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Diamonds are cut into a variety of shapes. The most popular are
round, marquise, pear, emerald, oval, heart, square, princess, baguette
and trillion. All but round are considered fancy shapes. Fancy shapes
can be more expensive because they are more difficult to cut.
Color
The more color a diamond has, the less light
passes through the stone to make it sparkle. A colorless diamond
allows more light to pass through it to create the maximum amount
of brilliance. Colorless diamonds, however, are extremely rare.
Most diamonds have subtle shade differences,
ranging from nearly colorless to light yellow. Most appear colorless
to the unaided eye. The diamond industry uses a letter system to
grade the color of diamonds, from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow).
A diamond with less color is more valuable. At Dafnomilis Bros Co,
we take pride in offering diamonds with a color grade of J or better.
Clarity
The natural imperfections in diamonds are
called inclusions — minerals or crystals trapped inside the stone
during its formation. The characteristics of the inclusions determine
the clarity of the diamond. Diamonds that have no inclusions will
reflect more light and are very rare. Nearly all diamonds contain
these inclusions, or tiny "birthmarks," which make each
stone unique. Most are unseen to the unaided eye; jewelers need
magnifiers to identify them.
Cut
Cut refers to the precise proportions and
dimensions of a finished diamond. How a diamond is cut affects the
stone's "brilliance," or how much it sparkles. A stone
that has been cut properly allows light to enter and refract through
the stone, which creates brilliance. A stone that is too shallow
or too deep will look dull and lifeless. The most popular shapes
are shown in the chart below. Dafnomilis Bros
Co. generally carries diamonds
in the 3 most popular shapes: Round, Princess and Marquise
Carat Weight
The weight of a diamond is measured in carats.
Total carat weight (T.W.) is the total weight of all the stones
in a piece of jewelry. For example, a ring with one 1/2 carat stone
and two 1/4 carat stones would have a T.W. of 1 carat.
Larger diamonds, or those with more carats,
are sometimes considered to be more valuable, but occur less frequently
in nature. However, diamonds of the same carat weight may vary widely
in value. A diamond with poor color and clarity might be much less
valuable than a smaller diamond with a better color and clarity.
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