| Gem Quality |
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Diamond Quality Sample Only |
| Gem Quality |
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Diamond Quality Sample Only |
| Jewelry Quality |
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Diamond Quality Sample Only |
| Accessory Quality |
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Diamond Quality Sample Only |
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THE QUALITY OF DIAMONDS
The quality of diamonds is judged by inspecting their beauty, their tone of color, whether or not they contain defects, and their size. The Quality Scale shown to the right is a quality reference, devised to allow any individual diamond to be visually analyzed and assigned to one of the 35 spaces defined by the horizontal beauty axis and the vertical tone axis. The horizontal axis ranks beauty as S (brilliant and especially beautiful), A (very beautiful), B (beautiful), C (somewhat lacking in beauty), or D (lacking in beauty). The vertical axis is divided into seven levels of tone of color, from the darker 3 and 3 tones of fancy yellow diamonds, through lighter levels of yellow coloration seen in a face-up position, down to the tone level of 0 (colorless). Beauty grades of S and A in tone levels of 3, 3,1, and 0 make up the especially beautiful and highly rare gem quality (blue shaded zone). Beauty grades of S and A in
2, 2, and 1, along with all of beauty grade B, are the jewelry quality (gray) that is most widely used in jewelry. Diamonds in beauty grades C and D are accessory quality (yellow), falling short in beauty. Within each quality zone, the presence of defects and their degree is judged under 10-power magnification, and each diamond’s size is inspected to arrive at a final determination of its quality. When judging quality, it is an absolute requirement that the diamonds are not manmade and that they have not been treated in any way.
Diamonds grading based on the 4 Cs (clarity, color, carat weight, and cut) effectively explains the characteristics of a diamond, but a clear understanding of the system’s details is required to use it properly. For example, in the case of clarity it is necessary to differentiate between whether a grade-setting imperfection is an identifying characteristic of the diamond or a defect. In addition, within the same J color grade, diamonds with a hint of a pure lemon-yellow color will have a totally different beauty than grayish or brownish stones, and this difference in beauty becomes more pronounced when small diamonds are set in combination. Carat weight is a reference for size. An overemphasis on carat weight may lead to the purchase of an undesirable stone, such as one that is too thick. Details of cut, such as proportions or the size of the facets, give individual character to the brilliancy if a diamond. What is best depends on the conception of the jewelry that the diamond will be used in. The diamond grading report is a tool that is used by experienced jewelers and dealers to assist in determining a diamond’s quality.
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