The Importance of Purity in Diamonds

You see, the overall purity and value of a diamond is dependent on the stone’s cut, color, carat and clarity, better known as the 4C’s among jewelers.

The diamond’s cut refers to the shape and number of facets that the diamond has, reflecting light and giving the diamond its signature fire (i.e. brilliance).  Color refers to the observable color tones that the diamonds have with colorless and fancy (i.e. remarkably colored diamonds – blue, argyle, or pink diamond) diamonds being the most prized among jewelers.  Carat refers to the overall weight of the diamond, while clarity refers to the absence of spots, feathers and other inclusions in the stone.  These 4 traits work interdependently and will affect the diamond’s overall value so you may find 2 diamonds of the same cut and carat but differing prices due to their clarity and color.  Likewise lower carat diamonds with better clarity, color and brilliance may become more valuable than higher carat stones with poor clarity and brilliance.  So take note of the 4C’s when shopping.

Now if you’re looking for a diamond ring for your partner, then we advise the following:

Instead of looking for higher diamond carat, know your partner’s ring size.  Take note that a big rock is useless if your partner can’t wear it.  The size of the stone is entirely up to you but take note that a higher carat needs to have better clarity as imperfections are more apparent in huge stones.  Take note that clarity for these rings are often in the range of slightly observable inclusions or very slight inclusions which are already rare and expensive.  But if you want to make statement and money isn’t an issue then “go ahead”.  Color on the other hand is pretty uniform as diamond engagement/wedding rings are usually within the range of near colorless to completely colorless (but beware, the colored ones may require you to use financial software to count the entire expense!).  You may look for other colors, however we advise sticking to near colorless stones.  As for cut, currently, there are 8 standard diamond cuts, but the most common for engagement and wedding rings are the round brilliant and the princess cut.  The former is the traditional cut and more expensive, but the unique square shape of the princess cut should not be overlooked (they’re also cheaper in general).  With that we bid you adieu and good look looking for that diamond!