Beyond the 4Cs.....

We all know about the 4Cs used to describe a diamond namely: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. 4Cs are but a starting point to describe the characteristic of a diamond and hence its value. Its not the complete picture.

This post will talk about the price differences you see in 2 or more diamonds having the exact same 4Cs. Its best we take an example.

If you do a quick search for a
Round shape,
I color,
SI1 clarity,
1 carat,
Excellent Cut.

You will get more than half a dozen diamonds ( this at the time of writing the post..you might get a higher or lower number depending on when you try this search). They have prices ranging from 1,66,000 to 2,19,000. Even though the 4Cs of all these diamonds match there is a huge price difference.

What explains this?

"Other Details"

The answer lies in the oft not discussed/not well understood 'other' characteristics. Besides the 4Cs there are a dozen more parameters described in reports. Keywords like polish, symmetry, fluorescence, Girdle thickness, Measurements,table as a percentage of the diamond diameter, depth as a percentage of the diamond diameter. Online reports will delve into more detailed parameter listing like star length, crown angle, pavillion angle etc. This makes every diamond unique and hence the price differentiation which is calculated using a software which accounts for all the pieces of information mentioned above.

Insist on the Report

Things like location of the impurity whether its on the table or pavillion or near the girdle, similarly feather characteristics are present in the crown or pavillion or near the girdle. Thats why insisting on an electronic format report before buying a diamond is a must. You can clearly see them on the plottings section of the report.

Beyond the Report

Even Things not mentioned on the report also affects the value of a stone like yellow or brown shade(tinge). Diamonds show a tinge of yellow or brown right uptil E color( D being colorless) and hence that affects their brilliance. Yellow tinge is more desirable as compared to brown tinge and thus higher priced.

Summary

So how do we make an informed choice? Go beyond the obvious 4Cs. Most of the online retailers have around 12-14 characteristics mentioned. Besides insist on the Electronic format report( which comes in PDF). Talk to diamond experts and then put your money down.