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DIAMOND GUIDE

Your guide to grading the quality of diamonds

TYPICAL DIAMOND GRADING REPORT

Many diamond grading reports provide facts and information relating to the diamond you have purchased.  A typical diamond grading report details the following:

Carat Wight
Size, symmetry and proportions ( Cut )
Clarity Grade
Colour Grade

But would you understand the meaning of a grading report stating that a diamond was clarity VS2 and the colour E with a faint level of fluorescence?

All the diamond grading charts are detailed below to help you through the minefield of buying a diamond!

THE QUALITY OF THE DIAMOND

The quality of a diamond is determined by a number of different methods including the famous 4 C’s of diamond grading (Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat Weight). This diamond grading system provides an excellent guide to the quality of a diamond. The numbers, sizes, colours locations and visibility of any inclusions and / or blemishes in a diamond can also effect the grading and quality of a diamond. This page details the grading systems and charts relating to diamond clarity, colour grading for white or colourless diamonds, carat weight and a diamond fluorescence grading chart.

CLARITY GRADING

The majority of Diamond Inclusions cannot be seen by the human eye so systems have been developed to grade diamond clarity. The different types of diamond grades reflecting clarity are detailed on the Diamond Clarity Chart. Diamond grading on a Diamond Clarity Chart ranges from high quality, rare and expensive flawless to imperfect and cheap diamonds. As the majority of inclusions cannot be seen by the naked eye they are located by a jeweller under a 10power magnification and then graded according to their clarity. The grading and levels are described on the Clarity Chart. An excellent grading guide when choosing diamonds.

COLOUR GRADING FOR WHITE COLOURED OR COLOURLESS DIAMONDS

White coloured, or colourless, diamonds are categorized into the following: Colourless, Nearly Colourless, Faintly tinted (usually yellow), Lightly tinted (usually yellow) and Tinted (usually yellow but may progress to brownish). The scale and grading for colourless diamonds goes from “D” (Colourless) to “Z” (dark yellow). The less colour, the more expensive.

CARAT WEIGHT DEFINES THE WEIGHT, NO THE SIZE OF A DIAMOND

The Carat Weight defines the weight, not the size of a diamond. The size of a diamond relate to the proportions, dimensions or measurement in terms of length, width and height. In diamond grading the carat weight is the standard unit of measure that defines the actual weight of a diamond. A Carat is a standard unit of weight for the diamonds. In diamond grading carat weights are also expressed as “points” with a one carat diamond equaling 100 points.