The Effect of the 4 C's Combined

If You Want To Learn About
Diamonds Start With The "4 C's"

So It's time to buy a diamond and you keep hearing the term "The 4 C's"

What in the heck are the 4 C's you ask? Well it's definately something that is worth learning about. Especially if you are buying something significant with a diamond in it, such as an engagement ring, anniversary ring, or wedding ring. And the best part is, that it's really quite easy.

The 4 C's Is Your First Step In The Diamond Buyer's Boot Camp

The 4 C's is essentially a universally accepted "diamond grading system" developed by the Gemological Institute Of America. (Also referred to as GIA) The 4 C's grading system is now pretty much the "Standard Methodology" that is used virtually everywhere in the world by diamond professionals. (It really caught on) It is how you will know what you are buying in relation to other diamonds. And more importantly it will help you establish what a diamond is worth and how it should look.

The World Famous 4 C's (Color/Carat/Clarity/Cut)

You see years ago, jewelers would ACTUALLY USE THEIR OWN grading systems and terms. (Talk about the fox watching the hen house!!) These grading systems and terms were pretty much used by each individual jeweler to suit their own best interests, and to make their diamonds seem superior. Some of these jewelers might even use terms like "Blue White" or "Gem Blue". Huh??

Today if you want to know the color of a diamond, you will hear a simple one letter description (D through Z).

**Diamond Color Scale**

Why Does The Diamond Color Chart Start With D?

Great Question!

The diamond color chart starts with D precisely because of how diamonds WERE GRADED IN THE PAST. What?? Let me explain.

Because there was no "Standardized" grading system in place, jewelers were free to use any terms or so-called systems that came to mind. These included Arabic and Roman numeral systems. Some also used A, B, and C as reference points. Because the 4C's were not developed yet, maybe selling an "A" quality diamond to a customer wasn't good enough. Then a jeweler might ask the question: What do I do when my competiton has an "A" diamond but I want the sale? I will call my diamond a "Double AA". I don't personally know if anybody went so far as Triple AAA!! (Get the picture)

What better way to distance the new 4 C's from the old system than to start from D?

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Gemological Institute Of America (GIA) Saves The Day!!

At Some point it only seems logical that somebody would say "Enough is Enough!" That somebody just happened to be the Gemological Institute Of America. The GIA developed the famous system (known as the 4 C's) that is widely used today to uniformly grade the characteristics of diamonds. The Four C's are (C)olor--(C)larity--(C)arat and (C)ut.

Three of the "4 C's" are pre-determined by Mother Nature. They are The Color of a diamond, The Clarity of a diamond, and The Carat of a diamond.

The last "C" is The Cut of a diamond. It is the only "C" that is determined by us Humans. (Don't mistake "Cut" for shape)

Many jewelers will tell you which one of the 4 C's they think is the most important. Some will say the cut of a diamond is most important. (usually the ones selling the most expensive diamonds) Others may say the clarity is most important, and yet others may even say the color of a diamond is most important. (And of course there are people that just want a big rock!)

I personally do not believe that any one of the 4 C's can be considered "THE MOST IMPORTANT". For the vast majority of the diamond buying public, who are not millionaires, the best way to shop for a diamond is to get a little bit of everything.

If you want a bigger diamond, you might have to settle for a little lower clarity or color, to stay in the same price range. Or maybe you want to do the opposite. Get the highest color and clarity you can afford, but purchase a little smaller diamond. Remember one thing though, Diamonds are like snowflakes; no two are exactly alike.