Understanding the Diamond Rating Scale

Diamond jewelry in Chicago is something that will never go out of style and it makes the perfect accessory for any outfit. One thing that many customers come to us for is their engagement ring. With so many different diamonds and diamond vendors on the market, it can be difficult to know if you're getting the best quality diamond for your money.

In order to create a level playing field for jewelers, there is an established scale that makes it easy to compare quality levels across the board. The Gemological Institute of America, or the GIA, created a scale in the 1950s focusing on four grading factors: clarity, cut, color and carat weight.

Clarity

Diamonds have natural internal features that are called inclusions as well as surface irregularities called blemishes. Both of these aspects combined are referred to as clarity characteristics.

Blemishes refer to any scratches or imperfections on the surface of the diamond. Inclusions are on the inside and can even break the surface of the diamond. "Flawless" is the highest rating on the clarity scale, however, flawless diamonds are very rare.

Cut

The cut of a diamond helps it catch light and gives it a face-up appearance. A well-cut diamond helps create different optical effects to increase the contrast between bright and dark areas. This results in a crisp-looking diamond.

Typically, the higher the cut grade, the brighter the diamond.

Color

You may not think of color when it comes to diamonds, but there are subtle differences that make a huge difference in the diamond's color. Diamonds can range anywhere from light yellow to light brown to crystal clear.

The closer the diamond gets to being colorless, the higher its per-carat value.

Carat Weight

Diamonds are weighed with extremely high precision and they are stated in metric carats, ct. for short. One metric carat is .2 of a gram, and one ounce contains nearly 142 carats. As a visual reference, one small paperclip is approximately the same weight as a carat.

Diamonds are weighed to .001 of a carat for precision, and then rounded to the nearest hundredth. Although it seems like a minimal difference mathematically, the difference in fractions of a carat can result in the difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Buy Quality Diamond Jewelry in Chicago

Albert's Diamond Jewelers sells only the highest-quality diamond jewelry available. If you're looking to invest in a beautiful piece of diamond jewelry in the near future, please reach out to our team for assistance.