous 4C's of diamond value and the birthplace of the International Diamond Grading System. Please visit their website for comprehensive information on all aspects of diamond grading and other helpful information for consumers www.gia.edu.