Diamond Fundamentals Chart printable pdf download

Diamond Fundamentals 101

This guide is intended for an audience that is not familiar with the basics of diamonds. We will

be discussing carat weight, cut, color, clarity, in addition to some details regarding gemological

labs and their importance in diamond grading.

Carat Weight

Carat “weight” is actually a misnomer. It is more appropriate to describe a carat as a unit of

mass. A carat is equal to exactly 200 mg (milligrams) or 0.2 grams and is used to describe the

weights exactly 600 mg – which is quite heavy

mass of gemstones and pearls. So, a

3 carat stone

for a gemstone if you think about it! Keep in mind that although higher carat stones fetch more

value, it does not necessarily mean they are of better quality than smaller stones. Obviously, if a

piece of jewelry is comprised of a higher weight of gold, it will cost more. So higher carat stones

add value, but the beauty and downside of diamonds is that their production process in nature is

completely random. That is why a smaller stone can possibly be produced in more favorable

conditions to have better color and clarity. Diamonds can also be produced in a laboratory but

that is a separate topic in itself. All in all, think carat = mass.

Color

We are going to discuss color by two different standards. Firstly, in an ideal world, a chemically

pure diamond would not consist of any color. Like anything else in life, diamonds aren’t perfect.

A diamond’s color can either add or detract from its value. For example, if a diamond has a

detectable yellow color, it may be discounted, while pink or red diamonds could fetch a high

value because of how rare they are. When most people think of a diamond, they think of a white

stone, but diamonds can actually be almost any color like yellow, orange, red, blue, or even

black.

In terms of diamond grading, color is thought of a little differently.

Diamond gemstones

that are

used in engagement rings are described by a variety of commonly accepted adjectives that

categorize their tier. For example, the rarest diamonds appear totally or almost colorless. Fancy

color diamonds are most commonly yellow or brown. Pale yellow diamonds to brown in color

are categorized within the normal color range. The normal color range diamonds are the ones

that are graded on a scale of D – Z. Here we’ll go more into detail about what all these letters

mean.

Keep in mind that different labs use different standards to describe diamond color but these are

the most commonly accepted:

Diamond Fundamentals Chart