Diamond Grading Chart

There is something very appealing about that little stone. People pay through their noses to get a small piece of the stone. But how would you know that you're paying the right price? What are the factors that you used to grade a diamond? Here are the grading charts based on the factors which are used to grade them.

Diamond Grading Made Simple

The value of a diamond is determined by 4 Cs: Carat, Cut, Color and Clarity. Let us examine each of these Cs one by one and see the grading for each.

Carat
The carat is the weight of a diamond. A diamond is always measured by the weight and not the size. Although the size and weight should be in direct proportion, it may not always be true as a heavily cut diamond would have a lesser carat weight than an uncut one of the same size. But if the diamond is heavier and larger as well, its price goes up exponentially. For example, if there are two 1.5 carat diamonds, the larger one will have more value than the smaller one.

1 carat is equal to 200 milligrams and is divided into 100 points. So a diamond of 150 mg, would be 75 points or 3/4th of a carat. Heavier the diamond, more the value.

Cut
The second thing to look for in a diamond is the cut. There are several cutting firms that try to give the perfect cut. There are two basic types of cuts. The first cut is the basic one that gives the diamond its shape, such as the round cut (the brilliant) and the square cut (the princess cut) etc. The second cut is the number of cuts made to a diamond. The number of little cuts to the diamond increases its fire. A well cut gem reflects light very well and one can see the whole rainbow of colors on it.

Color
The diamond comes in a variety of colors from perfectly colorless to yellow. The color grading is done by letters: D being the most expensive while Z the least expensive. The following color grading chart will explain it in more detail.

Diamond Color Grade	Description
D, E, F	Colorless
G, H, I, J	Near Colorless
K, L, M	Faint Yellow
N, O, P, Q, R	Very Light Yellow
S - Z	Light Yellow to Strong Yellow

Clarity
The clarity depends on whether there are any small blemishes or inclusions in the diamond. Many of them come with some small little dots or blemishes in them while others come clear and unblemished. To see these blemishes, people look through a 10x magnifying glass. Based on what they see, a chart is given below.

Clarity Grading	Description
Flawless (FL) and Internally Flawless(IF)	These are the best quality diamonds available. No flaws can be seen under a 10x magnifying glass
Very Very Slight Inclusions(VVS1, VVS2)	There are some inclusions, but they are almost never seen under a magnifying glass
Very Small Inclusions (VS)	These inclusions can be spotted under a 10x magnifier only by an expert
Small Inclusions (SI)	Small inclusions, but prominent under a 10x magnifier
Imperfect (I1, I2 I3)	Some of these inclusions are visible to the naked eye. Inclusions are big enough to dim the brilliance of the diamond

What makes a diamond so precious? Because the price is beyond just these 4 Cs. It is related to what it stands for: love, luxury which lasts forever. And a day.