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The 4Cs of Diamonds:
Our Guide
When buying a diamond there are four essential elements to consider, Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat. These are known as the 4 Cs.
Although each of these characteristics are significant and play an essential role in contributing towards a diamonds overall value and beauty, the Cut is considered to be the most important.
Read on to find out why each ‘C’ is important when choosing a diamond.
Diamond Colour
Diamonds are either described as colourless or fancy coloured. Colourless or white diamonds are graded on a scale from D (completely colourless) to Z (yellow or brown-tinted). The higher the grade, the less colour there is, and the rarer the diamond. A diamond with a colour grading of D, E or F is described as Colourless, with G,H, I & J referred to as near Colourless. Anything lower will have a yellow or brownish tint, which is caused by traces of nitrogen.
Diamond Colour Chart
Fancy Diamonds
Fancy coloured diamonds have a body colour that isn’t white, such as pink or yellow and are graded on their own colour scales which take into consideration, factors such as hue, colour strength, tone and saturation. Natural Fancy Colour diamonds occur when either impurities or structural defects are present at the time of crystallisation, when the stone is forming deep within the earth. They are comparatively rare to white diamonds and therefore tend to be more expensive.
Treated coloured diamonds are natural diamonds which are either heat treated or enhanced by other means to create the desired colour.
In addition, there are also lab grown coloured diamonds, which are grown in the same way as lab grown white diamonds, but colour is created by adding relevant impurities or by the diamond undergoing additional treatments, such as annealing to achieve the desired colour.
