WHAT IS A DIAMOND

Diamonds are a unique marvel of nature.

They are the only precious stone made exclusively out of carbon.

Carbon’s atoms are the tightest chemical bonds that exist, thus making diamonds the hardest of all gemstones.

Its extraordinary hardness guarantees that a diamond’s clarity scale won’t ever change. However, due to its internal structure, if hit in a critical place, a diamond can flake. Diamond cutters use these cleavage points to give a diamond its shape.

Sometimes this extraordinary and unique chemical composition can have infinitesimal molecular distortions, which, in very rare cases, allow diamonds to acquire colors of incredible beauty: red, blue, green, yellow, and orange.

In gemology the term “diamond” signifies the precious stone, whereas the term “brillante” or “brilliant” refers to the cut, for example “brilliant-cut”.
A brilliant is a diamond cut in a particular round form with 57 facets so as to have exceptional brilliance. The shape resembles that of a cone and provides maximized light return through the top of the diamond.

The value of a diamond varies depending on 4 parameters

a) carat: it indicates the weight unit of diamonds, 1 carat is equal to 0,20 gr. Therefore in 1 gram there are 5 carats. The value increases exponentially and not proportionally to the weight increase. Price increments are every 10 hundreds of a carat with peaks when changing from one caliber to the next.

b) clarity: clarity is identified with the purity of the brilliant, observed with a magnifying glass to 10x. FL-IF (Flawless or Internally Flawless) indicates that the diamond has no inclusions inside.

c) color: letters from D to Z indicate the color tones. Letter D represents the whiter diamonds, which are more valuable. Fancy color including pink, blue, light blue, yellow are also valuable, rare and worthy.

d) cut: to best reflect the light, the diamond must have excellent cut and proportions. Each cut is estimated between excellent and poor.

HOW TO READ A CERTIFICATE: THE FOUR “C”S

C1

CARAT

The Caratindicates the weight of the diamond.

C2

CLARITY

The Clarity indicates the amount of inclusions inside the gemstone.
IF stands for internally flawless, it has no inclusions
VVS stands for very very slightly included, it is divided into 2 subcategories VVS1-VVS2
VS stands for very slightly included, and it is divided into 2 subcategories VS1-VS2
SI stads for slightly included, it is divided into 2 subcategories SI1-SI2
I stands for included, it is divided into 3 subcategories I1,I2,I3

C3

COLOR

The Color indicates the color grade of the diamond. It is measured from D to Z. D stands for incolor Z stand for an intense saturation. In the yellow-brownish scale (Cape series) saturations of color after Z become Fancy. For other diamond colors, we will call Fancy saturations of color from H on.

C4

CUT

The Cut has several aspects to consider: the proportions, symmetry and polishing.
Each of these aspects is assigned an evaluation:
Excellent – Very Good – Good – Medium – Poor

HOW TO EVALUATE A DIAMOND

  • The Shape and Cut
A diamond can have several shapes: heart-shaped, teardrop, the boat-shaped marquise or “navette”, rectangular, square, triangular, and, the most famous of all, round.
How a diamond is cut, the way it is faceted, is also important.
A “brilliant-cut” is the most usual because it captures and reflects the most light.

Other cuts include: princess, stepped or emerald, rose, radiant, and trillant.

 

  • Symmetry and Polishing
The more symmetric are the facets of a diamond, the higher is its value. The more the facets are equidistant, the same in size, mirrored one against another, the more the facets are symmetric.
Polishing each and every facet of a diamond to make it as shiny as possible is the last step of diamond processing. Symmetry affects a diamond’s sparkle; polishing its shininess.
A diamond’s brilliance is determined by the gleam that radiates from within the stone;

whereas its shininess depends on the mirror-effect of its facets.

 

  • Proportions and Carat Weight
Every cut diamond is evaluated by its proportions because the proportions of its cut strongly affect its brilliance.
International diamond cut grades are:
excellent, very good, good, medium, and poor. We at Ansuini only select diamonds with excellent or very good proportions to guarantee their maximum brilliance.

Carat weight is the weight of each diamond. One carat weighs 0.20 grams. The heavier the diamond, the higher is its value. Thus a 2-carat diamond costs much more than two diamonds weighing one carat each.

 

  • Color
Diamonds can be colorless, have shades of color, or have bright colors.
Their colors can be yellow, brown, orange, grey, pink, red, green and blue.
The most common diamonds have shades of yellow-brown. Of these, the colorless (white) ones are the most sought-after.
A diamond’s color intensity is classified by a letter. D corresponds to colorless, the most white. Z corresponds to intense color.

Yellow diamonds, which have a more intense color than the letter Z, are particularly beautiful and called “fancy”. Pink, red, green and blue diamonds, rarer than yellow ones, are called “fancy” after the color intensity of Letter H.

 

  • Clarity and Inclusions
Clarity is the study of the inclusions inside a diamond, it can only be carried out by a gemological expert. The clarity degree is assigned using a 10x magnifying glass with the aid of a microscope.
Inclusions are elements inside the diamond that alter its structure.
They can be crystals of other minerals incorporated in the growth path of a diamond, internal fractures, irregularly grown carbon or other elements.
These elements trapped inside the diamond create small dots, lines which, depending on their number and size, give a degree of clarity to the diamond. A diamond without inclusions is rarer and more expensive.

For information write to diamondcenter@ansuini.it