An in depth explanation about colored Diamonds

• It is common knowledge that the Diamonds that we use on the rings and other jewelry, even the one for collection are found naturally in the nature.

• They are found deep inside the earth and require the process of mining to extract them. After these stones are extracted they are then processed to make them usable in jewelry.

• To start with Diamonds are rare and of the ones that are found, not all of them are crystal clear diamonds.

• It often happens that they have a hint of color in them. The color range is large and is almost every color in the rainbow.

Cause of color in Diamonds:

• The main constituent of Diamonds is carbon however it rarely happens that the Diamonds do not contain impurities.

• Diamond are rare to start with and many of the Diamonds that are found contain impurities that effectively creates color in the Diamond. Nitrogen is the most common impurity in Diamonds and causes the Yellow color in the Diamonds.

• The level of impurity is not the same, as a result of which the diamonds you see in the market have a varying degree of yellow.

• Diamonds often have structural irregularities along with the presence of impurity like nitrogen. This causes internal graining and is the main cause of the Brown colored diamonds.

• These colored diamonds are often called fancy color diamonds and are found in many different colors. Thus the colorless diamonds which contain little or no impurities are extremely rare.

Evaluating the quality of the Diamond:

• No two Diamonds are alike just as no two snowflakes are alike. GIA has created the standard for describing diamonds which has been globally accepted.

• This accessing method is referred to as the 4Cs. The assessment made on the basis of the 4Cs is globally accepted and thus it makes it easy for a diamond customer to make an informed purchase.

The 4Cs are Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat.

Color:

The diamond color evaluation is based on the absence of color. Thus a chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond that has no hue, has a higher value.

GIA has established a diamond color grading system from D-Z that measures the degree of colorlessness by comparing a stone under controlled lighting and precise viewing conditions.

Clarity:

• The absence of inclusions and blemishes is referred to a Diamond Clarity. When carbon is exposed to tremendous heat and pressure deep in the earth a natural diamond is formed. However this process does not create the perfect diamond at all times.
• The diamond is often affected by inclusions and blemishes. Thus the number of these undesired characteristics, their size, nature and position as well as the overall appearance of the stone are evaluated to determine the clarity.
• Thus the diamond that is perfectly pure has the highest value. How the reality is that no diamond is perfectly pure and thus there are 6 categories like:

• Flawless (FL)

• Internally Flawless (IF)

• Very Very slightly Included (VVS1 and VVS2)

• Very slightly included (VS1 and VS2)

• Slightly Included (SI1 and SI2)

• Included (I1, I2, and I3)

Cut:

• The diamond cut quality is of great importance. Diamonds are often judged by their by their ability to transmit light and sparkle.

• The diamonds are available in many different shapes but the cut quality is of great importance. While it is easy to form some of the shapes from the raw stone, the others are quite hard and often require special tools and the touch of an experienced cutter.

• Thus the GIA has developed a scale to measure how effectively the diamond interacts with the light to create the following visual effects:

• Brightness: The Internal and external white light that is reflected from a diamond constitutes as the brightness.

• Fire: The degree to which the white light is scattered into all the colors of the rainbow.

• Scintillation: The amount of sparkle the diamond produces and the pattern of the light and dark areas that are caused by the reflection happening within the diamond.

Carat:

• Carat is the measurement of how much a diamond weighs.

Guild Hall Diamonds:

It is often the case that the diamonds buyers have no or limited knowledge regarding the many facts about diamonds. While many tend to do some research prior to making an expensive purchase (like buying the diamond) it can hardly compare with the many years of experience that can be provided by Guild Hall Diamonds. In addition to which they also offer assistance and help while grading the diamonds.