Color — Diamonds are rated in terms of color from D, which iscolorless, down the alphabet as the diamond becomes more yellow or even brown. When it comes to color, less is more.  Truly colorless diamonds are quite rare and most diamonds for sale in the retail market are in the G to I range.  These diamonds will appear colorless and are actually nearly colorless. 

Clarity — Clarity refers to inclusions and blemishes.  Inclusions are flaws that can appear as crystals, cavities, feathers, or dark spots inside the diamond.  Blemishes are marks or scratches on the surface of the diamond. Diamonds are graded on a scale from IF, internallyflawless (extremely rare), to I3 which are imperfect and should not even be considered for jewelry.  The majority of diamonds are SI 1 and SI2.  These will be slightly included, but the inclusions will not be visible to the naked eye. Look through a jeweler’s loupe with 10x magnification to look for inclusions.  In the higher graded stones, only a trained gemologist will be able to see them.

Cut — Cut is more than the shape and style of the diamond.  It also includes proportion, symmetry, and finish.  A high quality diamond with a “good make” is bright, fiery, symmetrical, and sparkles with light.  A well cut diamond will direct more light through the crown (the top of the stone) and refract that light back in a dazzling array of brilliant colors.

Carat weight — This refers to the size of the diamond.  The larger the diamond, the more rare it is. A higher carat weight, therefore, will be priced differently than lower carat weight diamonds. In other words, four quarter carat diamonds do not equal the value of a one carat diamond.