How To Thursdays: Everything you need to know about DIAMONDSSS!

Soooo my last post was a Beauty Sightings on rings and cute ring detail shots! Today I want to help those ladies out there who don't know anything about diamond rings! Nowadays, more and more men are asking for more input from their girlfriends when it comes to selecting the ring they will wear for the rest of their lives. So in order to be prepared to answer his question correctly here are just a few tips on what you should know about diamonds!! And for my male readers, make sure you are getting the BEST quality possible for what you are paying. 

Photo Source here

Anybody that knows ANYthing about diamonds will tell you about the 4C's. I will explain what the 4C's stand for and what they mean!

CUT

Diamond cut is perhaps the most important of the four Cs, so it is important to understand how this quality affects the properties and values of a diamond. A good cut gives a diamond its brilliance, which is that brightness that seems to come from the very heart of a diamond. The angles and finish of any diamond are what determine its ability to handle light, which leads to brilliance. As shown in the images below, when a diamond is well-cut, light enters through the table and travels to the pavilion where it reflects from one side to the other before reflecting back out of the diamond through the table and to the observer's eye. This light is the brilliance we mentioned, and it's this flashing, fiery effect that makes diamonds so mesmerizing. 

Because cut is so important, several grading methods have been developed to help consumers determine the cut of a particular diamond. In general, these grades are:

• Ideal
• Premium
• Very Good
• Good
• Fair & Poor

Read More about Cut here...

CLARITY

When we speak of a diamond's clarity, we are referring to the presence of identifying characteristics on (blemishes) and within (inclusions) the stone. If you think about the incredible amount of pressure it takes to create a diamond and the fact that natural diamonds are not grown in a sterile laboratory, it's no surprise that most diamonds have flaws. Basically there are two types of flaws: inclusions and blemishes. Inclusions refer to internal flaws and blemishes refer to surface flaws. However, in the diamond grades listed below, you'll note that none of the grades include the term "blemish" -- for the purposes of grading diamonds, all flaws are called "inclusions." Inclusions include flaws such as air bubbles, cracks, and non-diamond minerals found in the diamond. Blemishes include scratches, pits, and chips. Some blemishes occur during the cutting processes (most often at the girdle). Diamonds with no or few inclusions and blemishes are more highly valued than those with less clarity because they are rarer. 

Diamonds are graded for clarity under 10x loupe magnification. Grades range from Flawless (diamonds which are completely free of blemishes and inclusions), to Included 3 (diamonds which possess large, heavy blemishes and inclusions that are visible to the naked eye).

• F
  Flawless: No internal or external flaws. Extremely rare.
• IF
  Internally Flawless: no internal flaws, but some surface flaws. Very rare.
• VVS1-VVS2
  Very Very Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions very difficult to detect under 10x magnification by a trained gemologist.
• VS1-VS2
  Very Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions seen only with difficulty under 10x magnification.
• SI1-SI2
  Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions more easily detected under 10x magnification. 
• I1-I2-I3
  Included (three grades). Inclusions visible under 10x magnification AS WELL AS to the human eye. We do not recommend buying diamonds in any of these grades. 

F-IF

VVS1-VVS2

VS1-VS2

SI1-SI2

I1-I2-I3

Read more on clarity here...




COLOR

When jewelers speak of a diamond's color, they are usually referring to the presence or absence of color in white diamonds. Color is a result of the composition of the diamond, and it never changes over time. Because a colorless diamond, like a clear window, allows more light to pass through it than a colored diamond, colorless diamonds emit more sparkle and fire. The formation process of a diamond ensures that only a few, rare diamonds are truly colorless. Thus the whiter a diamond's color, the greater its value. 

To grade 'whiteness' or colorlessness, most jewelers refer to GIA's professional color scale that begins with the highest rating of D for colorless, and travels down the alphabet to grade stones with traces of very faint or light yellowish or brownish color. The color scale continues all the way to Z. 

Read more about Color here...

CARAT

This is the most popular of the 4 C's EVERYbody has heard of a carat so here are more details on what it means!

A carat is a unit of measurement, it's the unit used to weigh a diamond. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams. The word "carat" is taken from the carob seeds that people once used in ancient times to balance scales. So uniform in shape and weight are these little seeds that even today's sophisticated instruments cannot detect more than three one-thousandths of a difference between them. 

[NOTE: Don't confuse "carat weight" with "karat," the method of determining the purity of gold.] 

The process that forms a diamond happens only in very rare circumstances, and typically the natural materials required are found only in small amounts. That means that larger diamonds are uncovered less often than smaller ones. Thus, large diamonds are rare and have a greater value per carat. For that reason, the price of a diamond rises exponentionaly to its size.

Read more about Carat Weight here....

There you have it!! The basics of diamond rings!! Fellas, do NOT get robbed at the jewelry store PLEASE do your research and ladies educate your man before he goes and spends his hard earned money on a BEAUTIFUL piece of jewelry you will wear your ENTIRE life!! I hope you guys like the post, gimme some FEEDBACK! 

Stay Beautiful My Loves,
Memi

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