Diamond Appraisals

It's Important to Have the Diamond's Certificate for your appraisal

When learning how to purchase a diamond, there are many things to consider. Until you know more and have done your research, you should never rush into buying a diamond. Its especially important to learn how diamonds are priced.

Certificates and Appraisals

In the 1950's, GIA created the International Diamond Grading System, and established the standards that revolutionized the diamond industry. While understanding the diamond's 4 Cs in determining how to buy a diamond, you should also learn how to read diamond certificates. These certificates describe in detail the facts about the diamond in its unmounted state. Perhaps you have a specific diamond you want to have professionally appraised by an independent organization.

New GIA Diamond Grading Report and GIA Diamond Dossier®

On January 1, 2006, the GIA Laboratory introduced new versions of the GIA Diamond Grading Report and Diamond Dossier®. These new reports now provide a single, comprehensive cut grade for all standard round brilliant diamonds falling in the GIA D-to-Z color scale and Flawless-to-I3 clarity scale. Diamonds receive one of five cut grades from Excellent to Poor.

New reports also contain expanded proportion data provided within a graphic representation of the diamond. The new diagram provides all the proportions used to determine the GIA cut grade.

New reports contain descriptions of the 4Cs and can be used to assure consumers they are purchasing a diamond that has been thoroughly measured and graded for Carat weight, Color, Clarity and Cut by the world's foremost authority in gemology. The procedures established by GIA also determine the nature of each diamond. The Institute discloses any evidence of treatment detected during the grading process on the diamond grading report.

If you are planning on buying a diamond, it is essential that you must know about its grading. These are assessed based on four quality elements or the four Cs of diamonds in order to determine its value. These four quality elements or four Cs in order of ranking are: the Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat. These four quality elements determine the value of the diamond. Most people believe that clarity is the most important aspect of all the quality elements, however, color has more weight on the visual. The cut of the diamond is an important factor as it greatly impacts the diamond's color and clarity.

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A Diamonds Flaws And Inclusions

When a diamond is considered to have a flaw, it is an imperfect gem stone. Something about the diamond did not form correctly, or there are tiny imperfections within the stone. Diamond flaws and inclusions are often not noticeable to the average person, and you need not worry about the small inclusions that occur in most diamonds. There are actually only very few diamonds which can be labeled "perfect", and if they are placed in the category of no diamond flaws and inclusions, chances are the diamond will be extremely expensive!

There are some minor inclusions which cause a diamond to appear slightly dull. The inclusion within the diamond can affect the stone's clarity because as light passes through the stone, it is intercepted by the inclusion. Many of these flaws and inclusions can be reduced or fixed with the various forms of treatment processes that gemologists and jewelers have learned to do over the years.

Other diamond flaws and inclusions may be large enough to cause weakness within the gem stone, and the stone could shatter or break much more easily than a stone without the weakness. These are the flaws you want to be careful with, since they reduce the value of your stone.

Pinpoint Inclusions

When a diamond has speckles of dark crystals in groups or scattered throughout the stone, it is said to have a form of diamond flaws and inclusions called pinpoint inclusions. If the dark crystals are all clustered together in the stone, the clarity of the diamond is effected, and it appears to have a "cloud" inside the stone. These types of diamond flaws and inclusions may cause the diamond to be worth less, as it greatly effects the appearance.

Problems from Laser Treatments

When an imperfect diamond is treated with lasers to remove dark diamond flaws and inclusions from within the gemstone, sometimes a line is left through the diamond that looks much like a thread. The laser line begins at the outer edge of the diamond, and moves inward to the area where the dark inclusion was treated by the laser. These diamond flaws and inclusions are unsightly and easily spotted by most people, making the diamond less desirable.

Mineral and Crystal Inclusions

Diamonds typically have smaller crystals inside the diamond, often so tiny they cannot be seen without some sort of magnifying device. The clarity of the diamond can be effected by these crystals, if there are enough of them and if they are all grouped together in one area of the diamond.

Carat

Carat is the unit used in measuring all gemstones. The carat weight is the calculation of the mass. A single carat is subdivided into a hundred points. Hence, if a diamond has a measurement of 75 points or 0.75 carat.

Clarity

Clarity is an important element that determines the number, nature, position, size and color of internal features called inclusions and blemishes. The clarity is mostly determined by looking for flaws and on the surface of the diamond. The clarity categorized in six levels. From F which stands for flawless to I for imperfect and included.

Colors

The color ranges from vibrant hues of the rainbow to colorless. These are categorized into four groups. These are colorless, nearly colorless, light yellow, gray or brown and fancy colors of diamonds. Diamonds with hues contrasting yellow or brown shades are more valuable and much rarer. Gemologist have developed a grading system for the diamonds that have fancy colors, although the grading system of colors for these kinds of colored diamonds are not widely used because of its rarity with fancy color.

Cut

The stones can be cut in various ways. It is not determined by the shape of the diamond but the manner of the workmanship and the angles of how the diamond is cut. One of the easiest ways to determine this element in the ranking is by looking at the diamond. If it does not have flashes of fire while observed in sunlight, chances are that it is not well cut.