Marilyn Monroe once stared in a movie that claimed that “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend”. That may be true but man has learned that few things hold their value like a well cut diamond.
Most know that South Africa is the place where most of the world’s diamonds are mined. But, Diamonds have been found in most every continent, here in America the two locations with the highest concentration are Arkansas and Colorado. Even Wisconsin has had a few spectacular finds, although these are believed to have traveled with the ice flows from Canada.
When looking for a diamond, the four terms that will always come up are the 4”C’s”, Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight.
There many cuts or shapes on the market, these cuts are determined by the shape of the rough diamond that was mined. In actuality, diamonds are not “cut” or “chipped” away. They are actually ground and polished to achieve their shape. Diamond cutters are masters at bringing out the luster and sparkle in a diamond.
Color is a grade that is given to the diamond. A color of “D” is absolutely clear while diamonds that are not clear have ratings all the way down to “Z” with is yellow or brown. There are Fancy diamonds that can be found which can be pink, blue, green or even red. These are rare and have a much higher value.
Clarity refers to the number of inclusions (internal) and blemishes (external) that a diamond has. The fewer the imperfections the more valuable the diamond, even flawless diamonds may have imperfections that are not noticeable to the naked eye but have to be viewed under a high powered microscope.
Carat Weight is the size of the diamond. 1 Carat equals .2 Grams. Originally, diamonds were weight using the weight from the seed of the Carob tree because of the uniform sizes of the seeds. The higher the Carat Weight the rarer the diamond.
By: Chuck Falk