The shape refers to the actual outline of the diamond. Diamond shapes include Round, Princess, Emerald, Asscher, Marquise, Oval, Radiant, Pear, Heart, and Cushion.
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Clarity:
Clarity
The clarity refers to the diamond's tiny markings, or imperfections. All diamonds have some natural markings on them, but depending on the size, type, position, number, and location of the markings, those markings may impact the beauty and the brilliance of the diamond.
A diamond with less microscopic markings is rarer and therefore, more expensive than a diamond with more markings.
This refers to the measurement of a diamond's actual weight on a scale. Usually the higher the carat weight, the larger the diamond would be, although the cut of a diamond also has an impact on its size.
Carat weight, combined with a diamonds Color, Clarity, and Cut Grade, determine the diamonds value.
Cut:
Cut Grade
Cut grade refers not to the shape (round, princess, etc), but to the proportions and the finish of a polished diamond that is evaluated by trained graders.
It is the most important factor in determining the value of the diamond and how much it will sparkle. For instance, if a diamond is cut poorly, it will be less luminous. The better a diamonds cut is, the more light will reflect on the diamond, and the better it will shine.
A diamond's color is simply the body color of the diamond. The color gradient scale ranges from a D, or absolutely colorless, to Z which is a very distinct yellow. Fancy color diamonds go beyond Z.
With the exception of some natural fancy colors, such as blue, pink, purple, or red, the colorless grade is the most rare, and extremely expensive and valuable.
Thus, the closer a diamond is to colorless, the more valuable it is, except for fancy colored diamonds.
A grade given to the external finish of a stone. The polish grades range from poor to excellent. Good polish is crucial for maximum brilliance of a diamond.
Symmetry refers to the exactness of the shape and arrangement of facets (which are the polished flat surfaces on a diamond).
Symmetry grades include: extremely poor, very poor, poor, fair, good, very good, and excellent.
Few diamonds are available with excellent or very good symmetry, and diamonds with poor to extremely poor symmetry should be avoided. This is an important indicator of the quality of a diamond's cut.
This refers to the height of a diamond or gemstone (measured from the culet at the very bottom to the large table facet on the top divided by the width of the diamond or gemstone).
Table %:
Table %
This refers to the large flat facet on the top a diamond. If the table facet (the polished flat surface on a diamond) is too large or too small, it will often indicate poor proportions overall, which will affect a diamond's brilliance.
The table percentage is derived by dividing the width of the table by the diameter of the gemstone.
