Smart Buying
Clicks and Stones
Buying a diamond for that special someone just got easier. All you have to do is remember the five c's -- carat, clarity, color, cut and now cut grade -- and the letter e, as in e-tailer.
By Sean O'Neill
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, February 2006
Advertisement
Five Measures of Perfection
CARAT refers to a diamond's weight, not its size.
Fact: A carat is one-fifth of a gram.
Tip: A lighter rock will likely fetch a lower price per carat, but that 0.9-carat diamond will sparkle more than a 1.0-carat example if the cutter trimmed its excess weight correctly. The lesson: Heavier isn't always better.
CLARITY is the degree to which a diamond is free of flaws.
Fact: Flaws cut a gem's price.
Tip: The naked eye would easily see the flaws in a stone with the GIA's clarity code of I2. A non-gemologist using a magnifying lens would have difficulty seeing flaws in a diamond graded VVS1.
COLOR refers to a diamond's transparency.
Fact: As a rule, the more transparent the ice, the higher its price.
Tip: Compromises on color may escape unnoticed. A nearly colorless stone will look the same to an untrained eye as a colorless stone (with a higher grade) but will cost less.
CUT refers to a diamond's shape and style.
Fact: A diamond's shape (round or square, for example) and style (such as brilliant, with facets radiating outward) are factors that together make up the stone's cut.
Tip: Cut can make a diamond appear larger or smaller than its carat weight.
CUT GRADE (NEW) judges brilliance and sparkle, plus other factors.
Fact: Cut grade is the most important indicator of a diamond's wow effect. Fewer than 5% of diamonds on the market would earn high marks if given a cut grade.
Tip: Stones with similar cut grades should be priced about the same.