The 4 Cs

When you are buying diamonds it is very helpful to know what to look for. Find out what the 4 C’s are that are important in diamond shopping. The first of the 4 C’s is clarity. This refers to the cleanness or purity of the diamond and is based on the amount, size, nature and the place where there are any blemishes both internal and externally.

The clarity of a diamond is determined by a scale that ranges from flawless to Included #3. The ideal level of clarity is flawless and the most undesirable level of clarity is Included #3. Flawless obviously means that the diamond has no inclusions or blemishes. The next level of clarity is internally flawless which means that the diamond has no inclusions when the diamond is magnified by 10x.

The third level of clarity is WS1which means very, very slightly included #2 so inclusions are tough to find when it is 10x magnification. The next level is WS2 which means very, very slightly included #2 so there are slight inclusions but they are extremely hard to find at 10x. Very Slightly Included #1 means that the minor inclusions are hard to locate but they are easier to find when magnified by 10x.

VS#2 means that there are minor inclusions that can be spotted with a certain level of difficulty when magnified to 10x. The next level of clarity is SI1 which means that there are some inclusions are easily noticeable at 10x. A Slightly Included #2 diamond, SI2 means that the inclusions are very simple to see when the diamond is 10x magnified. A I1 diamond is Included #1 that has inclusions that are somewhat noticed by the naked eye. I2 is Included #2 and it means that inclusions are simple to find with a naked eye.

In addition of to knowing the 4 C’s it is important to know that there are two different ways that diamonds can be enhanced. This will give clarity to diamonds that did not originally have clarity. Laser drilling and fracture filling can enhance the clarity of the diamonds. When laser drilling is used to enhance diamonds involves using a drill to make a hole in the diamond and the inclusion is taken out. The other way that inclusions can be removed is through fracture filling. This treatment is temporary will not last for the life of the diamond. If a diamond has been treated to enhanced the clarity of the diamond the seller must provide this information before it is sold.