THE 4 C’S

Color | Clarity | Cut | Carat

COLOR

Many diamonds appear colorless although they may contain very slight traces of yellow, brown, or gray. The more colorless the diamond, the greater its rarity and value, except when the strength of the color is so vivid that the diamond qualifies as a “fancy” color. Color is graded according to the chart below. At Donna Distefano, we recommend choosing from “G” color or better. Fancy colors are graded differently.

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CLARITY

Clarity refers to the natural characteristics found in the diamond’s interior or on its surface. These characteristics are called inclusions. ‘Flawless’ means that no inclusions are visible under 10x magnification. Truly flawless diamonds are extremely rare. Diamonds are graded from FL (flawless) to I2 (imperfect). At Donna Distefano, we recommend choosing a VS2 or better.

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CUT

A gemstone’s cut determines the fire colored light and brilliance of a stone. The facets act to bounce light from within the diamond and back towards the eye. For example, the classic round stone has 58 precisely aligned facets giving it extraordinary brilliance, hence the name “brilliant cut”. The cut also refers to the shape. Diamond styles available are: round, oval, pear, princess, marquise, heart-shaped, Asscher, radiant, and rose cut.

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CARAT

A carat is the gemologist’s standard measure of a diamond’s weight. There are 100 points per carat— a half-carat diamond is equal to 50 points. A karat refers to metal purity and not gemstone weight.

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