Article: diamond education: a comprehensive guide to a custom engagement ring

Aug 14, 2023Learn

diamond education: a comprehensive guide to a custom engagement ring

GRADING A DIAMOND

The Lab Grown Diamonds we sell are graded by an independent, third-party laboratory called The International Gemological Institute or IGI for short. IGI is the most commonly used laboratory for grading lab-grown diamonds and it is who we use to make sure you are secure in your purchase. When you buy a certified diamond, you can feel confident knowing exactly what you are purchasing.

For an example of an IGI certificate click here.

There are 4 main factors in grading a diamond, the Cut, the Color, the Clarity, and the Carat Weight.

CUT

Contrary to many people’s belief, the Cut grade (Also called the Wow-Factor) is actually the most important of the 4 C’s to most consumers. The Cut grade comes from many factors such as symmetry, polish, proportions, and size and position of facets. A smaller diamond that is cut optimally (Excellent or Ideal Cut) will sparkle much better and many times will look larger than a larger diamond that is cut sub-optimally (Poor, Fair, or Good Cut). The consistency and balance of all of these factors can greatly affect how the stone reflects light back to the eye.

Ideal

Shallow

Deep

COLOR

An important factor that determines the value of a diamond is its color. Most diamonds are not colorless so the more pure the color, the more valuable the diamond (not including fancy color diamonds). Color is graded starting at D and goes through Z. The diamonds we sell are almost always within the D-J range. D/E/F are considered Colorless and G/H/I/J are considered Near-Colorless. The grade represents a range of color that is determined by a process of comparing each individual diamond to a master set.

D | E | F

G | H | I | J

K | L | M

N | O | P | Q | R

S | T | U | V | W | X | Y

Z+

CLARITY

A diamond’s clarity grade is based on the imperfections or “inclusions” that it may or may not have. The fewer the number of inclusions, the more “perfect” the diamond is, and therefore the greater the value is. Even nearly imperceptible surface or internal imperfections can alter the sparkle of the diamond which affects it’s value.

FL | IF

VVS1 | VVS2

VS1 | VS2

SI1 | SI2

I1 | I2 | I3

CARAT

Carat weight is not a measure of the size of the diamonds, it’s actually the measure of the weight of the diamond. Each carat is ⅕ of a gram (so a 5 carat diamond would weigh 1 gram!) You guessed it, as a diamond weighs more (larger carat weight) it is worth more! There are fewer larger diamonds vs small ones so that drives the value higher.

Written by Matt Frost

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