Nearly every jewelry establishment handles diamonds, even if it has no other gemstones in stock. Their great brilliance and dispersion attract much attention. However, when it comes to choosing, rating, and grading diamonds, first-time diamond buyers may want to seek out for assistance.
Hi everyone,
I’m Sasha Kareva and on this channel I talk about GEMSTONES. Welcome!
Diamond is one gemstone that needs no introduction, the most famous of all the precious stones. Diamonds have been used in jewelry for many generations, and are coveted perhaps more than any other gemstone. The story of Diamond begins over 500 million years ago, deep within the Earth’s Mantle, where they were formed under immense pressure.
Said to be “a girl’s best friend”, the name 'Diamond' derives from the ancient Greek word ‘adamas’ meaning 'invincible', which it gained because of its sheer strength. Diamond is the toughest gemstone, and one of the toughest materials, known to man.
If you watched my previous videos, you already heard of the 4 CS. Same system we can use for diamond grading. I mean to get an idea about our diamond, we should judge cut, color, clarity and carat (mean weight of the gem).
According my opinion, for diamonds - cutting is the most important property. It relates to the diamond’s proportions and technical details, influencing its brilliance. A superior cut offers enhanced fire and sparkle. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky described for the first time his brilliant cut which standardized the dimensions of the 'perfect Diamond cut'. Different cuts of Diamonds do exist, but this one remains by far the most popular and common. Usually every diamond has already a gemological report. What is necessary to check?
Table shouldn’t be more than 60%, better 54-57%
Crown angles from 32 to 36 degrees are the best
And pavilion depth from 42 till 45%. When the pavilion facets are cut at the opticum angles, light from above is returned to the eye as brilliance. If the pavilion is too shallow, a «window» or ‘fish eye’ is created, while if the pavilion is too deep. ‘extinction’ or ‘black centre results.
Also, don't forget to check - Girdle Thickness. Good, If it is from Thin to Slightly Thick
Unfortunately, diamond cutters can't cut all mined diamonds to excellent proportions. Often, they must compromise between maximum brilliance and maximum yield (weight/carat retention). If cutters remove too much material from the diamond rough, they may cut away their profit. Thus, for economic reasons, many diamonds receive a cut with less than ideal proportions.
Color: The second most important property. There are two basic scale to judge diamonds color GIA and AGS. I asked all my colleagues, seems GIA scale is more popular and I’ll focus on it. Diamond color grading is focused on measuring the absence of color. The degree of colorlessness is ranked from D to Z, with D representing completely colorless and color increasing down to a rating of Z. The letter Z refers to a fancy colored diamond, but this grade only applies to yellow, brown, and gray stones having a certain degree of saturation. As you already understand, better to choose between DEF Color, GHIJ colors are also not bad. These grades are very finely tuned and even trained gemologists have difficultly distinguishing between adjacent color grades, like F and G, under natural conditions. For standardization, color grading is done under controlled lighting and viewing conditions.
Before purchasing a diamond below J in color, keep in mind that the brown or yellow color will be fairly noticeable. Generally, buying diamonds below J isn't advised.
Nevertheless, some people prefer the soft, mellow look of a faintly yellow diamond as opposed to the hard, icy brilliance of a white diamond. Perhaps for these consumers, the pale yellow color has pleasant associations, such as candlelight. If this describes you, you still shouldn't pay too much for diamonds of this color, despite the positive vibes they give.
Clarity: The third most important property.
Diamonds are formed under intense heat and pressure in a process that takes over a billion years in nature. Over the course of formation, any number of imperfections can be introduced. For gem quality diamonds these are referred to as inclusions if they are internal and blemishes if they are external. Gemologists judge a diamond's clarity based on what they can see at 10X magnification, under ideal conditions.
The highest grade a diamond can get is Flawless. That means you can see no inclusions at 10X magnification. However, this doesn't mean you can't find inclusions with higher magnification
(In addition to F for Flawless and IF for Internally Flawless, clarity grades use the letters V, S and I. They stand for Very, Small, and Inclusion. Numbers 1 to 3 further designate levels within grade. )
After F and IF, clarity grades proceed as follows:
VVSI1 and VVS2 or Very, Very Small Inclusions
VSI1 VS2 or Very Small Inclusions
SI1 (Small Inclusions One) SI2 (Small Inclusions Two)
All these clarity grades indicate diamonds with no "inclusions visible to the naked eye. These are all "eye clean."
Further down the grading scale, you'll find I1 and I2 diamonds. These have eye visible inclusions. However, they're still considered gem grade.
According my expirience, if you would like to safe money a bit. It is not so necessary to choose higher clarity like IF or VVS, VS12 and SI1 will be more than enough. Diamonds will be clean with naked eye.
Okay, seems, you are a bit tired from all this scales and numbers, let’s move to the pricing.
So, how does one get information on pricing? There are two main ways for beginners to accomplish this. The first, and perhaps, best way is to visit as many gem wholesalers as possible. During these visits, be sure to take mental notes on the prices of selected goods. Wholesalers may be found at trade shows or via appointment at their offices. As you move from wholesaler to wholesaler, try to compare the prices of goods of the same relative size and quality, in order to develop a "feel" for the current price range of those items. The key word here is "range". Three or four wholesalers may offer 1 carat, medium quality diamonds at similar prices, but it is highly unlikely that their prices will be the same. As you collect this information, bear in mind that it is subject to change over the years, months and even weeks, depending on market trends, as affected by the factors of supply and demand.
The second, though less desirable way to get pricing information is to consult the various published pricing lists. A great many of these lists are not worth the paper they are published on, but there are some notable exceptions. For diamond pricing, the Rapaport Diamond Report is universally used as a reference. The Rapaport Diamond Report is a weekly New York publication, which gives so-called "spot cash" asking prices for well cut diamonds of specific color, clarity and carat weights. In the actual marketplace, it is not unusual for diamond wholesalers to set their selling prices at about 20% below Rapaport.
Lets’s check. Together, for example you are looking 3 round shape Diamond for your engagement ring. If you want the highest clarity be ready to pay 700$ per carat. If you decide to follow my advice and ready to buy SI diamond, it will be cost 255$ per carat. And you never find a big difference between them, if you are not working in this industry of course.
Other price lists exist besides the Rapaport Diamond Report and The Guide. However, I suggest that you start by referring to these lists in order to help you develop your feel for gem pricing in general.
The days of Diamonds being exclusively reserved for the royal, rich and famous are long gone. Diamond mining is a lot more open than it used to be and more Diamonds flow into the market now, in many different grades and from many different locations. This has bought the price down to much more reasonable levels for the gem.
Diamonds were literally created as a marketing campaign after the De Beers company found an outrageous supply of diamonds in South Africa in 1938 and they needed to make people think that they were, in fact, valuable and scarce.
And as I said in previous video about Paraiba Tourmaline, only 4 gems for 10000 diamonds. That proof it easy that diamonds are not so special. And so many compohensive gems are in the market. All simulates I will cover in the next video, and to pay tribute to diamonds that are really worthy of attention, we will devote a separate video to colored diamonds, this is a much better for investment than colorless ones,
Well, anyway, I can't argue that every natural gemstone and every diamond is unique. With all this information, you can find a diamond that fits your definition of perfect-whether it's flawless or not!