Diamonds: The Four Cs

If you go shopping for diamonds then you'll probably hear people talking about the "Four Cs" of diamond buying. These are the four main aspects of a diamond that affect its price.

The Four Cs are:

Carats
The carat value of a diamond represents its weight. Bigger diamonds consist of more carats and are usually more expensive

Colour
Although diamonds are usually thought of as transparent, there are actually many different variations from subtle hues to deeply coloured fancy diamonds. In general "plain" diamonds are more valuable the less colour they contain, "fancy" diamonds are more valuable the more colour they contain.

Cut
The cut of a diamond refers to its shape. Diamond cuting is a highly skilled job and the value of a stone depends on both the nature of the cut chosen and the skill with which it has been applied.

Clarity
Natural diamonds are rarely perfect, they normally contain tiny flaws that reduce the stone's clarity. The clearer the stone the more it's likely to cost you to buy.