How is the color of a diamond determined?

The value of a diamond depends on various factors such as color, cut, carat and clarity. Color and clarity of the stone depends on how clear or colorless the diamond is on a scale of D to Z, D being the most pure or colorless and then down grading on each level where shades of yellow are detected in the stone. The shades of a diamond are very difficult to determine and is done so by a professional trained eye and even they there could be arguments to a grade as it really depends on the view of the appraiser.



How is the clarity of a diamond determined?

The clarity of a diamond refers to it perfectness in terms of flaws. If there are any clouds or inclusions in the stone it is said to be imperfect and is devalued in price. Like determining the color of a stone the clarity is very difficult any can only be done by a professional the flaws or inclusions range in scale from 10x which is flawless to 13 which represents the number of flaws in the stone. Some of the grades are listed as FL, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, SI3, I1, I2, 13. FL=Flawless, IF=Internally Flawless, VVS=Very Very Slightly Included, VS=Very Slightly Included, SI= Slightly Included, I=Inclusions Visible To The Naked Eye.
How to value a diamond?


Taking all the above into consideration you need to get your diamond certified by a well known certifying board
such as GIA or AGS which will give an impartial third party opinion on the value of your stone based on the four factors above of cut, carat, clarity and color. Cut is the actual shape of the diamond ranging from princess cut to emerald cut and the most valuable “brilliant cut”. The brilliant cut is a process that involves precision cutting of the diamond to make it into a prism shape that will capture light in the most efficient way.


This cut will use up on 50% of the total weight of the rough diamond thus causing a lot of wastage; it produces the most voluble cut but also costs a lot to do so. The carat is the weight and size of the diamond, the bigger the carat the higher the price. Carat is the term used to express the weight of a diamond, with one carat equaling 200 milligrams of actual weight. It is more valuable to have one large diamond then several smaller ones, thus emphasizing the importance of having as little wastage as possible during the cutting processes.


If you have bought your diamond from an unrepeatable source and want to know if it is real or fake this can be done by a simple test performed by your local jeweler. All reputable jewelry dealers have a diamond probe which sends heat pulses into the stone and this can determine weather the stone is real or fake. This process is done by most jewelers free of charge and if the diamond is indeed real then you can pay the jeweler for a full appraisal which you will be charged for this can range between $80 to $150 dollars depending on the jeweler.