The 4Cs of a Diamond.

There are fundamentally 4 characteristics, known as the 4Cs, which from a gemological point of view determine the structure and quality of a diamond. They correspond to their English terms: CARAT (weight), COLOR (color), CLARITY (purity), and CUT (cut).

There are other characteristics besides these 4 main ones, but we will highlight 2 of great importance when selecting the quality of a diamond, and therefore defining its value: the CUT QUALITY, and FLUORESCENCE. All of these constitute the diamond's ID.

WEIGHT (Carat):

The unit of measurement is the carat, which corresponds to one-fifth of a gram, i.e., 2 decigrams. (1ct = 0.20 g) It is possibly the most ambiguous of the 4Cs; it actually refers to the weight of the diamond and not its size.

COLOR:

It is an indicator of the diamond's degree of transparency, influencing both its brilliance and beauty as well as its price. The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) scale classifies a diamond's color in a range from the letter D (completely colorless) to the letter Z (yellow/brown tone). The further down the color scale we go, the more perceptible the yellowish tone of the diamond will be due to the presence of hydrogen atoms in its structure. The total absence of color in a diamond, letter D, is exceptional, and therefore they acquire a high value in the market.

At GODIAM JEWELS, we select diamonds in the D-H range (River, Top Wesselton, and Wesselton on the Scandinavian scale), which are the ones we always recommend to our clients.

CLARITY (Purity):

It indicates the presence or absence of inclusions, internal marks, or imperfections visible or not to the naked eye or with a 10x magnifying glass. It is extraordinarily rare to find a perfect diamond that does not have any inclusions, cracks, lines, or carbon spots in its internal structure.

At GODIAM JEWELS, we select diamonds with the following clarity grades: VVS1-VVS2-VS1-VS2

CUT:

It refers to the proportion, polish, and symmetry of the diamond, which determine its intensity and brilliance. It is the only criterion of the 4Cs involving the human factor; the main mission of an expert cutter is to achieve the best cut quality, allowing the diamond to reflect the maximum amount of light. Therefore, a good cut achieves optimal light refraction in the diamond, giving it greater brilliance and sparkle.

TYPES of CUTS:

CUT QUALITY:

The cut quality of a diamond is classified according to the following scale:

IDEAL or EXCELLENT – VERY GOOD – GOOD – FAIR – POOR

At GODIAM JEWELS, we select diamonds with an EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD cut quality, as these guarantee the greatest light refraction, giving them greater brilliance.