Four "C's" Of Grading A Diamond

When judging a diamonds quality there are four characteristics to consider:

CUTTING:  The purpose of cutting and polishing a diamond is to bring out the  most esthetic beauty possible that the rough will allow to be produced with weight retention also being considered.  Cutting is the most important characteristic to consider when purchasing a diamond as the quality of the cut can affect the value of your stone as much as forty percent.  The AGS grading scale for cutting begins with "0" representing the best of quality indicating that the diamond is cut to standards of exact ideal proportions.

COLOR:  Red as Rubies and blue as Sapphires and any other color one can imagine.  Diamonds have been discovered in virtually every color of the spectrum.  Yet the most prized of quality of color is that of colorless.  The AGS grading scale for color begins with "0" which represents that there is no visible pigment to the unaided eye.

CLARITY:  No matter where your choice of diamond has been mined yours, like all others, will hold inclusions on the inside of the stone and/or blemishes on the surface.  The quality of the clarity of your diamond is dependant upon the kind of inclusions, the size of inclusions, the color in inclusions, how many there are and where they are located inside the stone.  The AGS grading scale for clarity begins with "0" which represents that there are no visible inclusions using a ten power corrected eye loop, when viewed by a trained eye.

CARAT WEIGHT:  This characteristic describes the size of the stone no matter the style of the cut of your diamond.  There are one-hundred points that equal a one-carat diamond, one hundred and forty-two one carat diamonds to equal an ounce and 2,272 one carat diamonds that equal one pound.