Diamond & Gemstone Education
Understanding a gemstone begins with understanding the language used to describe it. A report may contain familiar words such as color and clarity alongside technical terms that need more explanation.
Read article →Diamond Education
The 4Cs of Diamond Quality
The 4Cs are carat weight, color, clarity, and cut. They provide a widely recognized framework for describing diamond quality, but each addresses a different characteristic. Understanding their separate roles makes the whole report easier to read.
Read article →Diamond Cut vs Diamond Shape
Shape and cut are often used as though they mean the same thing. In a careful diamond description, they answer different questions.
Read article →Diamond Color Grades Explained
Diamond color can be subtle. A laboratory color assessment and the impression a person forms while looking at a mounted stone are not necessarily the same kind of observation.
Read article →Diamond Clarity Grades Explained
Diamond clarity describes internal characteristics, called inclusions, and surface features, called blemishes. A clarity result considers how those features appear under the applicable grading conditions.
Read article →Carat Weight vs Diamond Size
A carat number tells you the weight of a gemstone. It does not directly tell you how large the stone looks from above.
Read article →Natural Diamonds, Laboratory-Grown Diamonds & Simulants
These three descriptions are sometimes confused, but they do not mean the same thing. Understanding the difference begins with two questions: what is the material, and how did it form?
Read article →HPHT and CVD: How Laboratory-Grown Diamonds Are Made
HPHT and CVD describe two methods used to manufacture diamond. They explain a part of the stone's growth history, not a complete quality assessment.
Read article →Diamond Fluorescence
Fluorescence is the visible light that some diamonds emit when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. On a report, it is a description of the diamond's response under specified conditions.
Read article →Fancy-Color Diamonds
Colored diamonds invite a different kind of attention. Instead of focusing only on an absence of color, the discussion may center on the color's identity, strength, and appearance.
Read article →Diamond Shapes: Finding the Outline You Prefer
The shape of a diamond is often the first feature a person notices. Round, oval, pear, cushion, and other outlines each create a different visual impression.
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