Know the 4 C's of a diamond

Diamond is a crystallized mineral formed by carbon atoms, being the second most stable form of carbon. It is considered a precious stone and is formed under conditions of extreme pressure and temperature at depths of up to 190 km beneath the Earth's mantle.

Each diamond has distinctive characteristics. The 4 C's of a diamond are the quality standards recognized worldwide: Cut, Carat (Weight), Color and Clarity (Purity).

To get the most out of your budget you must find the correct balance of the 4 Cs.

Cut or size

Cut is the most important characteristic as it has a great impact on the sparkle of a diamond. It refers to the quality of the angles, proportions, symmetry, polishing and quantity of the facets. These factors directly affect the refraction of light and therefore the brilliance and aesthetic appearance of the diamond. If its proportions are not appropriate, it will shine less because the light inside will not be reflected properly.

At Klamore we carefully select our diamonds, always seeking to offer you maximum sparkle and brilliance.

We recommend sending your ring for professional cleaning once a year so that your ring always looks like new. Learn more about Klamore lifetime maintenance.

The shape of the diamond is different from the cut; The shape refers to the contour of the diamond, the best known are: round brilliant, princess, heart, pear, baguette, oval and marquise.

The diamond shapes that Klamore offers you are:

Round Brilliant Cut

It is the most popular and well-known. Light is reflected in its 58 facets (57, if there is no culet, that is, if the tip is closed), with perfect proportions and symmetry. With this shape, the best angles are obtained so that the diamond shines with its maximum brilliance. Each ray of light that enters the board is reflected several times before leaving the stone. See designs with this cut.

Princess Court

Perfectly square in shape, it usually consists of 76 facets, giving it a sparkling appearance. It can achieve almost the same shine as a brilliant diamond, which is why it is also one of the most popular and used in jewelry. See designs with this cut.

Heart Cut

It is a cut, which starts from a round brilliant shape and is modified into a heart shape. It is characterized by having 59 facets. In this case the cutter guarantees the symmetry and balance of the stone while the polisher highlights the brilliance of the diamond. See designs with this cut.

Pear Cut

This shape is a unique diamond cut, combining the brilliance and style of the round brilliant with marquise, giving a shape with a single prong and rounded at the other end. It usually has 56 to 58 facets. Its shape provides a subtle effect of thinness on the finger. See designs with this cut.

Emerald Cut

It has a rectangular shape with staggered elongated facets, with a flat surface in the center that highlights its clarity and brilliance. See designs with this cut.

Color

There are diamonds of different colors, the most common are colorless, which vary in a range from completely transparent to yellow in a normal color grade from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow).

There are also pink, blue, green, black diamonds (which are not really black but with many inclusions) and the rarest ones, which are red; The colors are generally due to structural flaws or defects and that is why the colorless ones are the most common.

Colorless diamonds, the less imperfections present in their color structure, are more expensive. The GIA (American Gemological Institute) color classification classifies their color as follows:

The color of a diamond is determined by comparing it with a reference stone that is characterized by having the lightest color possible for each classification. Only certified grading professionals can determine a diamond's color grade.

At Klamore, the color of our diamonds spans the “G-H” range.

Clarity

Clarity or purity refers to the level of inclusions a diamond has (inclusions are imperfections in the diamond caused by other minerals captured within the diamond, internal structural flaws or external marks); The fewer inclusions the diamond has, the greater its value. The GIA (American Gemological Institute) classification is as follows:

  1. FLAWLESS (FL): Absence of internal and external defects at 10x magnification.
  2. INTERNALLY FLAWLESS (IF): Absence of inclusions at 10x magnification; in practice with a dimension less than approximately 5 µ. Pure We can also find these denominations: pure under the magnifying glass 10 X or Loupe Clean (LC).
  3. VVS1 - VVS2: Tiny inclusion visible with great difficulty under a 10X magnifying glass. VVS = Very Very Small Inclusion(s).
  4. VS1 - VS2: Very small inclusion and difficult to see with a 10X magnifying glass. VS = Very Small Inclusion(s).
  5. SI1- SI2- SI3: Small inclusion visible with a 10X magnifying glass, invisible to the naked eye on the side of the crown.
  6. P1 (Piqué 1). Inclusion very easily visible with a 10X magnifying glass, hardly visible to the naked eye on the side of the crown and which does not affect the brilliance.
  7. P2 (Piqué 2): Large and/or numerous inclusion or inclusions easily visible to the naked eye on the side of the crown and slightly affecting the brilliance.
  8. P3 (Piqué 3): Large and/or numerous inclusion or inclusions that are very easily visible to the naked eye on the side of the crown and clearly affect the brilliance.

At Klamore, each diamond goes through a rigorous quality process so you are assured of receiving the best diamond at the best price, our diamonds have SI clarity.

Carat or weight

It refers to the weight of a diamond, not its size, it is measured in carats (ct) and the larger the piece, the greater the value it represents, the price ranges vary noticeably every 0.1 carat (ct) or 10 points.

Carat weight is not related to flash, there is often the mistaken perception that a higher carat weight is always better, but this is not always the case, since a great flash is the result of good work in diamond polishing.