There are four C's that determine the value of a diamond. To establish a diamond's quality, jewelers examine each of the 4 C's: cut, clarity, carat weight, and color. The combination of the four C's determines the value of a particular diamond.

CUT

Many people confuse cut with the shape of a diamond. Diamonds are cut into a number of shapes, depending on the nature of the rough stone. The most popular are round, marquise, oval, pear, heart, emerald, and princess cut. When cut to good proportions, the diamond is better able to handle light, creating more scintillation and more sparkle.

COLOR

Diamonds are found in a range of colors, from faint yellow or brown through to the very rare pinks, blues, greens, and other colors known as "fancies".

CLARITY

To determine a diamond's clarity, it is viewed under 10-power magnification by a trained eye. Most diamonds contain natural inclusions. However, the fewer and smaller the inclusions are, the less likely it is that they will interfere with the passage of light through the diamond, and the more beautiful the diamond will be.

CARAT - WEIGHT

This is the weight of a diamond measured in carats. One carat is divided into 100 "points", so that a diamond of 75 points weighs .75 carats. Carat-weight is the easiest of the 4 C's to determine. But two diamonds of equal weight can have very unequal value, depending on their cut, color and clarity.