When out purchasing a diamond you may find it useful to learn about diamond grading. Diamonds are evaluated based on four grades which help to determine the cost of a diamond. These grades are, clarity, cut, color, and carat. Along with cost these four make up the five C's of diamond grading.

The clarity is determined by looking very closely at a stone for inclusions or flaws within and on the surface. These inclusions can affect how prone a diamond is to breaking. If it has many inclusions it may actually be dangerous to wear because a fall or shock from hitting say a door could cause it to shatter and cut the skin. Clarity is made up of six grades from 'F' for flawless to 'I' for included and imperfect.

Stones can be cut in a variety of ways. It's not really the shape of cut that affects a diamond's grade but how well it's been cut. If a stone is cut improperly it won't reflect as much light and color and we know that if a diamond doesn't sparkle it isn't as desirable.

Colors of diamonds range from colorless to vibrant shades of the rainbow. There are four basic groups, colorless, nearly colorless, light yellow, gray or brown, and fancy colors. The grades of color are established by labeling a diamond from 'D' for colorless to 'Z' for the light yellows, grays and browns. The vibrant shades of red, green, blue, orange, yellow, and black are set on their own with just the grade, fancy.

Carat actually comes from the way people used Carob seeds in ancient times to determine the weight of diamonds. All Carob seeds are approximately one carat in weight. Today diamonds are graded based on the metric system. 0.2 grams is one metric carat or in standard 1/142 ounce.

You can now enjoy your diamond purchase experience by feeling more informed about jewelry diamond terminology.