Is the diamond I am buying a genuine natural diamond? Has the diamond been tampered with?

If you want to understand a diamond, you should first learn to understand the four standardized attributes shared by all diamonds viz. Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight also known as the 4 Cs.

Skilled gemologists study each diamond under controlled lighting and viewing conditions. A diamond is first tested to determine whether a diamond is natural or lab cultivated. And then, it is onto the four Cs.

Color: As far as diamonds are concerned, lesser the color, higher the grade. The standard color scale groups diamonds from D colorless, to Z light yellow or Brown. An existing master set of diamonds represent the standard color scale. Each diamond is compared to this master set of diamonds and accordingly allocated its color. Colors are graded as follows:

Grades D E and F Colorless

Grades G H I and J Near Colorless

Grades K L and M Faint Yellow

Grades N O P Q and R Very Light Yellow

Grades S T U V W X Y and Z Light Yellow To Brown

Clarity: The standard clarity grade includes 11 clarity grades ranging from flawless to I-3.

Flawless FL: The FL grade diamonds are completely flawless. Inclusions or blemishes are not visible in the diamond at ten times magnification. Flawless diamonds are very very rare. Nevertheless, a diamond does not have to be flawless to be gorgeous. VVS and VS grade diamonds make a bright choice for looks as well as value. Diamonds with no inclusions visible to the naked eye between the grades SI1 and SI2 are called eye clean diamonds, are more affordable and make great choices.

IF: IF grade diamonds are Internally flawless. Though outside flaws are present, they can be removed by skilled polishing of the stone

VVS1 - VVS2: A professional gemologist can spot the flaws under ten times magnification.

VS1 - VS2: You can yourself spot the flaws under ten times magnification with great difficulty.

SI1 - SI2: You can spot the flaws under ten times magnification easily.

I1 - I3: Flaws are visible to the naked eye.

A ten time magnification loop and a microscope are used to see and plot the inclusions in a diamond. No two diamonds are exactly alike and this unique plot helps to identify a particular stone. Graders also look to see if there is any proof that our diamond was treated to improve its clarity.

Cut: The standard cut scale consists of 5 grades varying from excellent to poor. Don't confuse "cut" with "shape." Shape refers to the general outward look of the diamond, such as round, emerald, or pear while cut refers to its reflective properties. There is much more to cut than the basic shape. The cut and polish have a direct affect on the sparkle and brilliance coming out of the stone. Each diamond is placed in a highly accurate measuring device that rotates the stone three hundred and sixty degrees to optically catch hundreds of measurements and facet angles. A comprehensive system factors a diamond's proportions as well as it culet size, girdle thickness, polish, symmetry descriptions etc. to generate a cut grade. A diamond with a good carat weight will be much less valuable if it is poorly cut.

Carat Weight: One carat equals one fifth of a gram (or 200 milligrams) in weight. Each diamond is weighed on an extremely accurate electronic weighing scale kept in a sealed chamber and weighed to the correctness of the fifth decimal place. A carat is a unit of measuring weight and not size. As such, two diamonds with the same carat weight may appear to be of different sizes.

A wealth of additional information along with the 4 Cs appears on a diamond's grading report. It is a unique blueprint of a diamonds attributes and a permanent record of its quality. The act of choosing your diamond should be exciting and enjoyable. Just keep the four Cs in mind.

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