Diamond Terms

What does a diamond's 'carat weight' mean?

Denim don'ts include wearing jeans that are just too tight, to give you the sort of thong effect from the back or the muffin top. Also I don't like the whiskers in the front. They just make a woman look to wide and also camel toe.

What does a diamond's 'clarity' mean?

The clarity refers to the diamond's tiny markings. All diamonds have some markings on them, they're natural. But depending on the size, type, and location of the marking, those markings may impact the beauty and the brilliance of the diamond. A diamond with less microscopic marking is more rare and therefore more expensive than a diamond with more markings.

What is the diamond clarity grading system?

The clarity grading system is a scale that tells you what type of markings - size, type and location markings, - are in a diamond. The clarity grading scale ranges from flawless to I3, or included 3. Flawless means that there are no visible markings at a 10 power magnification, and included 3 means that there are markings that may be visible to the naked eye.

What does a diamond's 'color' mean?

A diamond's color is quite simply that; the body color of the diamond. Now, the color gradient scale ranges from a D, or absolutely colorless or the complete absence of color, to Z which is a very distinct yellow. Beyond Z is where we start to get fancy color diamonds. Those come in all different colors and become even more rare.

What does a diamond's 'cut' mean?

A diamond's cut actually refers to two things. First of all, the diamond's cut refers to it's shape, it's outline, heart shape, keys, rounds, and pears. A diamond's cut also refers to proportions. In the industry, sometimes we hear the term make and that tells you how well a diamond is cut. When a diamond is cut too deeply, what happens is light goes in through the top, leaks out at the bottom and you get a diamond with a very dark centre. It's not very attractive. When a diamond is cut too shallow, the sides are very open, light again goes into the top and leaks out through the bottom and you get what's called a fish out which is a dark circle surrounded by a white ring. However, when a diamond is cut properly, the light goes in through the top, bounces around from facet to facet, it shoots back out at you and that's when you get a diamond that you fall in love with, just dazzles you and cut is extremely important when determining the value of the diamond.

What does a diamond's 'shape' mean?

Well the diamond's shape also refers to its cut. The shape is the actual outline of the diamond. Depending upon the rough diamond that's mined out of the ground, the cutter will determine the best shape to cut it into. It could be round brilliant, it could be princess cut, it could be variations of rounds, emerald cuts there are so many shapes and we're not limited by the traditional shapes, we can cut a diamond into any shape you'd like.

What is the weirdest shaped diamond you have ever seen?

The weirdest shape of diamond is a subjective answer. I've seen diamonds cut in the shape of horses heads, I've seen diamonds cut in the shape of Texas, in the shape of the Chicago Bulls logo, pineapples, sail boats, and tennis rackets. With those choices, I'll let you decide which the weirdest shape is.

What is meant by a diamond's 'fire'?

The diamond's 'fire' is also known as dispersion. Fire is the light as it enters the diamond and reflects back out at the viewer, and how it's broken up in the spectral colors. So the fire is really the make of all the colors of the rainbow that you see coming out of the diamond. We call it fire. Why? Because it's fire, that's exactly what it is.

What is meant by a diamond's 'brilliance'?

A diamond's brilliance refers to the white light. As light goes into the diamond, it reflects, it bounces from facet to facet, and shoots back out at you unbroken, undispersed, and that's brilliance. It's simply white light returning to the viewer's eye from the diamond.

What is an 'inclusion' in a diamond?

An inclusion in a diamond is quite simply a natural marking. In some cases, an inclusion can be a cavity in the diamond. It could be another mineral within the diamond. It could be a crack inside the diamond. An inclusion is any mark or blemish in the interior of the diamond.

What is a 'blemish' in a diamond?

A 'blemish' in a diamond is actually a marking on the surface of the diamond that can be seen either with, or without, magnification.