Carter's Jewelry and Your Jewelry Education

Diamonds come in many different shapes.
Diamond Shapes

	Round Brilliant - The round brilliant is by far the most popular and has the best angles for which to shine maximum brilliance.
	Oval - A brilliant style of cutting in which the girdle outline is rounded oblong
	Princess - A square cut diamond that has refractive properties almost near round brilliant.
	Emerald â€“ A rectangular diamond with trimmed corners.
	Radiant - The radiant has more facets than a princess, but has the corners trimmed like the emerald shape.
	Heart - Hard to find due to low demand, but some prefer a heart shape diamond for sentimental purposes.
	Marquise â€“ An elegant and traditional cut. It is an oval stone that tapers to a point at each end.
	Pear - The pear shape diamond is shaped in a tear drop shape and has fairly good proportions to refract light well.

Trust your local Diamond Expert

We invite you to call or stop by and discuss any questions you might have with the selection and procurment of your next diamond jewelry purchase. Our qualified staff will be glad to answer any questions and show you the differences in the Four C's of diamonds.

Few purchases in life are as meaningful as the purchase of a diamond.
The diamond is nature's hardest substance, resistant to both fire and steel. This invincible strength, and its rarity, have made it an extremely coveted material. Because diamonds are so valuable, itâ€™s essential to have a universal grading system when comparing diamond quality. That is why it is so important to understand the 4 Câ€™s of buying a diamond. Â

The 4 C's are four variables that are used to calculate the value of a diamond.
Clarity
Color
Cut
Carat Weight

Clarity describes the clearness or purity of a diamond. Almost all diamonds contain naturally-occurring marks called inclusions. The size, nature, location, and number of inclusions determine a diamond's clarity grade.

Color describes the amount of body color the diamond contains. This can range from colorless to yellow with slight tints of yellow, gray or brown. With diamonds, even the smallest variation in color can make a big difference. Generally, the closer a diamond comes to being absolutely colorless, the more valuable it is.

Carter's Jewelry Diamond Buying Color Scale

Cut refers to the proportions, finish, symmetry and polish of the diamond. These factors determine the fire and brilliance of a diamond. Well-cut diamonds show the true beauty of the stone while poorly cut diamonds do not.

The terms shape and cut are frequently confused. People refer to an emerald cut diamond, but emerald is really the shape of the stone, not the cut. The shape is the geometrical form of a diamond after a diamond artisan cuts and polishes it.

Carat is the unit of weight for the diamond. A carat is subdivided into 100 points (0.01 carat = 1 point). The greater the carat size of the diamond, the greater its worth.

Did you Know... By the mid-eighteenth century, the light-hearted rococo spirit influenced design. Now that colored as well as white diamonds were acceptable, the stones became more and more the focus of elaborate design.