Previously we outlined four basic steps to purchasing a diamond. Today we will expand on our explanation of the 4Cs – the four factors that determine a diamond’s value.

You can buy coffee by the pound. You can even buy deli meat by the pound. Even if you’ve never bought a diamond, the correlation between weight and price is a concept that we can all understand. Therefore, the general perception is that a larger diamond is more valuable than a smaller one.

Even the slightest change in diamond color can affect the quality and value of a diamond. Although most diamonds are thought of as colorless (that is, not fancy-colored), most colorless diamonds actually contain hints of brown and yellow. These differences in color are often very subtle –  so subtle that an untrained eye can’t tell the difference between a nearly colorless diamond and a colorless one. Yet these minute color variations can have a significant impact on the purchase price of the stone.

It has been said that few things in nature are absolutely perfect. The same holds true of diamonds. Part of what makes a diamond unique is what is commonly referred to as a diamond’s clarity characteristic.