Choosing the perfect diamond can often be a task if you are not familiar with its basics. The key to understand a diamond and its value is to understand the 4 attributes that all diamonds share: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat, also known as the 4 C’s. This was invented by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) to have a universal language to determine the quality of a diamond.

1. Color
   The color refers to how white the diamond is. When it comes to diamonds: the less the color, the higher the grade. The color scale classifies diamonds from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow or brown). Any color beyond Z indicates that the diamond is richly colored or is also known as a fancy diamond.
2. Clarity
   The clarity scale includes 11 clarity grades- ranging from flawless to I3. Flawless indicates that there are no inclusions or blemishes visible at ten times magnification. The grade of I3 is for diamonds with inclusions that are obvious to the naked eye.
3. Cut
   The cut scale is used for round, brilliant cut diamonds and consists of 5 grades from excellent to poor. You may think that cut is the shape or a diamond like square or round. However, cut is much more than the basic shape. How a diamond is cut and polished directly affects the sparkle and brilliance that comes off of it.
4. Carat Weight
   The carat refers to the weight of the stone. It is important to know that 1 carat = 200 milligrams or 1/5th a gram. The more the carat weight the larger the diamond. It is interesting to know that larger diamonds are rare and so a diamond with a 5 carat weight is much more valuable than a diamond with a lesser carat weight.

So these were the 4 C’s to educate you about diamonds. Now every time you buy one, make sure to keep these in check to get the perfect diamond for you.