Diamonds We Know
Diamond, the first of the five precious stones, symbolizes flawless purity, fidelity and eternal sparkle, and is the best symbol of love. The diamond ring has become the most important token of marriage. Diamonds have also steadily increased in value by 5%-10% or more each year, making them a luxury item that everyone loves.
However, as diamonds are a valuable item, people are usually more cautious when buying them, and they will consider them more than others before making a purchase. But do you really know how to judge the quality of the diamonds you buy?
Diamond Grading
As we all know, the internationally accepted diamond grading system is determined by the “4C” factors, namely the weight carat, clarity, color and cut of the diamond. As long as consumers have a good grasp of the 4Cs of diamonds, they can greatly reduce the possibility of suffering losses and being cheated. How are the 4Cs of diamonds judged? Learn the following and you too can be a diamond expert.
Carat weight is the unit of weight of a diamond
The international unit of measurement for diamond weight is “carat”, usually abbreviated to “ct”. Carat weight is one of the 4Cs of diamonds. The weight of a diamond is the easiest feature to measure among the 4Cs, and carat weight is equivalent to the charm of a diamond. The higher the carat weight, the more valuable the diamond is.
Meanwhile, from the perspective of jewelry use, diamonds must have a certain size and weight in order to realize the fascinating optical effect. As small diamonds are too small to realize a good enough brilliance, the cluster setting technique is often used to realize its collective effect. Generally speaking, a diamond with a carat of 30 points or more is able to better realize the brilliance of a diamond, and for the fire effect of a diamond, the weight of the diamond needs to reach 70 points or more in order to have a complete display. Therefore, carat is the basis for the beautiful optical effect of a diamond.
During the diamond cutting process, the normal loss rate is about 50%-75%, which means that the diamond yield rate is only 50%-25%. The scarcity of diamond resources, the relatively low production of large-grained diamonds and the low yield rate of production and processing determine that large diamonds are bound to have expensive value attribut
How many grams is 1 carat and how many points does 1 carat equal?
How many grams is 1 carat? Nowadays, 1 carat = 200 milligrams = 0.2 grams; one carat equals 0.2 grams. Diamonds weighing less than 1 carat are also usually measured in points, abbreviated as pt. 1 carat = 100 points; 0.75 carats is also known as 75 points.
The “carat premium” phenomenon
The higher the diamond grade, the greater the effect of weight on price. This is especially true for diamonds of critical weight. With the same color, clarity, and cut, the value of a diamond increases geometrically as its weight increases, i.e., the price increases in steps.
Diamond price = carat squared x carat base price.
There is a “carat premium” between the prices of diamonds in terms of whole number of points, and even if there is only a 1-point difference, the price of a 99-point diamond is still very different from that of a 1-ct diamond.
Diamond Grading Criteria
According to the customary classification of the diamond industry, diamonds below 0.05ct are considered as broken diamonds, 0.05ct-0.22ct are considered as small diamonds, 0.23ct-1ct are considered as medium diamonds, 1ct and above are considered as large diamonds, 10.8ct-50ct are considered as extra large diamonds, and 50ct and above are considered as prestigious diamonds. Generally speaking, only diamonds weighing more than 100ct are eligible for inclusion in the world’s famous diamonds, if they are not rare in color or otherwise exceptional.
Diamonds smaller than 0.2 carats are not graded according to national standards, while diamonds from 0.2 to 1 carat can be graded either as a rough diamond or as a mounted diamond, and diamonds larger than 1 carat must be graded according to the 4Cs detailed grading standard for rough diamonds.
COLOUR color is the innate beauty of diamonds.
Diamonds can split light into a multitude of colors and can reflect this light to form a colorful sparkle, such as through tinted glasses, where the color of the diamond will act as a filter. The color of the diamond will act as a filter, thus reducing the spillage of reflected light. The lighter the color of the diamond, the stronger the color of the flash and the higher the color grade.
Diamonds are divided into two major color families, the colorless family and the colored family. The common colorless series include colorless transparent, nearly colorless and light yellow, while the colored series include deep yellow, blue, pink and black. Diamonds are graded according to the color scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which ranges from “D” (clear and colorless, starting with the first letter of the diamond) to “Z” (yellowish-brown). Fancy color diamonds are extremely rare and expensive, and the normal color grading system is not applicable to fancy color diamonds.
Color grades D, E, and F, also known as transparent colorless, are extremely rare, and the difference between them has to be distinguished by experts. The more common colors are G-J, also known as nearly colorless, which are easier for experts to distinguish, and vary according to one’s color resolution. Colors below K, also known as light champagne, are easier to distinguish and are also much cheaper.
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
GIA is the founder of the 4C grading system for diamonds, and the GIA standard is used as a reference by grading organizations around the world.
The CUT cut determines the degree of sparkle of the diamond.
The cut of a diamond – its roundness, depth, width, and evenness of facets – determines its brilliance. Many gemologists consider the cut of a diamond to be the most important diamond characteristic. This is because even if a diamond has perfect color and clarity, a poor cut can cause a diamond to lose its brilliance.
EX Ideal Cut: A standard that only 3% of top quality diamonds can achieve. This cut allows the diamond to reflect almost all the light that enters the diamond.
VG Very Good Cut: About 15% of diamonds achieve this grade of cut. It allows the diamond to reflect the same light as a standard grade cut, and is slightly less expensive than an EX.
G Good Cut: About 25% of diamonds are of this cut. It is the diamond that reflects most of the light that enters the interior of the diamond and is much cheaper than the VG grade.
F General Cut: About 35% of diamonds are of this cut, which is a qualified diamond, but the reflected light of a diamond processed with a general cut is far less than that of a G-grade cut.
P Poor Cut: A diamond with a cut grade of P is a poorly cut diamond and will reflect and refract light to a much lesser degree.
The cut also depends on polish and symmetry.
Cut also includes polish and symmetry.
Polish: Polishing increases the brilliance of the diamond. There are 5 grades according to the degree of polishing excellence: EX > VG > G > F > P.
Symmetry: Symmetry is the judgment of the degree of symmetry of a diamond cut, including roundness, degree of table deviation, degree of base deviation, etc. EX>VG>G>F>P.
It takes the best Cut, the best Polish and the best Symmetry to give a diamond (known in the industry as a 3EX Perfect Cut) the best fire and the perfect eight-arrow, eight-centered effect.
Clarity is the natural birthmark of a diamond.
Each diamond contains natural inclusions, which are like natural birthmarks. The number, size, shape, color, and position of these inclusions determine the purity and uniqueness of a diamond.
Clarity is a description of the degree of flaws within a diamond. Diamond clarity is graded by a professional under 10x magnification, based on the size and amount of inclusions in the diamond. Flaws affecting the clarity of a diamond are generally categorized into two parts, namely internal flaws and surface flaws. Depending on the visibility, type, number and distribution of the flaws, a diamond’s clarity can be categorized into a number of grades:
FL, IF grade diamonds:
FL (Flawless) – no inclusions or gaps when viewed under 10x magnification.
IF(Internally Flawless)—Observed under ten times magnification, there is no inclusions, only small crystalline surfaces on the surface of the girdle prongs, etc.
VVS1,VVS2 grade diamonds:
VVS1(Very Very Small Inclusions)—Diamonds have tiny inclusions that are extremely difficult to detect under ten times magnification.
VVS2(Very Very Small Inclusions)—Diamonds have extremely tiny inclusions that are difficult to detect under ten times magnification.
VS1,VS2 grade diamonds:
VS1(Very Small Inclusions)—Diamonds have small inclusions that are difficult to see under ten times magnification.
VS2(Very Small Inclusions)—Diamonds have small inclusions that are difficult to observe under ten times magnification.
SI1,SI2 grade diamonds:
Diamonds have distinctive inclusions, which are easily observed in SI1 (Small Inclusions) and SI2 (Small Inclusions) under ten times magnification.
P-grade diamonds: P1, P2 and P3 grade diamonds, with flaws visible to the naked eye, are mostly used for industrial purposes.
4C+F. What's F?
Fluorescence in 4C+F is the fluorescence intensity of a diamond when exposed to ultraviolet light! Fluorescence refers to the intensity of colored light, such as blue or yellow light, that a diamond emits when exposed to strong UV rays. Implicitly, this means that we cannot normally see it, but in the summer sun, when UV rays are strong, we can feel the fluorescence of a diamond with strong fluorescence. Otherwise, fluorescence has no effect on how we wear the diamond, but it does have a real effect on the price.
There are five grades of fluorescence in the GIA certificate: N (None), F (Faint), M (Medium), S (Strong), VS (Very Strong).
Principles of Fluorescence
The principle of fluorescence is that when a diamond is irradiated by ultraviolet light, due to nitrogen atom impurities, the ultraviolet energy is absorbed by it and then immediately re-emitted at lower energy levels or longer wavelengths. The lower energy fluorescence we see is the blue fluorescence, which is non-radioactive, has no radiation, and will not have any effect on your health.
Fluorescent Shadow Diamond Price
Fluorescence has an effect on the price of diamonds, and diamonds with fluorescence are cheaper than those without fluorescence. The fluorescence level of a diamond has a great impact on the price of diamonds with D-G color greater than 50 points VS grade or above. Generally speaking, weak fluorescence can affect the price by about 5%, medium fluorescence will affect the price by about 7%-10%, and strong fluorescence will affect the price of diamonds with higher color by up to 30% or even more. The stronger the fluorescence, the greater the effect on the higher color diamonds, up to 30% or even more. Extremely strong fluorescence basically lowers the price by 35% compared to non-fluorescent diamonds, and it generally has a greater effect on the price of 1-2 carat diamonds of D, E and F. The stronger the fluorescence, the more the colorless diamonds will be, the more the colors will become hazy (clearer under a 10x lens), which affects the translucence of the diamonds of higher colors. For diamonds below J color, although fluorescence can make the diamond appear white, the price will still be 5%-10% lower. For diamonds with color as low as M color, fluorescence has basically no effect on the price, and the price of small diamonds below 20 points is basically not affected, and the price of diamonds with high clarity VVS is also affected to a certain extent by 20-50 points.
What are the parameters of a cost-effective diamond?
Recommended colors are F, G, H (colorless – nearly colorless) and VS (slightly flawed) clarity. The diamonds in this area have medium to high parameters, and are very good as marriage proposal tokens and wedding anniversary souvenirs, with a high price/performance ratio. They are the favorite of diamond buyers, and in daily wear, non-professionals will find it difficult to detect the subtle differences between “colorless” and “nearly colorless”, and “flawless” and “slightly flawed”, which can easily be regarded as high-class diamonds.
