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How To Buy A Diamond |
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Diamond Color
How To Buy A Diamond: Understanding Diamonds
A good understanding of diamonds is necessary
before you begin shopping. We've put the basics together here to
help guide you. Learning about diamonds is really learning about
the "four Cs" of diamonds - cut, clarity, color and carat
weight. These are the criteria jewelers use when grading
diamonds, and they're the ones you'll need to understand to find
the right diamond for you.
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Diamond Color
Colorless diamonds are the most
desirable since they allow the most refraction of light
(sparkle). Off-white diamonds absorb light, inhibiting
brilliance. To ensure that your Hannoush jewelry is of
the highest quality, we've pre-selected our diamonds to
eliminate those of lesser color grades. Read on to
understand how color affects a diamond and how to choose
the best grade for your budget.
When jewelers speak of a diamond's color they
are usually referring to the presence or absence of color in
white diamonds. Color is a result of the composition of the
diamond, and it never changes over time.
Because a colorless diamond, like a clear window, allows more
light to pass through it than a colored diamond, colorless
diamonds emit more sparkle and fire. The formation process of a
diamond ensures that only a few, rare diamonds are truly
colorless. Thus the whiter a diamond's color, the greater its
value.
(Note that fancy color diamonds do not follow this rule. These
diamonds, which are very rare and very expensive, can be any
color from blue to green to bright yellow. They are actually
more valuable for their color.)
To grade 'whiteness' or colorlessness, most jewelers refer to
GIA's professional color scale that begins with the highest
rating of D for colorless, and travels down the alphabet to
grade stones with traces of very faint or light yellowish or
brownish color. The color scale continues all the way to Z.
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What Color Grade
Should I Choose?
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Diamonds graded D through F are
naturally the most valuable and desirable because of
their rarity. Such diamonds are a treat for the eyes of
anyone. But you can still obtain very attractive
diamonds that are graded slightly less than colorless.
And diamonds graded G through I show virtually no color
that is visible to the untrained eye.
And while a very, very faint hint of yellow will be
apparent in diamonds graded J through M, this color can
often be minimized by carefully selecting the right
jewelry in which to mount your diamond. Keep in mind
that, while most people strive to buy the most colorless
diamond they can afford, there are many people who
actually prefer the warmer glow of lower-color diamonds. |
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Color |
Most diamonds appear colorless but
actually have slight tones of yellow or brown. The
closer the stone comes to colorless, the more valuable
it is. Diamonds are graded on a color scale ranging from
D (colorless) to Z (heavily tinted.) Only a highly
skilled professional will detect any color in E or F
stones, and the color in diamonds rated up to J will be
virtually invisible when set in a ring or other jewelry.
Color is only one of the four C's so even when a stone
has a visible tint, such as K or above, it can still be
very lovely if it has good clarity and cut. How the
diamond is set can make a difference, too; you might not
want to put a truly colorless diamond in a yellow gold
setting since the yellow color will reflect in the
stone. On the other hand, a slightly yellow stone will
appear whiter in a yellow gold setting.
Diamonds also come in a wide variety of other colors,
including red, blue, green and a bright yellow known as
"canary." These are graded as Z+ and are known as
"fancy" diamonds. Ones with good color are very rare and
can sell for much more per carat than white diamonds.
The following is the GIA color scale, which is very
commonly used in the United States:
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| What is fluorescence? |
Fluorescence is an effect that is
seen in some gem-quality diamonds when they are exposed
to long-wave ultraviolet light (such as the lighting
frequently seen in dance clubs). Under most lighting
conditions, this fluorescence is not detectable to the
eye. While most gemologists prefer diamonds without this
effect, some people enjoy it. It's really just a matter
of aesthetics. |
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© Hannoush
Jewelers, Inc. 2004
All rights reserved. Toll Free 1-888-325-3935 |
Last Updated
May, 2005
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© Hannoush Jewelers 2007
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