Education — The 4 C’s

The terminology is only the beginning. Here is the real order of importance — the one the industry hopes you never learn.

This section gives you valuable information not only about the 4 C’s but about their order of importance. It will not attempt to give you a thorough understanding of all the details and intricacies of diamonds — there is far more to diamonds than most people realize.

Focusing only on the 4 C’s is like reading about flying a plane but never getting any experience actually flying the plane. If you want to buy the absolute most brilliant, best valued diamond possible within your budget, your best option is the assistance of an experienced, honest diamond expert you trust.

The public usually has it backwards. They think carat weight or size is the most important, then clarity, color, and finally cut — which most people have almost zero understanding about. And yet cut is the most important of all the 4’s!

The Right Order of Importance

1
Cutbrilliance — the most important of all
2
Colorvisible to the naked eye
3
Claritythe best place to be flexible
4
Caratweight — what the public thinks matters most

An extremely well shaped rough diamond, ready for cutting. Everything depends on what the cutter does with it — and most are cut to maximize weight, not beauty.

CUT

Let’s Start With the Most Important of the 4 C’s…

The “cut” refers to how well a diamond is cut — not the shape. When we talk about rounds, princess, marquise, ovals, pears, emerald cuts, radiant or cushion cuts, we are talking about the shape of the diamond, NOT the “cut” or quality of the cutting job.

Diamonds are not really “cut” — they are ground down or polished one facet at a time on a wheel covered with diamond dust spinning at 3,000 RPMs. Depending on the shape of the rough diamond, the cutter will decide what shape to cut, always concerned to yield the greatest value — usually meaning finishing as large or heavy as possible.

How fire and brilliance is created: light bounces off the pavilion angles, refracts into the colors of the spectrum, and returns through the top. Cut too shallow or too deep, and light leaks out the bottom instead.

The Diamond’s Brilliance

Without a doubt, the cut of a diamond is the most important factor to its beauty. Many people think they want very high clarity because they think clarity will create the greatest brilliance. Not true. Higher clarity only increases the rarity and price of a diamond — not necessarily its beauty.

The fire (flashing colors due to the prism effect), the brilliance (the amount of light reflected out the top of the stone), and the scintillation (sparkle effect as you move the diamond) are all determined by how well the diamond is cut. This is absolutely the most important of the 4 C’s.

Most diamonds are intentionally cut too shallow or too deep, depending on the shape of the original rough, to increase the weight of the finished diamond and thus give it a higher “perceived” value. A poorly cut diamond is not worth what it weighs — it is only worth what it would weigh if cut properly. The better the cut, the more beautiful and valuable!

Almost every diamond you see is a mediocre to poorly cut diamond. A perfect cut diamond is not very common — most experts agree it is less than 1%.

Notice the dull, darker center of the “average” diamond on the left. On the ideal cut, the table lines curve inward forming concave arcs — a sign of perfect proportions and maximum light return.

Never compromise the cut. We can be flexible in other areas to stay within any budget — but NOT the cut! You want your diamond to truly be a breathtaking miracle of nature, one that gets envious attention at every turn.

What About Fancy Shapes?

The cut becomes even more complex with fancy shapes (all shapes except the round brilliant) because we are concerned, not only with the proportions for maximum brilliance and fire, but also with the actual shape of the stone. This gives the diamond cutter another dimension to compromise beauty for weight.

For instance, most marquises are wider than they should be — sometimes like a football — which adds a lot of extra weight! Marquise diamonds should be approximately 2 to 1 ratio (length to width) but with a beautiful elegance. Pear shapes should be a delicate, gorgeous teardrop — not a squatty pear. Most princess cuts are too deep and often with very thick girdles.

Fancy shapes add another dimension to compromise — most marquises are cut too wide (like a football) and many princesses too deep, all to add weight. Proportion is everything.

Remember, diamond cutting is a “for profit” business, and rough diamonds are not cheap. I am sure there are many cutters who just can’t make much profit without compromising the cut. This is why “perfect” cut diamonds are so rare. With my help, this is the only kind of diamond you will get — a perfectly cut, incredibly fiery diamond!

Note: All “ideal” cut diamonds are not “created equal.” In my opinion, today many diamonds are being labeled “ideal” that don’t even come close!

COLOR

The Next Most Important — Because You Can See It

Color is the next most important characteristic because you can see color with the naked eye. The scale below shows how much tint of yellow, grey or brown the diamond can have.

D · E · F — “colorless” / investment grade G · H · I · J — “near colorless” / jewelry grade …continues to Z (J is about the lowest Carl likes to go)

The difference between two diamonds with only one color grade apart is very slight — but a perfect cut J will appear whiter from the top than a mediocre cut H.

The better the cut, the whiter the diamond appears from the top, because it has more light reflecting back. Naturally the whiter the diamond, the more rare and the more valuable. I try to keep the range between D and I, but will sometimes go with a J depending on the budget.

This grading scale is not to be confused with “fancy” colored diamonds such as canary yellows, pinks, blues, greens, reds, purples, oranges, etc. In fact, diamonds come in every color — more than any other gemstone. These are very rare and incredibly expensive. The most rare is an intense red diamond, which can cost over a million dollars for a 1.00 carat!

Diamonds come in every color — rarer than any other gemstone. The 5.03 ct De Young Red diamond, seen at the Smithsonian Museum, is unbelievably rare and priceless.

CLARITY

How Clean Is “Clean Enough”?

Clarity refers to how clean or how included the diamond is. An inclusion is anything in the diamond — such as carbon, clouds, feathers, crystals, grain lines, fissures, and so on. This is one area we can sacrifice to some extent in order to stay within a certain budget and still maximize the size and beauty of the diamond.

Diamonds are graded under a 10X loupe or microscope — which is actually quite powerful. I would often have my clients look at their fingerprint through 10X to appreciate how powerful that really is.

FL Flawless — absolutely no flaws under a 10X microscope. Only one in many million.

IF Internally Flawless — may carry an extremely small surface blemish, often polishable out.

VVS1 / VVS2 Very, Very Slightly Included — near flawless; only a trained gemologist can find the pin-point inclusions.

VS1 / VS2 Very Slightly Included — specks most people cannot find until they are pointed out. Very high clarity.

SI1 / SI2 Slightly Included — clean to the naked eye, inclusions visible at 10X. Carl’s favorite grades: flawless-appearing, yet more affordable. Carl’s pick

I1 Included — can still be a stunning diamond if cut properly; it all depends on the location and type of inclusion. Carl’s pick

I2 / I3 Included, visible to the naked eye. Carl never recommends these — too included, not very pretty.

What Clarity Do I Need?

Every time you go up one clarity grade, the price will go up anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per carat — the larger and whiter the diamond, the greater the jump. For most people, it doesn’t make sense to buy an extremely high clarity diamond, unless price simply doesn’t matter.

SI2’s and SI1’s are the diamonds I prefer to sell in order to maximize the size without compromising the beauty. If I showed you an SI2 and a flawless diamond with everything else equal, you could not tell the difference with the naked eye — but the flawless can easily be 3 to 4 times the price!

CARAT

Weight — Where the Industry Really Cuts Corners

Carat, abbreviated ct., is a measurement of weight. It originated in India from the carob seeds, which were considered a very consistent weight. One carat equals 1/5 of a gram and is divided into 100 equal parts called points. Two diamonds both weighing 1.05cts may not have the same diameter, because the proportions will be different — the shallower diamond will appear larger. No, you do not want a shallow diamond for a larger appearance! Never! A shallow diamond will be “dull” compared to a perfect cut diamond. You would be better off with a $10 cubic zirconia!

The larger a diamond is, the more rare it is and thus the more valuable — which is exactly why cutters push weight. Diamonds jump into a higher price category at these weights:

.50ct.70ct.90ct1.00ct1.50ct2.00ct3.00ct

A Real Math Example

1.03 ct $5,000 / ct $5,150 “OK” cut — paid above its true worth

.95 ct $4,300 / ct $4,085 perfectly cut — same stone, more beauty

Is the stone really worth $5,150? Only if it was cut to perfect proportions. There is more profit to be made selling diamonds that are not perfectly cut… at the buyer’s expense. If you buy a poorly cut diamond you lose two ways: you pay more than it is really worth, and it won’t be as beautiful. Can you see why “the industry” doesn’t want you to understand the cut?

Beyond the 4 C’s

Test Your Diamond I.Q.

This only scratches the surface — but if you answered “yes” to fewer than three of these, you know why an expert’s help is worth so much.

If you were offered a diamond appraised at $15,000 for $5,000 — would you think it must be a great buy?

Do you know the difference between an appraisal and a certification?

Of all the diamond grading laboratories, do you know which ones are the most strict and reliable?

Do you know which certifications are totally worthless — some off as many as 3 grades in color and clarity compared to respected lab reports?

Do you know which of the 4 C’s is the most important and which is the least?

Do you understand why most diamonds are intentionally cut too shallow or too deep?

Do you think a GIA Triple Ex (excellent cut, polish and symmetry) diamond is the best cut and most brilliant? Hint… not necessarily at all.

Did you know that some “Very Good” cut grades are more brilliant than some “Excellent” cut grades?

Did you know that two diamonds with the exact same GIA grading report can be very different — one worth thousands more than the other?

Did you know that two diamonds with the same table and depth percentage can look totally different?

Did you know some diamonds are enhanced — laser drilled and filled with a silicon-like substance to look cleaner? Would you catch the “creative” wording?

If a diamond is described as “Ideal” cut, are you assured it will be a perfect cut? This one I will answer. NO! Not by any stretch of the imagination!

You could study diamonds for the next 3 months, apprentice for a few years — or let me help you. You will be VERY glad you did! This I promise.

Let Carl Do the Searching

Now You Know More

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