The 4 C’s of Lab Diamonds
The 4 C’s of Lab Diamonds
Quality lab-grown diamonds are officially graded by independent gemological organizations using the 4C’s: Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight. Just like in natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds will exhibit variations across the 4C’s and will range from poor to excellent quality. After all, just like natural, mined diamonds, not all lab-grown diamonds are perfect, colorless, and flawless!
Cut
Unless the shape of the stone is a traditional round, it will not have a cut grade. A diamond’s cut also determines the amount of light it reflects. Cut grades are not used in “fancy shape cut” diamonds such as oval, princess, radiant, cushion (just to name a few) but instead are graded by polish and symmetry.
The cut of a round diamond measures the quality of its shape, finish, and geometry. As mentioned above, only round brilliant cut diamonds receive formal cut grades on a scale that ranges from Ideal (Best) to Poor (Worst). ILANIS Diamonds are always cut properly to ensure that the roundness and geometry of the diamond is near perfect.
Color
A Perfect diamond that has no impurities or defects is completely colorless. Various impurities such as nitrogen cause undesirable brown and yellow tones in the diamond. The Color of the diamond is always graded on a range from letters D to Z – ILANIS only sells stones that are independently graded as colorless (D, E, F), or near-colorless (G, H) or (I) color that still looks white. We refuse to sell any inferior color diamond unless the diamond is a fancy colored diamond.
Clarity
Clarity is a basic measurement of how many inclusions or blemishes a diamond has in it. These can be either defects in the diamond crystal or microscopic foreign particles within the diamond. The lower the clarity of the diamond, the more imperfect it is. Clarity is always graded on a range from Internally Flawless (IF)to (I3) heavily included. ILANIS only sells diamonds that are always Eye-Clean, slightly included, and better.
Carat
The carat weight of a diamond is the measurement of its weight. One carat diamond is one-fifth of a gram (0.20g). When a diamond is properly cut, the carat weight defines its size. Bigger diamonds tend to be worth more than smaller ones thus are more expensive. When it comes to smaller diamonds, Ilanie may use the term “points” to discuss the diamond weights with you. A ‘point’ is one-hundredth of a carat (0.01). A ‘40 Point Diamond’ would be 0.40 Carat. A one-point diamond is 1.0*1.0mm
