Diamond engagement rings: Understanding the 4C’s

22 April 2023 • 3 min read

Are you planning on proposing to the love of your life? Before you begin looking for an engagement ring, you first need to understand the 4C’s — the colour, clarity, carat weight and cut of a diamond.

Learning about the 4C’s is an important part of diamond education, it is the grading system used to evaluate the quality and price of a diamond. Developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), these are applied to all diamonds, including natural and lab diamond engagement rings.

Using the 4C’s will assist you to better understand that not every diamond is the same and each has its own unique qualities. Knowing this will help you select the right ideal diamond for your ring.

Below, we break down the 4C’s so you can understand the criteria and which one is most important to you.

Cut

The cut of your diamond dictates the most identifiable visual difference of the 4C’s. How your diamond is cut will determine how the stone is polished, faceted and proportioned. It also dictates the brilliance, which refers to how the diamond reflects light.

The shape and the amount of sparkle your partner desires most will assist you in selecting a cut. Popular cuts include:

• Asscher
• Cushion
• Emerald
• Marquise
• Oval
• Pear
• Radiant
• Round

 

Colour

The colour of a diamond varies across a D-Z scale. This starts from D, completely colourless, all the way through to most yellow light yellow, Z. The colour progressively changes from colourless to colour as it climbs the scale. The closer the diamond is to grade D, the most colourless it will be, meaning it will be more expensive.

While the colour of a diamond does interfere with the diamond’s tint, the cut of the diamond will also impact the visibility of a colour. A round diamond makes it harder to see a lower colour grade, whereas it is easier to see the same colour grade on an oval diamond.

 

Clarity

Like colour, a diamond’s clarity has a scale ranging from flawless (FL) to included (I). The scale refers to the number of imperfections within the stone. The fewer flaws a diamond has, the rarer and more expensive it is.

Many prefer a diamond to be as flawless as possible. However, most blemishes are not visible to the naked eye and can only be viewed under magnification. This means you can get a lower ranking clarity on a stone that looks just as impressive as one of the higher rankings.

 

Carat

The final 4c is the carat weight. This refers to the actual weight measurement of the diamond. The bigger the diamond, the increase in the stone’s value.

It is important to note that while the carat weight can impact the diamond’s size, it is not always the case. The depth of a stone and the chosen setting and cut can make a diamond of a smaller carat appear more significant than one that has a bigger carat but is shallower in depth.

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Now that you understand the 4C’s, we invite you to explore our website. Ernesto Buono Fine Jewellery is home to some of the finest lab grown diamonds found online.

Have a question about the 4C’s? Send us an enquiry. Our experts will happily guide you through the criteria and how they can impact your final decision.