Don't have a lot of time to learn the diamond vocab? No worries! Here's the nitty-gritty of diamonds to get you on your search!
Color
D-F are going to be totally colorless. Only differing in transparency slightly.
**G-J **is going to be faint yellow (near colorless), but really only if the stone is upside down, from the top (and certain cuts) you may see a slight tint to them, but nothing too obvious unless compared to a colorless stone.
K is going to be more noticeable, but setting in yellow gold can solve this problem.
The color scale goes all the way to Z, but we only list through K, because the yellow starts to be more obvious, and unless you want a fancy yellow diamond, they are not as ideal for rings.
Clarity
**FL- ** (Flawless) is going to have no inclusions internally, or blemishes (small scratches or nicks) on the outside.Â
IF- Internally flawless will have no inclusions internally, but may have small blemishes externally.
VVS 1 & 2 (Very, very slightly included) has tiny inclusions, not visible to the naked eye, only under a loupe or microscope. These are what we call "eye-clean", they are great!Â
**VS 1 & 2 **(Very slightly included) may have some small inclusions you could notice if you took a hard look at the stone. Typically not under the table (the most noticeable part of the stone).Â
SI 1 & 2 (slightly included) has noticeable inclusions in obvious areas. Doesn't make it a bad stone, you'll just want to look it over closely to make sure the inclusions are in areas that the eye won't be drawn to. There could also be feathers (nice way to say small breaks) in the diamond. Usually these are clear, but offset how light reflects so you may notice them more.Â
The clarity scale goes all the way down to I (1,2,3) but we don't list these, usually too many inclusions to be nice in jewelry.
Cut
As for cut, with us it will go from Good to Rare Carat Ideal. This is how well the gem cutter placed facets and other small factors, but this is very important because it makes the diamond shine!
So best options are to choose from Excellent to RC Ideal. This will guarantee that everything is aligned perfectly and the diamond shines beautifully!Â
In the non-RC world, the scale also includes Poor and Fair, but these cuts just aren't usually up to par to be used in jewelry most of the time due to the lack of brilliance in the diamond.
Fluorescence
This is due to the diamond being exposed to radiation in the ground while it was growing (don’t worry! It’s totally harmless). The newest diamonds formed close to 900 million years ago, so anything resembling radiation has fizzled out into only giving the diamond a colored glow under black lights. While this may be a cool party trick, diamonds with high fluorescence can tend to have a milky, filmy look to them. This prevents the diamond from having a pure, clear look. So it’s best to stick with medium to none. However, some diamonds are nice and clean looking, even with a high amount of fluorescents. So just be on the look out!
Carat
This is the weight of the diamond. Bigger the weight, bigger the diamond! This can vary depending on the shape. Some cuts may have more weight in the bottom, while others show it off in the top.
