History Of Diamonds

The Evolution of Diamond Cutting.
Experimentation with diamond cutting did not yield any significant results till the seventeenth century. The early diamond cutters were unable to polish the rough octahedral diamonds. However, they found out that they could polish or grind diamonds into a point by polishing almost parallel to the diamonds rough faces, at an angle lesser than the diamond rough faces. They also realised that only diamonds cut diamonds. Hence they used a wooden table covered with diamond dust to achieve any kind of polishing. This resulted in the "Rose Cut". It was called the rose cut due to it's resemblance to the "Rose Bud". The rose cut came into existence in the early sixteenth century and was widely used till the early nineteenth century.

The Round Brilliant Cut.
There have been a few intermediaries who have contributed to the present cutting style of the round brilliant cut. The most noteworthy and the direct ancestor (the grandfather) is the "Old Mine Cut" or the "Old Miner". It is also known as the "Triple Cut". It came into existence in the late seventeenth century. The old miner was the first diamond cut that had all the facets of the present round brilliant cut viz. the bezel, the star, pavilion mains, etc. However, the facet alignment and sizes were in a different manner as compared to the current round brilliant. The old miner was also more of a square or cushion cut, rather than being round. The direct descendant to the old miner is the "Old European Cut". I consider the old European cut to be the father of the present round brilliant cut. The old European cut was more evident in the late eighteenth century till the early twentieth century. Many experiments were done on the old European cut during the early twentieth century regarding it's various facet positioning and angles. Most notable were the one done by Henry Morse and Marcel Tolkowsky. More has been mentioned about them in the Ideal Diamond Cut section. They ultimately gave birth to the present round brilliant cut and the ideal cut diamond proportions.

If you have done your research work then you already know what I am going to talk about (the 4 C's). However, what most people do not do is make a relationship between the 4 C's and diamond prices. Diamond prices work on the basis of these 4 C's and they are all interdependent. So here I go, the 4 C's in no particular order.

Carat
When people talk about how big a diamond is, they're talking about carats. Carat (abbrv. 'ct') is the unit of measurement used for diamonds. One carat equals 1/5 of a gram. The weight of a diamond can also be measured in points - 100 points equal one carat. Hence 1/2 a carat is equal to 50 points or 0.50 cts. The bigger the diamond the rarer it is and therefore more valuable (value ≠ price). Diamonds weighing less than 20 points (0.20 cts) are called 'Melee' (rhymes with jelly). The carat size of a diamond can also be estimated through Millimeters (mm). For example a 1 carat round diamond is approximately 6.5 mm in diameter (if cut properly).

Color
Most consumers think that diamonds are colorless. I do not blame them. It is because the retail trade mostly sells diamonds that are colorless, near colorless to slightly yellow colored diamonds. Most of the websites also mention just these common colors. Contrary to common beliefs diamonds come in yellow, brown, pink, red, blue, purple, green, black, gray, violet, orange. Out of these, yellow and brown are the most common. Red and green are the rarest followed by orange, pink, violet, blue and purple.
The color of a diamond is determined by examining it face up and then face down. Now the color classification. According to G.I.A. standards, diamonds are classified from D to Z. D being colorless and Z, the most yellow or brown. Anything after Z is considered to be Fancy Colored in yellow or brown colors. Now let me explain the various classifications within D to Z.

D-E-F - The three of them are 'Colorless'. The only difference between each of them is transparency with D being the most transparent.
G-H-I - 'Near Colorless' category. With G being th highest grade in this section. No color can be seen face up but very slight yellow can be seen face down.
J-K-L-M - After J, an untrained individual can see the diamond color with his naked eye. This comes in the 'Slightly Yellow' category. Face up - very slight yellow and face down - slight yellow.
N-Z - 'Yellow' category. The yellow color is obvious face up and face down. Anything beyond that is a Z or above is 'Fancy' colored.

There you go! Carat and Color, two important C's explained. Continue to the next page for information on the other two C's - Clarity and Cut.

Let's resume with the other two C's and then I will put it all together to explain the relation between the 4 C's and pricing.

Clarity
Clarity is the degree to which a diamond is free of blemishes and inclusions. Blemishes are external - such as scratches, small nicks. Inclusions are within the stone - some other mineral crystal, breaks (feathers), etc. Inclusions have a greater impact on value, beauty, durability and grade of a diamond. G.I.A. classifies diamonds into 11 grades - from IF to I₃.

IF-FL - Internally Flawless to Flawless. I.F. as it mentions have nothing in them and F.L. have only minor blemishes which can be removed by polishing.
VVS₁-VVS₂ - Very Very Slightly Included.
VS₁-VS₂ - Very Slightly Included
SI₁-SI₂ - Slightly Included. After SI₂ inclusions are visible with the naked eye in diamonds of larger size.
I₁-I₃ - Included. This category affects the durability and beauty of the stone drastically, no matter what the size.

 

Cut
Cut is the human touch to a diamond's beauty. It is one of the most important of the 4 Cs. If a diamond is cut properly, then it can both enhance color and hide inclusions. Cut also determines the amount of light returned to the eye after it has entered the diamond. If a diamond is cut too deep (called 'Nailhead') or too shallow (called 'Fish Eye') then light leaks out of the diamond pavilion. In other words a diamond will not have a good dispersion if it is not cut well. That could be disastrous. Cut also includes minute details that make up the full geometry of the diamond such as girdle thickness, facet arrangement, crown angle, table size, etc. It is not one thing but a whole collective that makes up Cut. It also includes the various diamond shapes.

In the next section, I will explain the relationship between the 4 Cs that make up the 5^th C - Cost.

Relationship between the 4 C's and Diamond Prices (the 5^th C - Cost).

Let's continue then, shall we! The 4 C's working among themselves directly affect the price of a Diamond. They are all interconnected to come to the final price determination. Each one of them is important and none supersedes the other in any way. This might get confusing but just stay with me and I will explain everything step by step.

While considering the price factor, always keep in mind the rarity of a diamond. The rarer the stone, more is the price. I will explain the prices in a relative or comparative manner. Keep in mind, no two diamonds are ever identical. Always remember that a diamond is nature's gift and it does not come with a price tag nor are two prices identical. You might get different prices from different jewelers depending on their buying patterns, sources and suppliers. Let's now start with Carat Size (no particular order).

Carat
Diamonds come in all different kinds of sizes from 0.005 ct to 500 ct (and more). The larger is the size of the diamond the rarer it is to mine. Hence a 1 ct diamond is rarer than a 1/2 carat diamond. However, the price of a 1 ct diamond is not twice the price of a 1/2 ct. It is actually more than twice the price. The price is not directly proportionate to it's size. The reason is attributed to rarity. It is way difficult to get a 1 ct diamond than it is to get a 1/2 ct. Moreover, when a polished 1 ct diamond is found in rough, it actually weighs 50%-60% more. You can thus imagine that it is very difficult to retain diamond weight in rough. If you want higher carat then the diamond cutter has to give up on the other C, which 90% of the time is the Cut. Hence, the cutter usually goes into a fancy shaped diamonds (other than round) to get maximum weight out of a diamond. This way he does not have to sacrifice a lot on the carat weight. According to many people Carat is the most important price factor. I tend to agree. To get diamonds of high carat weight is very difficult. To find a 2 or 3 carat diamond is not easy. If you find one then the price is mostly in 5 digits. Imagine a 5 carat and above. That comes in a 6 digit dollar figure.

Color
As mentioned before, diamonds come in different colors. The fancy colors (red, green, blue, etc.) are way more costly than the regular colorless, yellow and brown. A fancy colored stone of equivalent size to a colorless stone will be more than thrice the price of the colorless one. But let's not get into that. As a consumer you are most likely to buy a stone which is within the regular color grading charts. The colorless variety D,E,F with D being the costliest. Once again due to rarity and beauty. G,H,I are the most common one that are found. A person cannot see the color in a 'G' or 'H' color. I have found that on few occasions consumers tend to see the 'I' color in a stone. However, once you enter the 'J' color zone the color is eye visible even to an untrained eye. The biggest price difference in color occurs when you jump from 'G' to 'F'. The reason is simple because you go into the colorless category, so you pay more. My advice to you when buying a diamond - try to be within the G,H,I range. If you want to go for a G or above, then that is really great. Let's jump onto Clarity now, shall we.

Clarity
Undoubtedly the most under-rated of all the C's. Clarity doesn't cause a significant amount of change in price unless it jumps to the higher grades. The biggest price jump in clarity comes when you move from a 'SI₁' quality to 'VS₂'. Why? Because the inclusions in the VS quality is less prominent than that of a SI. In SI₂ you can see the inclusions eye visible in significant sized diamonds like a 1 ct stone (that is not the only criteria that makes up SI₂). On the other hand when clarity is mixed with a high carat weight then the price can be whopping. So clarity cannot be taken lightly. If you want a stone that is clean then it will cost you. A 2 ct VVS₁ would be again worth a lot of money. The culprit to blame once again is rarity along with beauty. My advice to you when choosing clarity - try to stay within the VS and SI₁. If you prefer a SI₂ then read onto the next section.

Cut
The last but definitely not the least, this C can pack a heavy punch even in small sizes. As I had mentioned before to get well cut stone, the diamond cutter has to sacrifice a lot of the rough diamond weight. The customer thus has to pay more to incorporate for the lost weight. Moreover, it requires excellent skills to cut and facet a well or ideal cut stone. That is also included in the cost that you as the consumer has to pay. The results are astounding. The sparkle is really awesome. The stone just shines, it just shines. It doesn't matter what light it is kept under or in which metal it is set in. That baby will sparkle like there's no tomorrow. The brilliance and dispersion is incomparable. Moreover, a good cut hides or reduces the visual effects of inclusions within the stone. Hence, if you have an ideal or well cut SI₂ then there is a good possibilty that you will not be able to see the inclusion with your naked eye. No matter what you do, never compromise with the cut of the stone. Always go in for a well cut stone. After all what good is a diamond if it doesn't sparkle.

The next section I am working on is buying over the internet. I am sure that once in a while you go and check out the prices at the internet diamond companies. I would love it if I could get any feedback from anyone who has bought diamonds from the internet.

Diamond Certification:

Grading reports play an extremely important role in evaluating a diamond. They are important for the consumer as well as for the jeweler. A Diamond certificate gives security to the consumer that they are buying what the jeweler is promising them and for the jeweler they eliminate the mystery of grading an uncertified stone. A certified diamond secures and builds a relationship between the customer and the jeweler. It is thus important to understand a diamond certificate. A diamond grading report has complete information about the diamond. It describes the various factors determining the beauty, durability, value and quality of the diamond. It verifies and confirms the identity of the diamond. They are extremely helpful for insurance companies to replace your diamond as close as possible in the event of a loss or theft.

Accuracy of the certificate also depends on who is certifying or grading the diamond. In the USA, the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory is the topmost authority in diamond grading. Their grading and measurements are the most accurate. The AGS (GIA's sister company) is also in the forefront. There are other laboratories like the European Gemological Laboratories, International Gemological Institute that are US Based and many other local gem labs. The topmost European laboratories are Gubelin Labs of Switzerland and The Belgian Diamond High Council in Antwerp.

Anatomy of a Diamond Certificate.

Date: You have to make sure that the certificate is not very old. Usually a certificate, which is 2-3 years old, should stand good. In the case of an old certificate, usually 4 - 5 years old, you should make sure that there are no alterations done to the stone. This means that the stone should not be chipped or damaged in any other way. You can do this buy comparing the stone with the certificate.

Report Number: This is very important in case you loose your certificate. You can issue a duplicate certificate incase you loose your original.

Carat Weight: This mentions the exact weight of the diamond rounded to the hundredth of decimal e.g. 1.01 carats

Clarity and Color: This mentions the clarity and the color of the diamond. As you have already read in the 4 C's section this plays an important part in diamond prices.

Shape/Cut: This mentions the cut of the stone i.e. old european cut, round brilliant cut, princess (square modified brilliant), etc.

Measurements/Dimensions: This part of the report has the measurements of the stone in millimeters to the hundredth of decimal. The measurements could be the highest diameter measurement and the lowest diameter measurements for a round. Fancy shapes have the length and the width. The diameter in round diamonds help you to decide whether the stone is round or out of round. The deviations between the diameters result in an out of round diamond. It is not possible to get a perfectly round diamond. Slight deviations are acceptable. The length and the width in fancy shapes decide whether the stone is too long or too short. Let's take an example of emerald cut. The length to width ratio in an emerald cut diamond should be between 1.50: 1 and 1.75: 1. Any deviations more than that makes it look too long or too short.

Proportions: They are usually mentioned in percentage or angles. The right percentage and angles result in an optimum balance of dispersion and brilliance. They consist of Table %: The table decides how much brilliance (white light) is reflected back to the eye. A majority of diamonds have their table percentage ranging from 53 % to 64 %.

Total depth %: This is very important. A diamond with a high total depth % (more than 63%) could add weight to the stone but no beauty. On the other hand low total depth percentage will look bigger to the naked eye than its weight. In both cases the stone looks dark when looking straight through the table.