Freeman Jewelers

Diamonds

While every diamond has flashes of brilliance and fire, the combination of the 4 C’s makes some diamonds more valuable than others.  Our trained and professional staff will help educate you on how Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat weight all affect the price of your new diamond.

Cut

It is a common misconception that cut refers to the shape of a diamond but in reality it refers to the proportions and facet placement.  An optimally proportioned diamond will return most of the light entering the stone to provide maximum brilliance and dispersion.

Brilliance is one of the most sought after and important traits in a diamond.  Many manufacturers have patented the cut of their proprietary stones based solely on the sheer number of facets the diamond possesses. A properly cut or faceted diamond will reflect light a number of times inside the diamond and then out the top of the stone. The amount of light dispersion from the top of the stones determines the stones brilliance and greatly affects the diamonds value. 

Color

The Color grade of a diamond is one of the most determinate evaluations of a diamond’s price. There are very subtle gradations between each color grade category.  And with the exception of the fancy colors (yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, red, and orange), a colorless diamond is considered the most valuable.

Because of the many new treatments that can alter the color of a stone, the buyer should beware of any “great-buy” diamond which is not accompanied by a diamond report.  Treatments range from simply ‘painting’ the diamond, which can sometimes be removed by cleaning with alcohol to HPHT (high pressure/high temperature).

The color and cut of a diamond are the 2 characteristics most visible to the human eye at varying sizes. Which is why they have the greatest affect on a diamonds face up beauty. 

Clarity

The clarity grade of a diamond refers to the degree in which a diamond is free from internal inclusions (minerals or fissures included within the diamond) and external blemishes. To determine a diamond’s clarity grade, it is viewed under 10-power magnification by a trained gemologist. The clarity grade is based on the number, size, position, nature and relief or color of the inclusions.  If there are no inclusions the diamond is graded internally flawless and commands the highest prices. 

As with color treatments, buyers should beware of a number of techniques for masking inclusions.  Vaporization of inclusions by laser, creating minute channels within the stone and filling of fractures with various colorless glass like substances are 2 very popular treatments.

Carat Weight

The metric carat, which equals 0.20 grams, is the standard unit of weighing diamonds and other gems.  One carat is divided into 100 ‘points’, therefore a diamond weighing 50 points is equal to one-half carat. Diamonds of different cuts may seem similar in size, but actually vary in weight due to their proportions. 

When inquiring into the weight of a diamond, one must be precise to ask what are the individual weights of each stone as well s the total weight.  Further, one should not confuse size with weight.  Often jewelers are asked how large a stone is and some will reply ’This stone spreads…’ a certain weight.  This means that the diamond appears to weigh more than it actually does.