Because diamonds are so rare and valuable, it's essential for industry professionals to have a universal grading system when comparing diamond quality. In the mid-twentieth century, the Gemological Institute of America also known as GIA developed the International Diamond Grading System^TM and the Four C's as a way to objectively compare and evaluate diamonds.

In all of the Four Cs, the value of a diamond is directly related to the concept of rarity.

The Four Cs of diamond quality will give you a multitude of information about a diamond's characteristics and value, but they can't begin to describe one elusive quality - beauty. To do that, you'll need to experience the diamond with your own eyes.

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The term Cut identifies the Shape and Cutting Style of a gem. Shape refers to the face-up outline of a gem, and Cutting Style is the arrangement of its facets. Without a doubt, the allure of a particular diamond depends more on cut than anything else. Cut governs the interaction between a diamond and the light around it. That interaction determines the diamond’s overall appearance. A well-cut diamond can make light perform in breathtaking ways, resulting in a magnificent display of three important diamond attributes: brilliance (brightness), fire (flashes of color), and sparkle (flashes of light when the diamond moves). Only the skill of an experienced cutter can reveal the potential beauty of the stone.

Few things in nature are absolutely perfect. That's as true of diamonds as anything else. Diamonds have internal features, called Inclusions, and external surface features, called Blemishes. Together, they’re called Clarity Characteristics. Clarity is a diamond’s degree of inclusions and blemishes. They’re evaluated by viewing the stone under 10x magnification. These inclusions & blemishes can affect a diamond’s value, even if they’re only visible under magnification. Less than one percent of mined diamonds are free of inclusions.

The GIA Clarity Scale contains 11 grades, with most readily available diamonds falling into the VS or SI categories. In determining a clarity grade, GIA considers the size, nature, position, color or relief, and quantity of clarity characteristics visible under 10x magnification.

Clarity	Experienced Grader Using 10x Magnification	Naked Eye
FL - Flawless	No inclusions or blemishes are seen
IF - Internally Flawless	No inclusions but some minor blemishes are seen
VVS1 & VVS2 - Very Very Slightly Included	Contain minute inclusions that are very difficult to see
VS1 & VS2 - Very Slightly Included	Contain minor inclusions that are difficult to see
SI1 - Slightly Included	Noticeable
SI2 - Slightly Included	Noticeable	Sometimes Visible
SI3 - Slightly Included	Recognizeable	Visible
I1- Included	Recognizeable	Visible
I2 - Included	Obvious	Recognizeable
I3 - Included	Very Obvious	Very easily recognized

Inclusions normally have more impact on a stone’s beauty and value than blemishes. That’s because many blemishes are relatively easy to remove. It’s possible to remove an inclusion that’s close to the surface, but that would cause a reduction in the diamond’s weight. Recutting or repolishing a diamond to remove a blemish, on the other hand, often increases its value. The impact of any weight loss is usually offset by the improved clarity.

Like the rest of the Four Cs, clarity’s influence on value is directly related to the concept of rarity.

Clarity characteristics might have a negative influence on a diamond’s value, but they have positive effects as well:

• They help gemologists separate diamonds from simulates. Inclusions in diamonds often have a different appearance from inclusions in simulates.
• No two diamonds have exactly the same clarity characteristics in exactly the same locations. This helps gemologists identify individual stones.
• They provide scientists with valuable information about how diamonds form.

In our short descriptions "tcw" is the abbreviation for Total Carat Weight. As you know, a carat is the standard unit of weight for diamonds. Two things often surprise people when they start learning about diamonds and carat weight. The first is the precision with which diamonds are weighed. Stones are measured to a thousandth of a carat (0.000) then rounded to the nearest hundredth of a carat (0.00). A hundredth of a carat is also called a point. An easy way to remember this is to think of a carat as dollars and points as pennies. They’re even written the same way $1.34 means one dollar and thirty four cents, and 1.34ct. means one carat and thirty four points. Fractions of a carat can mean price differences of hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

The second aspect of carat weight that surprises people is the relationship between rarity, weight, and value. People expect a pound of sugar to cost twice as much as a half pound of sugar. But diamonds aren’t sold like sugar. Lets say a 1.00 carat diamond is worth $6,000, while a 2.00 carat diamond of the similar quality might be worth $15,000. This is because larger diamonds are more rare than small ones. The scarcer something is, the more its worth. A 1.00 ct. diamond weighs the same as four 0.25ct diamonds. But even if the all the other quality factors are the equal, the larger diamond is worth more than the sum of the four smaller diamonds.

Don't confuse the term carat with karat. Karat is a unit of measure used to describe the purity or fineness of gold.