About Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat
Often referred to as the ‘four Cs’, the cut, color, clarity and carat of a gemstone are the factors which describe its outward form and intrinsic value. These terms are used to describe the characteristics of lab diamonds as well as the traditional mined stones.
‘Cut’ refers to the treatment of a gemstone’s surfaces and the shape of the stone. Some cuts are traditional for a particular type of gemstone because they show off its qualities particularly well or suit its physical properties. Diamonds often come as round faceted brilliants, while emeralds are commonly cut in a rectangular ‘stepped’ shape to show off their rich color. Other traditional cuts are ‘princess’ (square-topped and highly faceted), ‘marquise’ (a faceted lozenge), oval, pear, cushion, trilliant and heart.
‘Color’ refers (unsurprisingly) to the hue of a gemstone. Unusual colors add value; strongly-colored pink natural diamonds, for example, are rare and therefore highly sought-after. Diamonds which are expected to be colorless are evaluated for their color on a scale of A-Z where A is colorless and Z is too colored. (Stronger colors than Z in a diamond take it into the ‘fancy’ range where it again becomes expensive!)
Clarity is an important factor in all traditionally transparent gemstones such as ruby, topaz, diamond etc. Diamonds especially are considered on a scale of relative flawlessness, with a large flawless blue-white crystal commanding huge prices. Small flaws apart, there is no doubt that the aesthetic appeal of many gems is their overall clarity. Avoid muddy, gritty or milky-looking stones unless this forms part of the appeal for you. (An imperfect stone should be priced accordingly lower.)
‘Carat’ describes the mass of a gemstone. One carat is the equivalent of 200mg, or a fifth of one gram. A one-carat round-cut brilliant diamond is generally about 6.5mm across.
A fifth ‘C’ sometimes added to the list is ‘conflict-free’. This is often used to describe synthetic diamonds. Because they are produced in a lab and not mined, synthetic stones do not have in their history any of the human-rights abuses which may have darkened the provenance of a natural stone.
