The 4Cs

If you’ve ever shopped for diamond jewellery, you’ll have likely seen reference to the 4C’s. Diamonds, with their dazzling brilliance and enduring allure, come in all shapes and sizes and finding the right one for you comes down to these four important factors: cut, colour, clarity and carat weight.

For a long time, there was no universal standard for diamond quality and any assurance of a gemstone’s quality was non-existent. That all changed during the 1940’s when Robert M. Shipley, the founder of GIA (the Gemological Institute of America), created the Diamond 4C’s. This international diamond grading system has become a universal method for assessing the quality of a diamond, singling out the four features of cut, colour, clarity and carat weight.

Even diamonds have imperfections, and to grade the presence and visibility of any inclusions or blemishes, the GIA created a clarity scale. These flaws are graded when viewed under 10x magnification ranging from Flawless (no imperfections visible under magnification) to Included (inclusions and blemishes visible to the naked eye).

As you’d expect, flawless diamonds are highly sought after alongside diamonds with slight inclusions seen between clarity ratings of VVS1 (Very, Very Slightly Included) and VS2 (Very Slightly Included). At Labgrown.Diamonds, all our jewellery features diamonds with clarity ratings of VVS1, VVS2, VS1 or VS2.

Diamonds come in a variety of colours, or in some instances, no colour. In nature, many diamonds come with a slight yellow tint, making those that are completely colourless the most desirable. Colourless diamonds allow light to pass through effortlessly and enhance the stone’s brilliance.

The GIA uses a letter scale from D (colourless) to X (light yellow or brown) to grade a diamond’s colour. At Labgrown.Diamonds, we use only Colourless diamonds that are graded D, E or F.

For many, the cut of a diamond is the most critical aspect of the 4C’s. The cut refers to how the diamond has been shaped and faceted which directly impacts the stone’s brilliance and sparkle. This is not a reference to the overall shape of the diamond, such as princess cut, emerald cut, brilliant cut, radiant cut etc. Instead, it refers to the precision, symmetry and polish of the stone.
If a diamond is cut poorly, it may appear dull and offer very little sparkle. In contrast, a well-cut diamond will have fantastic brilliance, catching the light from every angle. The GIA grades diamond cuts on a scale from Excellent to Poor. Here at Labgrown.Diamonds, we aim for an Excellent or Very Good cut to ensure our diamond jewellery sparkles fiercely.

Finally, the most recognised ingredient of a diamond’s 4C’s is carat. This is the measurement of a gemstone’s size. It does not relate to the width or height, but the weight of the diamond. One carat equals 0.20 grams.
A diamond’s carat weight can appear differently across different diamond shapes; for example, a 1ct round brilliant cut diamond may seem smaller than a marquise cut diamond of the same carat. This is because the latter is elongated, but both will weigh the same. Carat weight does also not solely determine a diamond’s value; cut, colour and clarity are also taken into consideration.