Understanding Diamond colour...

Let us go through each of the 4Cs in more depth now --

The GIA grades diamonds on a scale of D (colorless) through Z (light color). All D-Z diamonds are considered white, even though they contain varying degrees of color. True fancy colored diamonds (such as yellows, pinks, and blues) are graded on a separate color scale.

Diamond colour has a huge bearing on diamond prices. This link should help you understand how the prices vary based on colour. Let us take the example of 1 carat diamond.

All other factors being equal, 1 carat D VVS1 Excellent cut GIA is priced at Rs.7,80,000 whereas a 1 carat I colour VVS1 Excellent cut GIA is priced at Rs.3,30,000.

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Thats all for now folks.

4Cs of a Diamonds!!!

Understanding the 4Cs - cut, colour, clarity and carat weight is the primary step towards a diamond purchase. There are a lot of helpful resources out there to help you out on these:

I am offering a short intro for each of them here:

Carat 
 
Diamonds come in all different kinds of sizes from 0.005 ct to 500 ct (and more). The larger is the size of the diamond the rarer it is to mine. Hence a 1 ct diamond is rarer than a 1/2 carat diamond. However, the price of a 1 ct diamond is not twice the price of a 1/2 ct. It is actually more than twice the diamond price. The price is not directly proportionate to it's size. The reason is attributed to rarity. It is way difficult to get a 1 ct diamond than it is to get a 1/2 ct. Moreover, when a polished 1 ct diamond is found in rough, it actually weighs 50%-60% more. You can thus imagine that it is very difficult to retain diamond weight in rough. If you want higher carat then the diamond cutter has to give up on the other C, which 90% of the time is the Cut. Hence, the cutter usually goes into a fancy shaped diamonds (other than round) to get maximum weight out of a diamond. This way he does not have to sacrifice a lot on the carat weight. According to many people Carat is the most important price factor. I tend to agree. To get diamonds of high carat weight is very difficult. To find a 2 or 3 carat diamond is not easy. If you find one then the price is mostly in 5 digits. Imagine a 5 carat and above. That comes in a 6 digit dollar figure.

Color 

As mentioned before, diamonds come in different colors. The fancy colors (red, green, blue, etc.) are way more costly than the regular colorless, yellow and brown. A fancy colored stone of equivalent size to a colorless stone will be more than thrice the price of the colorless one. But let's not get into that. As a consumer you are most likely to buy a stone which is within the regular color grading charts. The colorless variety D,E,F with D being the costliest. Once again due to rarity and beauty. G,H,I are the most common one that are found. A person cannot see the color in a 'G' or 'H' color. I have found that on few occasions consumers tend to see the 'I' color in a stone. However, once you enter the 'J' color zone the color is eye visible even to an untrained eye. The biggest price difference in color occurs when you jump from 'G' to 'F'. The reason is simple because you go into the colorless category, so you pay more. My advice to you when buying a diamond - try to be within the G,H,I range. If you want to go for a G or above, then that is really great. Let's jump onto Clarity now, shall we.

Clarity 

Undoubtedly the most under-rated of all the C's. Clarity doesn't cause a significant amount of change in price unless it jumps to the higher grades. The biggest price jump in clarity comes when you move from a 'SI₁' quality to 'VS₂'. Why? Because the inclusions in the VS quality is less prominent than that of a SI. In SI₂ you can see the inclusions eye visible in significant sized diamonds like a 1 ct stone (that is not the only criteria that makes up SI₂). On the other hand when clarity is mixed with a high carat weight then the price can be whopping. So clarity cannot be taken lightly. If you want a stone that is clean then it will cost you. A 2 ct VVS₁ would be again worth a lot of money. The culprit to blame once again is rarity along with beauty. My advice to you when choosing clarity - try to stay within the VS and SI₁. If you prefer a SI₂ then read onto the next section.

Cut 

The last but definitely not the least, this C can pack a heavy punch even in small sizes. As I had mentioned before to get well cut stone, the diamond cutter has to sacrifice a lot of the rough diamond weight. The customer thus has to pay more to incorporate for the lost weight. Moreover, it requires excellent skills to cut and facet a well or ideal cut stone. That is also included in the cost that you as the consumer has to pay. The results are astounding. The sparkle is really awesome. The stone just shines, it just shines. It doesn't matter what light it is kept under or in which metal it is set in. That baby will sparkle like there's no tomorrow. The brilliance and dispersion is incomparable. Moreover, a good cut hides or reduces the visual effects of inclusions within the stone. Hence, if you have an ideal or well cut SI₂ then there is a good possibilty that you will not be able to see the inclusion with your naked eye. No matter what you do, never compromise with the cut of the stone. Always go in for a well cut stone. After all what good is a diamond if it doesn't sparkle.

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