Diamonds are some of the most coveted and highly sought-after gemstones in the world, and with good reason – diamonds are beautiful, durable and timeless. But what makes a diamond truly special? The answer lies in the eight C’s of diamonds: Clarity, Cut, Carat, Colour, Certification, Cleanliness, Crafting and Cost.
All of these factors play a role in the overall diamond ring price in Singapore. Here we will explore the 8 C’s of diamonds in detail, so that you can make an informed purchase when buying this most precious of jewellery items.
Cut
Perhaps the most significant factor influencing a diamond’s beauty is its “Cut.” Diamond cut especially relates to a diamond’s angles, dimensions, brilliance, symmetrical facets, fire, scintillation, and finishing details. These elements have an immediate impact on a diamond’s propensity to sparkle as well as its general visual attractiveness.
According to the GIA diamond cut table, a diamond’s cut is rated as Ideal, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor. The Ideal and Excellent ratings denote proportions and angles cut for optimum brightness and fire, respectively, depending on the diamond’s shape.
Even though two diamonds are graded the same on the diamond cut chart, cuts between stones and between diamond cutters differ greatly. Sometimes, when aiming for maximum carat weight, a cutter may leave the diamond too deep or too shallow for the best light reflection.
In some cases, a diamond may be cut to reduce the amount of inclusions, thereby increasing its clarity but sacrificing the most brilliance. Even a diamond with an ideal cut may have an excessively apparent yellow hue that detracts from the gem’s attractiveness.
The focus of your diamond pick should, however, be on the cut, which is more crucial. If it is not cut extraordinarily well, even a flawless 2 carat diamond with no colour tinting or flaws can appear less appealing. Cut should take precedence over the other Cs because it is the best measure of beauty.
Colour
Diamond colour is rated according to how white or colourless the stone is. The GIA rated diamonds from D to Z, with D being the most colourless and Z having a pronounced brown or yellow hue. The colour of a diamond may vary depending on its shape, carat weight, and cut.
The diamond ring price in Singapore reflects their grade. Most of the time, despite the potential price difference, it is impossible to distinguish two adjacent colour graded diamonds apart with the naked eye.
Identifying whether colour looks colourless in relation to its setting is the most important feature of colour. A diamond should also be free of any tinting that reduces or obstructs reflections of white and colored light.
The way a diamond is cut determines its brilliance or sparkle. Thus, it is not advisable to get a diamond if it detracts from this crucial fundamental feature.
Note: Pink or green diamonds are examples of valuable colored diamonds. These diamonds’ colour grades are not listed on the diamond colour chart and are noticeably different from conventional “white” diamonds.
Clarity
The clarity grade of a diamond assesses how free of flaws and imperfections it is. The following diamond clarity chart is used by the GIA to grade clarity:
| FL | Flawless |
| IF | Internally Flawless |
| SI1 | Slightly Included 1
|
| SI2 | Slightly Included 2 |
| VS1 | Very Slightly Included 1 |
| VS2 | Very Slightly Included 2 |
| VVS1 | Very, Very Slightly Included 1 |
| VVS2 | Very, Very Slightly Included 2 |
| I1 | Inclusions 1 |
| I2 | Inclusions 2 |
Inspect the diamond to see if you can find imperfections rather than subscribing to a specific grade on the diamond clarity table. But not all imperfections are obvious to the naked eye. Thus, it is crucial to examine each diamond with the guidance of a certified jeweller or diamond expert.
These imperfections can prevent light from passing through the diamond depending on their size, location, and degree of darkness. When this occurs, the diamond’s beauty and brilliance are diminished.
Ask an expert to vouch for the stone’s eye-cleanliness after inspecting it. You can’t determine from a certificate alone how a diamond’s blemishes will affect the stone’s beauty and brilliance.
Carat Weight
When people hear the word “Carat Weight,” they frequently assume it relates to the diamond’s size. Carat actually refers to the diamond’s weight rather than its size. A 1 carat diamond weighs 200 milligrams (0.2 grams). Two 1 carat diamonds may be significantly varied in size depending on the diamond’s shape and cutting method.
While carat weight is a factor to take into account when purchasing a diamond, the brilliance and overall appearance should be given more weight. For instance, no matter how much more it weighs, a dull 1.5 carat diamond won’t shine as brightly or garner as much attention as a magnificent 1.0 carat diamond.
Choose a diamond with an Excellent cut or Ideal cut rather than adhering to a specific number on the diamond carat weight chart.
Certification
Accredited gemological labs like the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) offer diamond certificates, or grading reports.
In a diamond certificate, the following items are typically listed:
- Diamond Status – mined or laboratory-grown
- Diamond Shape – for instance, it might be emerald, pear, round, or oval.
- Carat weight – 1 carat of diamond weight is equivalent to 0.2 grams
- Clarity grade for diamond – the specific grade ranges from Included of degree three (I3) to Internally Flawless (IF)
- Diameter of diamond
- Diamond Fluorescence – the indicator of how the diamond will respond to exposure to UV radiation
- Diamond Colour – the grade ranges from D up to Z
- Proportions of a diamond – proportions of depth (the distance between the table and the culet) and table (flat top surface)
- Diamond Culet – the diamond’s bottom portion having a sharp edge
- Diamond Symmetry – comparison of the facets’ level of accuracy
- Diamond Polish – the polished facets’ quality
- Diamond Plot – the illustration of diamond’s imperfections
Depending on the certifying organisation that provided it, this grade report may contain other components. Nonetheless, it contains some common graphs. The four Cs (colour grade, clarity, cut, and carat weight) are the fundamental elements of diamond certification. To obtain a summary of all the internal blemishes and inclusions, you should also look at the category “plot” in the certified diamonds.
Request a copy of the diamond’s lab certification for each one you’re thinking about buying. A grading organisation will issue a lab report or certificate that lists the dimensions, colour, clarity, length, and width of the diamond. Using specialised equipment like a loupe or microscope, qualified specialists evaluate, inspect, and measure the diamonds.
Every organisation rates diamonds differently, and sometimes the differences are substantial. There are numerous lab organisations; it’s critical to understand which of them can be relied on. Diamond prices and values cannot be compared between different diamond certifications because they are not all made equal.
Make sure the diamond you buy has a certificate from a highly reliable grading organisation, and inspect the diamond carefully before making the purchase.
Cleanliness
Despite the fact that the creation of natural diamonds occurs entirely naturally and without human interference, 95% of the diamonds do not start out as perfect crystals because they have minor impurities.
In contrast, laboratory diamonds are created through a procedure that is carried out under closely monitored laboratory settings that enable a very high level of integrity to be achieved. The number of particles, size, and transparency of those particles, together with other factors, influence the diamond’s degree of cleanliness, which in turn affects the diamond’s quality and, subsequently, its price.
The rarity and cost of a diamond increase with its cleanliness. A diamond’s cleanliness is assessed using an industry-accepted worldwide scale, and a qualified gemologist is in charge of making a diagnosis for its possible internal defects.
Moreover, the diamond is evaluated with a magnifying lens that is 10 times its size, which establishes a uniform criterion for evaluating the diamond’s quality.
Here are the common internal defects found in the diamond:
- Nate – Another crystal that grows inside the diamond
- Glatz – a crack in the diamond that appears in the fission lines
- Fracture – A crack in a diamond that is not formed in the fission lines
- Pika – a point that appears inside the diamond
- Cloud – a group of tiny dots
- Drilling – the hole drilled from the diamond shell to its centre using a laser beam
- Inner crystal – minerals that appear on the inside of the diamond
Crafting
When it comes to diamond jewellery, craftsmanship is key. The quality of the jewellery is determined by the skill of the craftsman who made it. A talented craftsman can take a simple piece of jewellery and turn it into a work of art.
Diamond jewellery is particularly challenging to make because the stones are so small and delicate. It takes a lot of skill to set them securely in place without damaging them. In order to ensure that the finished product is flawless, goldsmiths often use magnifying glasses and special lighting conditions to work on them.
The end result of all this hard work is beautiful diamond jewellery that is sure to impress. When you wear jewellery that has been crafted with skill and care, you know that you are wearing something truly special. Quality diamond jewellery is an investment that will last for generations.
Cost
Diamond prices are determined by two factors: the diamond market’s natural ups and downs, and if the diamond you plan to purchase is a fair deal. The same method you use for everything else is the simplest way to determine the pricing.
Check around. A traditional jewellery store will always be more expensive than what you can find online, but once you establish the proper baseline, you may assess whether it is worthwhile to pay premium “X” for the increased value you believe you are receiving from the store.
It is quite challenging to provide an exact price for “diamonds” as a whole because diamond prices depend on so many different variables. The four Cs—cut quality, clarity, colour, and carat weight—are the most important of these.
The larger the carat weight or the better the four Cs, the more valuable a diamond will be. Simply put, the higher the quality of a diamond, the more expensive it will be to buy.
However, this does not imply that you can’t purchase a high-quality diamond without spending a fortune. The trick with diamonds is to spend as much as possible on the aspects that influence the diamond’s look while spending as little as possible on the aspects that don’t.
Every diamond is valued based on its carat weight. Let’s assume a 0.50 carat diamond costs $1400 per carat. The cost of the stone would be $1400 * 0.50, or $700. Or, suppose a 1 carat diamond costs $4,100 per carat. This one is simple to figure out because the cost of the stone is exactly the same, $4,100, since the diamond weighs 1 carat.
As you move up to higher weight categories, the cost per carat of diamonds rises. To put it simply, the larger the diamond’s carat weight, the higher the price per carat you’ll have to spend to buy it.
As a result, diamond prices rise exponentially with weight because of the increasing cost per carat for increased weight categories as well as the increased weight itself.
Understanding all of these factors – and what they mean for the value of a diamond – will help you make an informed purchase of a diamond ring that you’re sure to love.
