What separates a diamond from all other forms of jewelry?

Universally known as the ultimate sign of eternal love, diamonds have been the object of desire of counts, dukes, kings Queens and conquerors for centuries. Used as a token of love and devotion, diamonds don't just make a woman look good, they make her feel good.

The diamond is the only gemstone made of just one element-carbon. Each stage of the transformation process from carbon to the final product is handled with the utmost care in order for the final product to beautifully grace wedding rings, earrings, pendants and countless other pieces of jewelry.

There are 4C's of diamond value: Cut, color, clarity and Carat weight. When shopping for a diamond, one should pay special attention to the way it is cut. Zaav.com specialists agree that the cut is in fact the most important aspect of the diamond.

DIAMOND CUT

When cutting a diamond, the purpose is to create light diffusion so at to bring out the brilliance of the jewel. The term used to refer to this is "fire". The extraordinary and singular beauty of a diamond comes from the way it is cut. A shallow cut diamond or one with a cut too deep will have much less brilliance than a diamond with good proportion.

There are many different types of cuts, with the 58-facet round cut being the most popular. A diamond with this cut can reflect up to 90 percent of the light entering from above.

The shape of a diamond will influence how it is cut. The following is a list of the seven most popular shapes that a diamond can take:

DIAMOND CUT
Round	Pear	Heart	Oval	Marquise	Princess	Emerald

DIAMOND COLOR - LESS IS MORE

Diamonds are graded on a color scale. The Gemological institute of America GIA have developed a scale ranging from D (colorless) through Z (heavily tinted).

Colorless diamonds are the most prized and costly, as they exhibit the most purity. Therefore when shopping for a diamond ring or necklace for instance, a diamond with a rating from D to J, would be the most desirable as well as the most expensive option. However, when purchasing diamond jewelry, one must make sure they know which grade of diamond they are paying for. To the untrained eye, a D grade diamond may look the same as an H grade diamond. However the difference in price is considerable. This is why a certificate from the GIA is so important when buying a diamond.

Fancy Diamonds Diamonds come in many colors. In fact fancy colored diamonds - boldly colored red, bright yellow and blue- are graded Z+ on the GIA scale and are extremely rare. Fancy diamonds with good color could cost more per carat than white diamonds.

DIAMOND CLARITY

Clarity is used to describe a diamonds clearness and purity and has its own scale of measurement.

DIAMOND CLARITY SCALE
FL	FLAWLESS	Free from all inclusions or blemishes at 10x magnification.
IF	INTERNALLY FLAWLESS	No inclusions visible at 10x, insignificant surface blemishes.
VVS1 VVS2 VS1 VS2	MINOR INCLUSIONS	Difficult to see face-up at 10x.
SI1 SI2	NOTICEABLE INCLUSIONS	Easy to see at 10x.
I1 I2 I3	OBVIOUS INCLUSIONS	Easily visible to unaided eye.

Slight imperfections in diamonds are quite common and are referred to as inclusions. These microscopic imperfections reduce the value of diamonds and can come in the form of specks, dark dots and bubbles.

Since most of these cracks and inclusions are invisible to the naked eye, a certificate from the Gemological Institute of America shows their location. In turn these cracks act as a fingerprint for identifying the diamond

DIAMOND CARAT WEIGHT

All gemstones including diamonds are measured in carats. 1/5 of a gram equals one carat. Since larger diamonds are rarer than smaller ones, the price does not increase in proportion to the size. Therefore a single 2-carat diamond will cost much more than two 1-carat diamonds. Even a larger diamond with low rating on the color scale ( k for example) will cost more than a smaller but finer diamond, because of the scarcity of larger ones.

DIAMOND CARAT WEIGHT
.03	.05	.07	.10
2.0mm diameter	2.5mm diameter	2.7mm diameter	3.0mm diameter
.15	.20	.25	.33
3.4mm diameter	3.8mm diameter	4.1mm diameter	4.4mm diameter
.40	.50	.65	.75
4.8mm diameter	5.2mm diameter	5.6mm diameter	5.9mm diameter
.85	1.00	1.25	1.50
6.2mm diameter	6.5mm diameter	7.0mm diameter	7.4mm diameter
1.75	2.00	2.25	2.50
7.8mm diameter	8.2mm diameter	8.6mm diameter	9.0mm diameter