What are the Four C’s?

If you’re going for a ring set with Diamonds, it’s worth knowing what signs to look out for when searching for a good quality stone.  The best way to ensure you’re getting the best quality Diamond is to follow the 4Cs.

Clarity
The clarity of a Diamond refers to the blemishes that the Diamond possesses. Almost every Diamond on the market will have some level of inclusions or imperfections. The fewer inclusions the more valuable the Diamond will be. Most inclusions cannot be seen by the naked eye meaning they will not affect the beauty of the ring you are buying. 

Clarity is ranked on the below scale

  • Flawless (FL) - No inclusions are visible 

  • Internally Flawless (IF) - No inclusions and only blemishes are visible 

  • Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1 and VVS2) - Inclusions are difficult to see

  • Very Slightly Included (VS1 and VS2) - Inclusions are minor and difficult to somewhat easy to see

  • Slightly Included (SI1 and SI2) - Inclusions are noticeable 

  • Included (I1, I2, and I3) - Inclusions are obvious 

For more information on clarity, click here to read the GIA clarity grading scale.

GIA clarity

Cut
The Diamond cut is very often confused with the Diamond shape – there’s a big difference. When you’re looking at the standard of the cut, you’re looking at the quality of how the Diamond has been crafted and shaped. It’s the only C that is entirely manipulated by the Diamond cutter and how well it’s done will hugely impact the retail price.

Diamonds are graded from Excellent to Poor based on the assessment of seven components. 

  • Brightness - the total light reflected from a diamond

  • Fire - the dispersion of light into the colours of the spectrum

  • Scintillation - The pattern of light and dark areas and the flashes of light, or sparkle

  • Weight ratio

  • Durability

  • Polish

  • Symmetry

GIA Cut scale

Colour
The colour of the Diamond refers to how clear or discoloured the diamond is. The whiter the Diamond, the higher its value will be. A Diamond will be tested by seeing how much light passes through, a colourless Diamond will allow more light to pass through it and will always pass off a larger amount of brilliance.

Diamonds are generally colourless or near colourless (they may have shades of yellow or brown.) A Diamond which is completely colourless is more desirable than one which is slightly yellow. 

We use the GIA colour scale to grade our Diamonds from D being colourless to Z.

GIA colour scale

Carat
Carats are the weight measurement used for Diamonds. There’s 100 points in one carat, a Diamond with 50 points would be described as a half-carat.

A Diamonds carat measures the weight not the size of a diamond. A Diamond with a large carat weight will make it a valuable Diamond because of its rarity, however a Diamond can appear larger than its actual weight depending on the way it is cut and set. If the ring you choose is a Diamond cluster ring the carat weight refers to the total weight of all the stones together.

GIA carat scale