The 4 "C"s

My goal is to help you become an educated buyer. After a short time during your first visit you will be able able to identify and realize the 4 C's and understand why diamonds of the same weight cost and look different.

COLOR:

Diamonds will range in colors from D-Z. D,E,F are colorless and are called collection colors. These colors are rare and the most expensive. G,H,I,J are in the near colorless group. These are probably the most commonly sold diamonds. If they are accurately graded, these stones should appear perfectly white. K,L,M colors are in the faint yellows. These stones should still face up fairly white with a slight tint of yellow. If a diamond looks yellow or brown to you it is probably in the off color grades of N,O,P and lower. Beyond these colors, you have the fancy colors which are intense in either yellow, pink, blue, green and the rarest of all red. These stones should always be accompanied with a GIA certificate, are rare and can be very expensive.

CLARITY:


The clarity is the amount of imperfections or inclusions that are in diamonds. Every diamond has inclusions unless it is the highest of the clarity grade. Flawless. Inclusions vary in appearance, size and location. The human naked eye can only pick out inclusions from clarity grades of SI 2 and lower. with the standard 10 power lope the untrained eye will have a hard time finding the inclusions in diamonds that are in the VS group, and in the VVS groups, even a trained eye with a 10 power lope will have difficulty in locating the inclusions. Therefore, these higher clarity grades of VVS and flawless should always be accompanied with a GIA certificate.

CARAT:


A carat is made of 100 points. A 1 carat diamond is 100 points on a carat scale. A 1/2 carat is 50 points on a diamond scale.

CUT:

I have mentioned cut many times here on my web site. Cut is the most important "C" in the 4 "C"s. Cut is the only c that contributes to light refraction, brilliance and fire. The Cut is the proportions, polish and symmetry of facets in diamonds. Most diamonds in the world are cut to maximize the yield of the rough stone and therefore are cut deep or heavy. An ideal or premium cut diamond will loose more than 1/2 its original weight in a cutting process that is longer and requires higher skills and advanced technologies. less than 2 percent of all diamonds are cut to these exact specifications.

WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR:

What to look for in a round diamond
A total depth percentage of 59%-62.8% and a total table percentage of 55%-60%. If you are shopping for a certified diamond, the polish and symmetry on the certificate should be at least very good polish and very good symmetry. With excellent, excellent as the best. Fluorescence level should never be more than faint blue. The process of finding and buying the right diamond is simple and easy with AOA Diamonds. I take out the guessing and unknown for you by hand picking each diamond I buy. when I have a customer for a diamond that is not in stock, I choose the right stone from a large list of stones available to me as a wholesaler and not a retailer.