What Are The 5 C’s of Diamonds?

Diamonds are girls best friend is the old saying that everyone mentions when it is time to buy a special gift. When it is time to buy a diamond, the guidelines to look for the 5 C’s of diamonds.

The first C of the 5 C’s of Diamonds is carat weight. Carat weight measures the mass of a diamond. One carat is about .0007 ounce. Diamonds have points and each point equals one one-hundredth of a carat. Diamonds increase in value according to their carat weight. Larger diamonds are rare and people want the larger and rare diamonds. The Hope diamond is a good example of that. Total carat weight is the mass that is used in one jewelry piece where more than one diamond is used. When diamonds are placed in earrings, bracelets, or necklaces, total carat weight is used to fix price.

Clarity is the second of the 5 C’s of diamonds. Clarity measures the diamond for defects. Inclusions are pieces of foreign material, flaws in the diamond, or a piece of another diamond crystal that makes the diamond appears cloudy or whitish in color. Imperfections, or clarity will affect the value of the diamond.

Color is another important C in the 5 C’s. A perfect diamond has no color, tint, or hue. It is transparent. There are few perfect diamonds but they do exhist. Color in a diamond can be caused by chemical impurities or defects in the diamond. The color of the diamond can either increase or subtract from the value of the stone. The colors are rated from D-Z with D being colorless and Z having a bright yellow color. The blue diamond is considered to be one of the most rare and the most valuable. Again the Hope diamond is a good example of the color giving the diamond more value.

Diamond cutting is an art that has been developing over hundreds of years. Marcel Tolkowsky made the greatest advances in 1919. Mathematical calculations were used to find the cut that would give the most scattering of light when the diamond is viewed from the top. This is an important part of the 5 C’s of diamonds. Cutting the diamond to allow it to scatter the light and the reflection to allow the beauty of the diamond to shine through. Diamond cuts are decided by the shape of the rough stone to cut out the flaws and defects. The rough stone normally will lose 50 percent of it’s total weight when cutting is complete.

Cleaning is the final C of the 5 C’s of diamonds. Cleaning was not one of the original C’s of diamonds but has been added because a diamond has more sparkle and fire when it is clean. If the top of the diamond is dirty it loses its brilliance and shine. Dirt on the crown can reduce the reflection of the diamond and a fine film will absorb light that should be reflected to the viewer.