Diamond Guide
Cut, color, clarity and carat. Four qualities that together decide how a diamond looks, and what it is worth.
In short
- Cut decides how the diamond catches the light, and matters most for its beauty.
- Color is graded from colorless to pale yellow. The more colorless, the rarer.
- Clarity measures how free the diamond is from inclusions and blemishes.
- Carat is the diamond's weight, not its size.
The 4Cs
A diamond's beauty and value are determined by four qualities: cut, color, clarity and carat weight, known as the 4Cs. Together, the grades in these four areas give a clear picture of the diamond's quality. The system was developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in the mid-1900s and is now used by gemological laboratories around the world, including IGI.
Cut
Cut is the most important of the 4Cs, as it has the greatest impact on how the diamond looks. It describes how the facets are shaped and arranged, which decides how the diamond reflects and returns light.
A well cut diamond returns light in three ways: brilliance, the white light reflected back to the eye; fire, the small flashes of rainbow color; and scintillation, the sparkle you see when the diamond moves. If it is cut too shallow or too deep, light leaks out through the bottom or the sides, and the stone looks darker and duller, even with high color and clarity.
Cut is graded on a scale from excellent to poor. It should not be confused with shape: round, oval or pear describes the outline of the diamond, while the cut grade describes how well it is proportioned and polished.
For diamonds of 0.30 carat and larger, we handpick diamonds with excellent cut only. Pavé stones and diamonds under 0.30 carat have a very good to excellent cut, in line with industry standards.
Color
For a white diamond, color really means the absence of color. The closer to colorless, the rarer and more valuable the diamond. Even an untrained eye can see the difference between a clear and a pale yellow stone.
Color is graded on a scale from D to Z. D, E and F are colorless, G to J near colorless, and from K a warm tone becomes visible. The difference between two neighboring grades is so small that diamonds are graded by comparing them with reference stones under controlled light. Colored diamonds, such as pink, yellow or blue, are graded on a separate scale.
The gold also plays a part. A colorless diamond looks its clearest in white gold, while yellow gold gives a warmer glow around the stone. All our diamonds are D-F, so they look clear and bright whichever gold you choose.
Clarity
Clarity describes how free the diamond is from inclusions and blemishes, graded under tenfold magnification. Inclusions can disturb how light travels through the stone. The higher the clarity, the purer and more valuable the diamond.
The scale runs from FL (flawless) and IF (internally flawless) through VVS1-VVS2, where inclusions are very hard to find even under magnification, and VS1-VS2, where they are small and visible only under magnification. At SI1-SI2, inclusions are easier to see and can sometimes be noticed with the naked eye.
Most inclusions are tiny traces from when the diamond was formed, a little like a fingerprint. What matters most for how the diamond looks is that it is eye-clean, meaning no inclusions can be seen without magnification. All our diamonds are eye-clean.
Carat
Carat measures how much a diamond weighs, not how big it is. One carat equals 0.20 grams. Two diamonds of the same weight can look different in size depending on their shape and how deeply they are cut.
One carat is also divided into 100 points. Price rises faster than weight, since larger diamonds are rarer, and takes an extra step at round sizes such as 0.50 and 1.00 carat.
0.25 ct4.0 mm
0.50 ct5.0 mm
0.75 ct5.75 mm
1.00 ct6.5 mm
1.50 ct7.30 mm
2.00 ct8.00 mm
2.50 ct8.70 mm
3.00 ct9.10 mm
Shape
Shape is the outline of the diamond seen from above. The round brilliant cut is designed to return as much light as possible and gives the most sparkle. Elongated shapes such as oval, pear and marquise have a larger surface seen from above, so they look bigger than a round diamond of the same carat weight. Step cuts such as the emerald cut have long, open facets that give a calm, mirror-like play of light. Since they show more of the inside of the stone, clarity matters more.
Our standard
Grading gives a solid foundation, but it only tells part of how a diamond actually looks in real life. To find the finest stones, we carefully examine every diamond from 0.30 carat individually and make our own assessment of how it reflects light. Only the diamonds that meet our standard become part of our jewelry.
| Diamonds from 0.50 carat | Smaller diamonds | |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Excellent | Excellent from 0.30 carat, otherwise very good to excellent |
| Color | D-F | D-F |
| Clarity | VVS+ | VS+, eye-clean |
| Certificate | IGI | No certificate, industry standard |
Choosing your diamond
Start with cut, since it does the most for how the diamond sparkles. Then choose the carat weight, the quality you notice most on the hand. With D-F color and eye-clean clarity in all our diamonds, you never need to compromise on the other two.
Frequently asked questions
Which of the 4Cs matters most?
Cut. It has the greatest impact on how the diamond sparkles and how beautiful it looks.
Does a higher carat weight mean a bigger diamond?
Not always. Carat is weight, and how big a diamond looks also depends on its shape and how it is cut.
Which color and clarity do your diamonds have?
All our diamonds are in the D-F color range and are eye-clean. Diamonds from 0.50 carat have VVS+ clarity, smaller diamonds VS+.
Does my diamond come with a certificate?
Diamonds from 0.50 carat come with a certificate from the International Gemological Institute (IGI).
What does eye-clean mean?
That no inclusions can be seen with the naked eye. All our diamonds are eye-clean.
What is the difference between cut and shape?
Shape is the outline of the diamond, such as round or oval. Cut describes how well the diamond is proportioned and polished, which decides how it returns light.
Which shape looks the biggest?
Elongated shapes such as oval, pear and marquise usually look bigger than a round diamond of the same carat weight.