CARAT WEIGHT (ct)

• CARAT weight is for diamonds & gems.   KARAT weight is for gold & precious metals.
• 1 ct = 100 points (pt)
• 5 ct = 1 gram = 0.643 pennyweight
• 180 ct is equivalent to 1 serving of Wheaties.
• Over 50% of a rough diamond's weight is lost during the cutting process.
• Even more weight is lost when cutting to  ideal proportions to improve beauty.
• CARAT WEIGHT & APPEARANCE ARE RELATED: when a 1 ct diamond is cut wider and shallower than ideal, the diamond will LOOK larger BUT will be LESS beautiful.
  
• Note: As diamond weight increases, the diamond price increases FASTER for the same quality.  In addition, there are PRICE JUMPS at popular sizes, including at the 1 carat mark.

DIAMOND COLOR

• Colorless diamonds are graded from D to Z, with D having No color tint, and then increasing  tints of color through grade Z.  With colorless diamonds, brilliance, sparkle & fire become most important to appearance.
  
• The color grade scale begins with D to avoid confusion with the multitude of subjective scales beginning with A.
• Grades D E F are considered Colorless to the untrained eye.  G H I J are grouped in the Near Colorless range.  All others have even more visible tints.
  
• FANCY COLOR diamonds are those with color tints beyond the grade of Z, and are graded on HUE (its characteristic color), TONE (relative lightness or darkness), & SATURATION (depth or strength of color).  With FANCY COLOR diamonds, the intensity of these characteristics becomes more important than fire, sparkle & brilliance.
• Natural diamonds are found in all colors including black.
  
• Color can be enhanced by high pressure / high temperature.
• Color can be enhanced by irradiation.
• Warning: Color can also be applied as a superficial coating.       Be aware: Fraudulent coatings can both hide & create  color.

DIAMOND CLARITY

• Clarity grading always performed at10x
• Evaluates ABSENCE of Inclusions (internal features) and Blemishes (surface features).
• The GIA 11 clarity grades:                              F & IF  (Flawless & Internally Flawless) VVS1, VVS2  (very very slightly included) VS1, VS2  (very slightly included)                 SI1, SI2  (slightly included)                              I1, I2, I3  (included)         
  
• For round diamonds under 1 carat graded as SI1, inclusions & blemishes are not normally visible to the naked eye.  This clarity grade provides a great value to the budget conscious buyer. 
• But, Inclusions not visible in a 1 carat round, MAY be visible in other shapes.