The 4C's

Cut, Colour, Clarity, Carat Weight- The four major aspects of diamond grading. As I currently have a few clients looking for their perfect diamond, this topic is really at the top of my mind. So I thought I'd share both a story of my recent experiences with the Australian diamond industry, and some diamond facts.

When I was new to the jewellery industry, I found it difficult to find gemstone, and particularly diamond dealers. As I was inexperienced and not spending great volumes of money, plenty of dealers wouldn't give me the time of day. BIG MISTAKE! Young, emerging jewellers are the future of the industry. Give them a little bit of your time early on and they will be your loyal clients long into the future. Who knows, in a few years time they may be your best customers. As a student, I found the lovely Kathy who was working for one of Australia's major coloured gemstone dealers. Several years later, now as a fully qualified jeweller, I needed a diamond supplier as well. I rang a company recommended to me by a friend. Who should answer the phone, but Kathy! My favourite gemmologist had transferred companies. It was such a relief to know that I had someone I trusted to buy diamonds from. Kathy has a young family now and is no longer working in the industry, but over the years I have gotten to know many of the other gemmologists from both companies. They are still my preferred dealers due to their fabulous customer service, quality goods, competitive prices and reliability.

Recently, I had a customer insisting on a diamond of a certain size, but with a restricted budget. My favourite diamond company was unable to provide me with the stone I needed at the right price, so I started looking further afield. I found a dealer with a stone with all the right specifications. After signing the paperwork and paying a hefty security deposit, the diamond arrived. When it arrived, to be very honest, I was appalled. Based on previous experience, the colour and clarity stated on the certificate were not up to my standards. It was nowhere near the quality that I had expected. This brings me to my topic of the 4C's and the Australian diamond industry.

CUT: Refers to the quality of the cutting. The better the cut, the more brilliant the diamond. That sparkle comes from the proportion, finish and symmetry of the diamond facets. It is the single most important aspect of any diamond. Without a good cut, your stone will appear dull and lifeless.

COLOUR: Ranges from D (colourless) to Z (yellow/brown). D and E are colourless, F and G are fine white, and H and I are common white. K through to O are tinted, and from O down they are considered "fancy colours" and come under names such as Champagne or Canary Yellow.

CLARITY: Refers to the amount and size of natural imperfections (known as inclusions) in the stone. IF means internally flawless. A stone graded VVS1-VVS2 has very very small inclusions and VS1-VS2 has very small inclusions when viewed with a 10x optical jeweller's loupe. SI1-SI2 does have slight inclusions, but these should not be visible to the naked eye. I1-I2-I3 graded stones have got visible inclusions.

CARAT WEIGHT: This is the weight of the stone. One carat is divided into 100 points. Therefore, a diamond weighing half a carat is 50 points, one weighing a quarter of a carat is 25 points, etc. A quarter carat, round brilliant cut stone generally measures between 3.90 and 4.15mm. Half a carat ranges between 5.00 and 5.30mm. A one carat round brilliant cut diamond will measure somewhere in the region of 6.40 and 6.60mm.

A sample of some diamond rings that I have created for clients over the last three years.

So, now that you understand diamonds, you will appreciate my shock when this G-SI2 graded stone had a visible dark spot in the top, and was not as bright a white as I had hoped. My first question was "Why?!". How can this certificate claim that the stone is a G-SI2 when I have seen similar diamonds graded as H-I1. The answer- overseas diamond grading laboratories. This stone was graded at a foreign gemmological institute which does not meet the high standards of the Australian Diamond Grading Laboratory. As I have been sticking with my trusty diamond dealer all these years, I did not realise that so many of the diamonds we get here in Australia have been graded in the USA and Europe. Now it needs to be said, the diamond I looked at last week was a lovely stone at a fabulous price. If I was after a nice, white, big stone with a little inclusion, it would have been perfect. But I really did want a G in colour and SI in clarity with no visible inclusions. So, I sent it back.

In the end my client chose quality over size and went for a slightly smaller stone with an excellent cut, great colour and high clarity from my preferred supplier. The experience of the last week confirms that my original diamond dealer is offering fabulous quality goods. I will be sticking with them from now on!

For anyone looking at buying a diamond with a foreign certificate, you can request that a second report be conducted by the Australian Diamond Grading Laboratory for around $50. If you are particularly fussy about your diamond grading, as I am, it may be worth the little bit of extra cash.

For more information about the 4C's, I recommend a visit to the Eternity Diamonds web site. Oh, and happy Valentines' Day to all the lovers. There will certainly be some lucky girls getting new diamonds today!

Love from The Jeweller. xx