Owning a diamond has been equated with elegance, sophistication and prestige. Diamonds are almost always a part of romantic gestures. Diamond rings are used to propose marriages, they are worn as engagement rings or gifted as anniversary presents. It is said that Cupid’s arrow tip is studded with diamonds and hence the deep-rooted romantic connection with diamonds.
You could have a dozen reasons to own a diamond jewellery, but do you understand the nuance involved in buying these sparkly precious stones? It could be your very first diamond purchase or it could be an annual buying ritual, but not knowing what to look for when you buy diamonds could be a bummer. So, what to look for when purchasing diamonds? Is there a guide to buy diamonds?
You might have heard about the 4Cs of a diamond. But when you plan to buy diamonds, then you need to know the 5Cs of buying a diamond:
Cut
The cut of a diamond is an important aspect of a diamond because it determines how a diamond interacts with light. The cut of a diamond not just lends to its beauty but also impacts it’s brightness, fire and scintillation. A poorly cut diamond can actually make it look dull, whereas an excellent cut will not only make the diamond look gorgeous.
So, what’s the cut of a diamond? Cut is not to be confused with shape of the diamond. It is much more than shape. It is the quality of the workmanship and the different proportions and arrangements of facets or surfaces of the diamonds. This aspect of a diamond can be a bit daunting to understand because of the technicalities involved like the angle and polish and symmetry and depth. Hence doing a little research on this before you attempt to buy diamonds would be safe. Or you can simply ask the experts at Tanishq Diamonds to help you out!
Colour
The second important aspect of a diamond that makes it sparkly is the colour of the diamond or rather the absence of colour in the diamond. Diamonds are graded from colourless (D) to a slightly yellowish tinge (Z).
Higher the diamond in this order (close to colourless), the more valuable it will be. The colour cannot be viewed by the untrained eye. Only a gemmologist can grade a diamond based on its colour, that too it is ideally done before the diamond is set in a piece of jewellery.
Clarity
Nobody likes impurities and imperfections, right? The clearer, the better. However, diamond being a raw stone found beneath the earth, do have a small degree of natural impurities, blemishes or inclusions on the surface and also inside them. Hence, though diamonds can’t be completely pure, the impurity can be in varying degree. A diamond’s clarity refers to the absence of inclusions or blemishes.
The flawless diamonds are the ones with the least amount of impurity and are very rare. Hence these are more valuable. Again, impurity or blemish is often not seen by the naked eye and is expertly graded by gemmologists only.
Carat
Many people associate the term carat with the size of the diamond. Carat is actually the weight and not size of diamonds. The word originates from Ceratonia siliqua, commonly known as the Carob tree.
In ancient times, before scales and units of mass were invented, diamond traders compared the weight of a diamond to the seeds of the Carob tree.
1 carat is equal to approximately 0.2 grams in weight. While higher carat diamonds can be expensive because of the weight, the price of two diamonds of the same carat can be different. This is owing to the other three Cs – cut, colour and clarity.
Certification
Anything valuable needs a certification and diamonds are no exception. A certificate serves as a guarantee or insurance for the diamonds you buy. Tanishq provides customers with a Certificate of with every piece of their diamond jewellery.
Choose a reputed jeweller
In addition to these 5Cs, there is one more important C that should be considered while buying diamonds and that is the Choice of jeweller. One needs to buy diamond jewellery from a reputed jeweller. Diamonds being precious stones are a huge investment. And to the naked eye, it may be a little difficult to differentiate between a real diamond and a fake one or the different details of clarity, colour and carat. So, the chances of being duped by an unknown or local jeweller is dangerously high. A reputed jeweller like Tanishq will not only provide you with a proper certificate for the jewellery you buy from them, they may even guide you as an expert in choosing the perfect diamond for the perfect occasion.
