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Diamond Jewelry |
Gemstone
Jewelry |
Gold
Jewelry |
Platinum
Collection |
Gift
Boutique |
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Diamond Quality: Color
Clarity Carat Weight Cut |
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Color
While many diamonds appear
colorless, or white, they may actually have subtle yellow or brown tones
that can be detected when comparing diamonds side by side. Colorless
diamonds are the rarest and most valuable of all. Color variations are a
result of the natural forces (i.e., temperature, pressure, trace elements)
at work during the formation of diamonds within the Earth. Because
subtle color variations dramatically affect the value of a diamond, a
color grading scale is used to categorize the shading differences from one
diamond to the next.
Diamonds are graded according
to the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) color chart.
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GIA color grade
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Description |
Appearance
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Relative Industry
Price Comparison for 1 carat VS1 clarity round |
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Colorless |
Stone looks absolutely clear, with no hint of color to the eye in
color grading or mounted
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$8500 |
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$7900 |
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$7500 |
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Near Colorless |
Some color tint is visible during grading. Mounted in a setting,
stone appears colorless. GHI color diamonds are considered
very nice diamonds for fine jewelry.
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$7000 |
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$6400 |
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$5500 |
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$4800 |
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Faint yellow |
Yellow or grayish tint is obvious during color grading. Mounted,
this stone still shows a tint of color
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$4400 |
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$3900 |
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$3200 |
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Light yellow |
Obvious yellow or grayish color
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N/A |
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Fancy |
Bright, remarkable color - usually blue, pink, yellow
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N/A |
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Clarity is an
indication of a diamond's purity. Clarity is determined by a diamond's
naturally occurring internal characteristics. These characteristics
are sometimes not visible to the naked eye and they are what make each
diamond unique. The characteristics, or inclusions, may look like
crystals, feathers, clouds or dark spots and the quantity, size, and
location of these inclusions does have an affect on a diamond's value.
Diamonds with fewer and smaller inclusions generally are more
brilliant, assuming that the color and cut are the same.
The
U.S. Federal Trade Commission has established the jewelry industry's
standards for diamond clarity based on 10-power magnification. A diamond
is graded by its relative departure from "flawless"--the
complete absence of inclusions under 10x magnification.
Less
than 1% of all diamonds ever found have had no inclusions and can be
called flawless (FL) or internally flawless (IF). VVS diamonds are
also extremely rare. VS diamonds are of superior quality and are
used in extremely fine jewelry. This clarity grade becomes more important
as the diamond size increases. A large percentage of jewelry is made
with SI quality diamonds. These diamonds are perfect for diamond studs or
multi-stone diamond earrings, rings and bracelets or as accents in
gemstone rings. I quality diamonds are acceptable as well for
diamond jewelry or as accents but the sparkle is reduced by the number and
location of inclusions.
| Clarity
Grade |
Description |
Appearance
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Relative Industry
Price
Comparison for 1 carat G color Round |
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Flawless |
Clear stone, free of all
flaws, even under 10x magnification
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$9000 |
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Internally
Flawless |
No inclusions visible at
10x magnification
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$8000 |
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Very
Very Slight Inclusion #1 |
Tiny inclusions are
extremely difficult to find, even under 10x magnification
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$7500 |
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Very
Very Slight Inclusion #2 |
Tiny inclusions are very
difficult to find, even under 10x magnification
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$6500 |
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Very
Slight Inclusion #1 |
Minor inclusions are
difficult to see under 10 x magnification
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$7000 |
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Very
Slight Inclusion #2 |
Minor inclusions are
somewhat difficult to find under 10x magnification
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$6000 |
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Slight
Inclusion #1 |
Inclusions are easy to
see under 10x magnification. These diamonds are considered
"eye clean" since inclusions can not been seen with the
naked eye. In larger diamonds very very small inclusions may be
visible and still be classified as SI1.
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$5500 |
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Slight
Inclusion #2 |
Inclusions and/or
blemishes are easy to see at 10x. These diamonds are
considered "eye clean" since inclusions can not
been seen with the naked eye. In larger diamonds very small
inclusions may be visible and still be classified as SI2.
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$4500 |
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Included
#1 |
Inclusions and/or
blemishes are obvious and rather easy to see without magnification.
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$3700 |
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Included
#2 |
Inclusions and/or
blemishes are obvious and easy to see without magnification
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$2500 |
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Included
#3 |
Inclusions and blemishes
that are obvious to the unaided eye
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$1300 |
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| Carat
Diamonds
are measured in terms of weight, not size. The heavier the diamond, the
greater the carat weight. Two diamonds of
equal weight can have very different values, because the quality is still
determined by the color, clarity and cut. As diamonds increase in
size, their cost tends to increase exponentially rather than
arithmetically. Thus, a one-carat diamond can cost significantly more than
a one-half carat diamond of equal quality. The weight of a diamond
less than one carat in size may also be described in terms of
"points". There are 100 "points" in 1 carat.
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Carat Weight |
Diameter |
Relative Price Comparison for H color, SI1 clarity Round |
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0.03 carats |
2 mm |
$680/carat |
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0.10 carats |
3 mm |
$760/carat |
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0.25 carats |
4 mm |
$1300/carat |
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0.45 carats |
5 mm |
$2200/carat |
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0.50 carats |
5.2 mm |
$3100/carat |
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0.80 carats |
6 mm |
$4300/carat |
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1.25 carats |
7 mm |
$6000/carat |
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Cut
Diamonds mined
from the earth look like tumbled gems or beach glass. To turn the
diamond into a beautiful gem, the diamond is cut with precise facets, or
tiny polished faces. There are 58 total facets on the round brilliant
diamond: 33 facets are in the crown and table (largest facet) located above the
girdle (the diamond’s widest point), 24 facets in the pavilion and 1
facet at the bottom, or culet.
A
well cut diamond will have an amazing brilliance and fire. This is caused
by white light reflecting off the diamond’s surfaces and the mirrored
depths of the pavilion. The key to desirable fire and brilliance is
proportion. Light striking a shallow cut diamond will fall out the other
side and not reflect back to the top. Light striking a deep cut diamond
will get lost in the pavilion and also be unable to reflect back to the
top.
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