Before you get out to purchase any diamond merchandise, you must have sufficient knowledge pertaining to the quality of the same, since it is quite an expensive affair.

To begin with, following are the 4Cs, the foremost parameter on which diamonds are judged :

• Carat Weight, or simply, the weight of a diamond. Each carat is divided amongst a 100 point system, and hence, a 50 point diamond weighs 0.50 carats. This factor is of crucial importance, and is a major factor in determining the value of a diamond. However, not all diamonds with the same carat weight are equally priced, since the quality of the two might not always be the same, and hence, other aspects are also considered.


• Colour of a diamond varies from an absolute transparent to having a light yellowish tinge, and is judged based on the diamond colour grading scale. On this scale, the absolute perfect colour is colourless that goes down to a near colourless, then to a faint yellow, very light yellow and then that of a more prominent yellow. As clearly obvious, the best one is the colourless one, and is the most valued.


• Clarity of a diamond can be governed by a simple factor, the amount of impurities and its internal flaws. A diamond that's of the highest order lets the light pass through it completely, since there are no obstructions disturbing its flow in between. Usually, jewellers and gemologists use a 10x magnifying lens to determine the quality and clarity of the diamond. A few malign inclusions in the stone not only jeopardize its life but also tarnish its looks.


• Cut of the diamond is often misconstrued as its shape, but it's not the case. Diamond cut is actually the metric that's used to measure the quality and the precision with which the diamond is cut. Judgement of this aspect happens to be the most complicated out of the 4 Cs, since other aspects like symmetry, polish and proportions are also taken into account.