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Diamond Facts

Diamonds take 1 billion to 3.3 billion years to slowly grow beneath the Earth’s surface.

What difference does a few more years make? You can save money by buying used.

Buying a Diamond: New or Used?

Getting to Know your Diamonds

There are five basic components to the shape of a diamond: the table, the crown, the girdle,

the pavilion, and the culet.

The Table

The table is the diamond’s largest facet located at the top, flat part of the stone. It is also referred to as the 'face' and should be

symmetrical, flat and well-centered.

The Crown

The crown is also called the 'top' of the diamond. In essence, it is the upper section of the diamond, above the girdle, and should be

in exact geometric relation to the pavilion.

The Girdle

The girdle is located on the edge of the diamond and represents the dividing line

between the top and bottom sections of the stone. It is usually grasped by the prongs of the setting and should be perfectly round,

exhibiting a straight edge when viewed from the side.

The Pavilion

The pavilion the bottom section of the diamond, and in a ring setting, it rests below

the prongs.

The Culet

The culet is the lowest point located on the diamond, which should be centered when

viewed from the top.

Carat Color Clarity Cut

What Makes a Diamond Valuable: The Four C’s

The term carat is used to describe the weight of any gemstone, including diamonds. The standard definition of a carat is 200 milligrams, or 0.2g. The weight of small diamonds is commonly expressed in points. For example, 1.00 carat is equal to 100 points.

The carat weight has the greatest impact on the price of a diamond.

Two diamonds of equal carat can have two very different values depending on the cut, clarity and color.

Carat

After carat weight, color has the next biggest impact on the price of a stone.

To the naked eye, most diamonds appear colorless but in fact they have a slight trace of yellow or brown. The closer the stone comes to being colorless, the more valuable it is.

Diamonds are graded on a color scale beginning at D, meaning it is colorless and ends at the heavily tinted Z+.

Z+ diamonds are known as 'fancy diamonds' and are highly valued for their brilliant colors.

Color

Clarity is the measure of the quantity and size of the minute imperfections that occur in nearly all diamonds.

Simply put, the fewer imperfections a diamond has, the more the light is able to pass through the diamond uninterrupted.

Clarity

The term ‘cut' represents the quality, symmetry (how the diamond was faceted to allow light to reflect from it), and the finish of the diamond.

To ensure that your diamond demonstrates a 'fire' (intense color) and 'brilliance' (brightness), look for a symmetry grade of excellent (EX), very good (VG), or good (G). Avoid diamonds with a grade of fair (F) or poor (P).

A badly-cut diamond, results in too much light escaping through the sides (if the cut is too deep) or through the underside of the diamond (if the cut is too shallow or thin). A diamond with a poor cut will appear dull and dark, even if it has good color and clarity.

Cut

Classic Diamond Shapes

Round Princess Oval

Emerald Pear Heart

MarquiseTrillion Baguette

At Have You Seen the Ring.com, you can buy and sell used diamonds through our secure marketplace.

It’s free to list your items and free to ship them.

Learn More! at Have You Seen the Ring