Diamonds, the Four C's-Carat

There are four main things to consider when buying a diamond; Cut, Clarity, Carat and Color. Here we are discussing the carat of a diamond and what that means exactly for you the buyer. The carat of a diamond is the actual size and weight of that diamond. This practice of the metric carat began back in 1907 when a group of diamond experts all met at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures. They decided that the definition of a carat can be measured in 100 points which are two milligrams each. The highest form of carat is believed to be a flawless stone of at least 100 carats or 20g which is known as a paragon. However, the current standard of one carat is the equivalent of 200 milligrams of weight.

Color in diamonds can be classified in grades and are dictated by the London Diamond Syndicate. The scales of color grading ranges from D (colorless/clear white) through Z (yellow/brown). If the color classification is deeper in color than Z, then they are classified as a fancy color diamond. How they decide on a color grading is based upon a master set of colored diamonds that each color classifier has. They do this by using a light box which is fitted with pure daylight lamps so that they can see fully the true color of the stone in question. The diamond has to be unset and in its loose form to be able to color grade it correctly and the set of master diamonds often contains the five main grades of E, G, I, K and M.