Complete Guide on Diamond GradesUpdated 2 years ago
The 4 C's of Diamonds—Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carat Weight—are crucial for every diamond purchase. Explore our comprehensive guide to understand the various tiers of diamond grades.
Cut Grades
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| Excellent | Reflects nearly all of the light that enters the diamond, providing maximum brilliance and fire. Usually has a very precise cut. |
| Very Good | Reflects most of the light that enters. Cut is better than average, yielding high brilliance and fire. |
| Good | Reflects a good amount of light, with much brilliance and fire, but less precision in cut compared to higher grades. |
| Fair | Allows light to escape from the sides and bottom, reducing perceived brilliance and fire. Cut is not as precise. |
| Poor | Allows most of the light to escape from the bottom and sides. Cut quality is low, resulting in dull brilliance. |
Clarity Grades
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| FL | Flawless: No inclusions or blemishes visible under 10x magnification. |
| IF | Internally Flawless: No inclusions, only blemishes visible under 10x magnification. |
| VVS1 | Very Very Slightly Included (1): Inclusions are very difficult to see under 10x magnification. |
| VVS2 | Very Very Slightly Included (2): Inclusions are very difficult to see, slightly more than VVS1. |
| VS1 | Very Slightly Included (1): Inclusions are minor and observed with effort under 10x magnification. |
| VS2 | Very Slightly Included (2): Inclusions are minor and include more or larger than VS1. |
| SI1 | Slightly Included (1): Inclusions are noticeable under 10x magnification. |
| SI2 | Slightly Included (2): Inclusions are more noticeable than SI1. |
| I1 | Included (1): Inclusions are obvious under 10x magnification and may affect transparency and brilliance. |
| I2 | Included (2): Inclusions are very obvious, more so than I1, affecting appearance and brilliance. |
| I3 | Included (3): Inclusions are extremely obvious, severely affecting the diamond's transparency and brilliance. |
Color Grades
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| D | Absolutely colorless. The highest color grade, which is extremely rare. |
| E | Colorless. Only minute traces of color can be detected by an expert gemologist, but are generally unnoticeable. |
| F | Colorless. Slight color detected by an expert gemologist, but still considered colorless. |
| G | Near-colorless. Color noticeable when compared to diamonds of better grades, but offers excellent value. |
| H | Near-colorless. Color slightly noticeable. Good value for the quality. |
| I | Near-colorless. Slight color visible. |
| J | Near-colorless. Noticeable color. |
| K-Z | Noticeable color to the naked eye, with the intensity increasing progressively from K to Z. |
Carat Weights
Here's a table that outlines diamond carat weights up to 10 carats, along with diameter sizes to help you visualize their approximate sizes:
| Carat Weight | Approximate Diameter (mm) |
|---|---|
| 0.25 ct | 4.1 mm |
| 0.50 ct | 5.0 mm |
| 0.75 ct | 5.7 mm |
| 1.00 ct | 6.4 mm |
| 1.50 ct | 7.4 mm |
| 2.00 ct | 8.1 mm |
| 3.00 ct | 9.3 mm |
| 4.00 ct | 10.2 mm |
| 5.00 ct | 11.0 mm |
| 6.00 ct | 11.7 mm |
| 7.00 ct | 12.4 mm |
| 8.00 ct | 13.0 mm |
| 9.00 ct | 13.5 mm |
| 10.00 ct | 14.0 mm |
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