Guide to Buying Diamonds: What Should be Checked?

Just before you  buy an engagement ring  for your chosen one, you should stop for a few moments and understand what makes the diamonds in the ring so unique. There are 4 parameters that must be checked when buying a diamond, and they are called The 4 C's for short:  - Clarity

- Color  - Color

- Cutting  - Cut

– Weight  – Carat

Pika  - a point inside the body of the diamond. 

Nat  - another crystal that grew inside the diamond.

 Inner crystal - various minerals that are inside the diamond.

Glatz  - a crack in a diamond along the fissure lines.

Fracture  - a crack in a diamond that is not on the cleavage lines.

A cloud  - a group of tiny dots.

Drilling  - a hole from the diamond shell to its center that was drilled with the help of a laser beam, in order to clean a black spot.

1. The number of defects 2. The size of the defects3. The location of the defect (the more central it is, the lower the rating will be)

4. The brightness of the defect (the more prominent it is, the lower the rating will be)

5. The color of the defect (the darker it is, the lower the rating)

It should be noted that even if the store assured that the diamonds are clean, it is important to know the exact degree of cleanliness.

Diamonds rated FL (without external or internal defects - Flawless) and rated IF (without internal defects - Internally Flawless)  - these are the rarest and most beautiful diamonds. Flaws cannot be discerned even at a 40x magnification, which contributes to prices on the order of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Diamonds graded VVS1 (Very Very Slight Inclusions) and graded VVS2 (Very Slight Inclusions)  - excellent quality diamonds, with tiny flaws that are barely visible even under 10x magnification.

Diamonds rated VS2 - VS1 (Very Slight Inclusions)  - diamonds with defects that are not visible without magnification, especially for those who do not have a professional eye in the field. Less expensive compared to VVS1 or VVS2 diamonds by dozens of percent.

Diamonds rated SI2 - SI1 (internal inclusion visible at 10x magnification and sometimes even without magnification - Slight Inclusions)  - diamonds of good value.

Diamonds graded I1=P1, I2=P2, I3=P3  - diamonds with a flaw that can be seen with the naked eye or with magnification. are more common because they carry internal defects.

A clean and perfect diamond is colorless, and the more colorless the stone, the better quality it is; But many diamonds appear in nature in different and diverse colors, starting with brown, black, red, pink, and ending with yellow and blue. "Normal" colors appear in diamonds ranging from white to yellow or brown. Diamonds in special colors - such as red, pink or blue - are also called  COLOR FANCY . Diamonds in blue, red and green colors are rare, and their price is usually higher than normal colors. Even these colored diamonds have a rating, starting with "colorless".

The pricing of colored diamonds consists of two main elements:

1. Type of color (pink, yellow, blue and more)

2. The intensity of the color (how dominant is the color and how it is distributed in the space of the diamond)

The price of a diamond gifted with a combination of intense color with a rare color type is sky high 

Colored diamonds that we find in stores are not natural, and their color is the product of artificial coloring using omega rays. Additional coloring is carried out using  the HTHP method  (ie High Temperature, High Pressure). This change is more expensive and obtainable by special order  in stores and chains that specialize in diamonds

D  – white without any hint of shade. extremely rare. 

E  – white without a hint of shade. rare.

F  – white with the lightest shade of shade. Only an experienced gemologist will notice the shade. rare.

HG  – white with a slight hint of shade.

JI  – white with a slight hint of color.

K  – very light color.

L  – medium light color.

M  – light color.

N  – moderate color.

>>>>Choose your diamond 

Cutting is the operation that rounds the rough diamond, and it is carried out using another diamond of a similar size. The cutting process is extremely sensitive, because it determines the position of the surface of the stone slab in a final way, as well as the diameter of the diamond.

Polishing the stone is the last operation and its role is to extract maximum shine and beauty from the stone. The more professional the polishing, the more "life" the stone will have and it will produce sparks and throw light upwards and less to the sides.

When it comes to diamond polishing, correct proportions are important. It is important to know that a flat stone is of lower quality than a tall stone. As mentioned, the polish with the best proportions is the brilliant polish, which creates a round diamond with 57 facets, but sometimes you can also find polishes in different shapes (fantasy polish).

 These polishings result from the desire to utilize the raw material to the fullest, in case the defects cannot be removed by polishing, or if there is a requirement for special polishing.

What is a carat? 

A phrase used to express the weight of a diamond. One carat indicates 200 milligrams of the actual weight, which is 0.2 grams. The weight of smaller diamonds is called "points", when they will weigh less than 1 carat, i.e. in decimal format (for example: a 0.3 carat diamond will read 30 points). The bigger the diamonds, the more expensive they are. That is, a carat diamond is much more expensive than a half-carat diamond. In addition, one carat diamond is much more expensive than a hundred 0.01 carat diamonds.

Some sizes come in pairs (half carat, carat...) and finding a completely identical pair is significant and increases the price of diamonds. Besides being an expression that signifies the weight of diamonds, carat is also an expression for the purity of the gold metal, and it basically refers to the value of the gold out of the total metal material, with the maximum being 24 carats. 24 karat denotes a metal containing 99.9% gold, 18 karat denotes a metal containing 75% gold and 14 karat denotes a metal containing 58.5% gold.

When buying a gold piece of jewelry such as  an engagement ring  or another type, you should pay attention to the gold karat which symbolizes the quality of the metal and the percentage of gold in it. The higher the carat, the purer the metal and therefore more expensive.

It is important! It is advisable to purchase diamonds in chains and professional stores that specialize and ensure reliable and accurate reporting of cleanliness, weight and color of the stone.

Another important thing to pay attention to is the quality of the jewelry's inlay. A high-quality setting ensures that the diamond will sparkle and throw more light from the jewelry, and no less important: a high-quality setting is also critical to ensure that the diamond does not fall out of the  jewelry. The setting of the diamonds is very important and determines the final appearance of the jewelry. There are several types of diamond inlays:

Solitaire setting  - for a single or central stone.

Solitaire teeth placement  - teeth that hold the stone. Usually it is 4 or 6 teeth and it can be even less if there is a supporting cup or more. In large stones it is usually 6 teeth.

Goblet setting  - a gold frame with the diamond embedded in it, similar to the goblet into which the stone is placed. The beauty of the glass that is built like a cone, similar to the tapering stone. Usually, this type of inlay is not suitable for large stones because you cannot see all the parts of the stone and the glass seals it from the light.

Setting in channels  - a channel is engraved and the diamonds are set in it. The width of each slot is according to the size of the diamonds. Can be inserted in spaces or adjacent; The advantage is that the diamonds are close together and there is no space between them. In this setting, the diamond is as high as gold and even lower than that.

Invisible inlay  - a type of trench inlay with a different inlay technique. A hidden and unique inlay in the appearance of one large stone, usually made with square stones. In the stone itself a groove is made under the rundis and the stone above the gold that catches it on the sides. This is how a smooth diamond surface is created and revealed.

Inlay in the flesh  - that is, in the gold itself. A plate of gold in which holes are made and then the inlay is created from the material. Can be a single line or pave inlay (surface full of diamonds).

Smearing inlay  - with the help of a steel rod they rotate around the stone, and he spreads a drop of gold on the sides of the stone and holds it.

The price of diamonds is determined for each product, depending on supply and demand. The high price of diamonds is determined by their beauty, durability and rarity. The accepted price list in the world of diamonds  is called the rapaport price list. This price list determines the price of the diamond considering the four C's. Important! It is better to buy diamonds in large chains that purchase the diamonds directly from the stock exchange without intermediary gaps, and this in order to get the best value for your money.

One of the ways to determine the value of a diamond is determined by the polishing parameter, and it refers to the way in which the stone is polished in order to reveal its many facets. The intensity of the shine and the beauty inherent in the stone are revealed thanks to the expertise of the craftsman, who polishes wig after wig, aiming to reach ideal and symmetrical proportions.

Diamond polishing itself is divided into several types:

Brilliant polishing  - creates a round diamond with 57 facets, and this is also the diamond you usually find in stores. In 1919, a mathematician wrote a formula that allows for angles and proportions that enhance the beauty of the brilliant diamond. Since then, 57 wigs for the brilliant cut are considered the best proportions for a round diamond. Brilliant polish is also the most expensive.

Radiant polishing (Radiant)  - diamonds polished in the shape of an octagon, i.e. eight sides. This polishing allows for a rare shine that used to be the exclusive property of round diamonds.

Princess polishing (Princess)  - four-sided polishing. The challenge of creating diamonds with the same intensity of brilliance as the brilliant-cut diamonds, led experts to develop square-cut, multi-faceted diamonds. And then the royal virtues of the diamonds were revealed in the presentation of amazing results. Improper polishing of a diamond may give it a pale, dull and artificial appearance.

Fantasy polishing  - polishing that combines different shapes. Among the fancy polishes you can find diamonds in the following shapes: oval, drop, marquise, emerald, princess, heart, baguette and triangle.