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Understanding all the lingo that comes with buying the perfect diamond engagement ring can feel like you’re trying to learn a foreign language.
Cut. Clarity. Carat. Color. Facets. Brilliance. Culets. Pavilion. Table. Crown. Fluorescence… the list goes on and on.
The whole process can seem totally overwhelming, but luckily there are only a few things you really need to understand to find the right diamond for your loved one — the 4 C’s.
The 4 C’s of diamonds refers to the four most important aspects to consider when shopping for a diamond engagement ring: cut, carat, clarity, and color. Each one of the 4 C’s impacts the total price of the diamond in different ways.
Cut. Diamonds don’t come out of the ground in ready-to-wear condition. Instead, they just look like rocks that have to be molded and shaped into perfection. There’s a whole science behind diamond cuts, but in simple terms diamonds are cut to maximize its sparkle, fire, and brilliance — AKA how much it shines when the light hits it.
Carat. The carat of a diamond is the most visual part, because it refers to the actual weight of the stone. The larger the stone, the more valuable — and expensive — it is. To put it into perspective: It takes mining about 250 tons of rock to create a 1 carat diamond.
Clarity. It takes thousands of years for a diamond to form. During that time, tiny imperfections — known as inclusions — can also grow inside the stone. The number of inclusions in the stone affects what’s known as a diamond’s clarity. Sometimes this affects the stone’s sparkle, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s why understanding this C is so important.
Color. Put simply, a diamond’s color refers to its actual tint. While you can get diamonds with fancy colors (like red and green), diamond color in the 4 C’s refers to how much tint it has — from no tint (white) to yellow or brown. Even though we tend to think of diamonds as lacking color, only a few are truly colorless. The more tint, the less sparkle the diamond tends to show.
We created this handy visual guide to make the process even easier to understand and reference as you’re going through the process of buying a diamond. Most importantly, we created it to help you choose your priorities while shopping for a diamond to not only help you find the perfect ring, but also to maximize your budget.
We totally understand that you might need more help navigating the diamond-buying process. That’s why we have expert gemologists ready to help.
The experts at With Clarity can help you pick out the perfect diamond engagement ring for your desires and budget. All you need to do is answer a few questions and they’ll pick out a few options perfect for you — and help you understand everything about the diamonds.