Cut
Definition in its rough state, a diamond’s beauty is well concealed. Through cutting, the magnificent optical beauty of a diamond is revealed. A diamond cutter’s challenge is to balance beauty with weight retention from the rough diamond crystal.

In the best case scenario, approximately 50% of the weight is lost from the original crystal in the cutting process.

Many people confuse cut with the shape of a diamond. The shape you select is a matter of individual taste, and today your choice is only limited by the skill and imagination of the craftsman.

Cut refers to the proportions, finish, symmetry, and polish of the diamond. These factors determine the fire and brilliance of a diamond. Since the quality of the cut is directly responsible for the stone’s beauty, the precision with which the facets are arranged is of prime importance. They determine the amount of light reflected to the eye, called brilliance. The proportions displayed by the diamond are very significant. Two of the key factors in the grading of cut quality, table percentage and depth percentage are usually expressed on grading reports.

Cut in Relation to Value
Cut is the most important factor to a diamond’s beauty. Regardless of the color, clarity, and carat weight, a well-cut diamond will be beautiful. Cut is so important to the value of a diamond that it can affect the value by 25% to over 50%.

Color
Definition: The amount or presence of body color in a diamond (colorless to yellowish).

The most prized diamonds are colorless diamonds, because their beauty depends entirely upon their remarkable optical properties. In such diamonds, all the colors of the rainbow are reflected back to your eye. While the majority of gem diamonds appear to be colorless, others can contain increasing shades of yellow to brown, some of which are referred to as champagne diamonds. Other diamonds of exceptional color – fancy yellow, red, blue, green, pink, and amber are known as “Fancies.”

The color grading scale varies from totally colorless to light color or tinted. The difference between one grade and its neighbor is very subtle. Experts never try to remember color; they use diamonds of known color for comparison.

Diamond Color Chart

Clarity
Definition: The presence or absence of inclusions within the diamond and blemishes on its surfaces. These slight characteristics of nature generally do not affect the beauty of a diamond, but they always affect its price. Completely flawless diamonds are extremely rare and very valuable.

To determine a diamond’s clarity grading, it must be examined under 10 x magnification by a trained, skilled eye. What minute inclusions there may be make every diamond unique. These are, in fact, nature’s fingerprints. Without high magnification, you may never see these inclusions. However, the fewer there are, the rarer your diamond will be.

The clarity scale is broken down into the following grades:

Diamond Clarity Chart

Carat Weight
Definition: Carat is the unit of weight for the diamond.

A carat is further subdivided in 100 points (1.00 carat = 100 points).

Value per carat increases with carat size, because larger rough diamonds occur less frequently. In other words, 2 half-carat diamonds taken together will not cost as much as a 1 one-carat diamond, as the one-carat diamond is rarer.

Size is the most obvious factor in determining the value of a diamond, but two equal sizes can have very unequal prices depending on their quality. Remember that diamonds of high quality can be found in all size ranges.