Buying a Diamond? Educate Yourself on the 4Cs

At Padis Jewelry, we want our customers to be 100% satisfied with their jewelry purchases.  It is one reason we encourage diamond buyers to learn something about the worldwide standard for describing diamonds known as the 4Cs – carat weight, cut, color and clarity. Created by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in the mid-twentieth century, the universal method is used to assess the quality and the value of a diamond.  

The GIA states that the “cut” of a diamond has the greatest influence on a diamond’s sparkle and is critical to the ultimate beauty and value. Additionally they add of the 4Cs, the cut is “the most complex and technically difficult to analyze.”  Also the cut is not the same as the shape of a diamond such as a round brilliance or a princess cut.  Rather it defines how well the diamond’s facets interact with light to allow the maximum amount of light to return through the top of the diamond.  Before the diamond is cut, the depth, table size, crown height and angle, girdle thickness and other factors are taken into account.      

The “color” in the 4Cs refers to the amount of color in a diamond with the most perfect ones having no hue whatsoever.  The D to Z color-grading system rates colorless diamonds with a D and diamonds exhibiting a measurable amount of light yellow in their hue with a Z.  

“Clarity” measures the amount of inclusions and blemishes in the diamond.  An “F” rating means there are no inclusions or blemishes visible to a skilled grader and an “IF” means that no inclusions and only blemishes are visible to a skilled grader.  The carat weight of a diamond is the actual measure of the diamond’s weight.  Each metric carat is 200 milligrams and a carat is subdivided into 100 ‘points.’  This means a diamond weighing 0.25 carats is twenty-five points. 

At any time, Padis Jewelry has at least 10,000 exquisite diamonds in our inventory, and we have been selling diamonds and fine jewelry to the San Francisco area for over 40 years.  Please visit our website to learn more.    

As a family-owned business, Padis Jewelry has been a trusted source for buying exquisite certified loose diamonds, engagement rings and fine jewelry since 1974.  We are one of the only jewelers in the area that offers such an exclusive selection of top names in the industry as well as such a large inventory.  If you are a lover of beautiful jewels, schedule at visit to one of our showrooms.