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Color- In colorless stones, the lesser the color
the better the quality. In colored stones the darker and purer
the shades of color, the better the quality Color is considered
by its hue, tone and saturation. The color also depends on the
type of light used. Color is also considered in terms of a
primary and a secondary shade
Hue
: Pure
spectral color
Tone: That
attribute by which a color is perceived as holding a position on
a scale from light to dark
Saturation
:
Measurement of the amount of hue in a color i.e. its
vividness
Clarity- Clarity is the clearness of a gemstone, or
the lack of internal flaws. The clarity scale for diamonds runs
from FL (flawless, with neither internal nor external flaws), to
I3 (having many clearly visible imperfections using only the
naked eye). A ten-power loupe is used to examine a diamond for
clarity.
Clarity can be more objectively judged by:
Number of Inclusions
Size of Inclusions
Position of Inclusions
Color of Inclusions
Cut- A few common styles are as follows :
Brilliant Cut-Brilliant cut stones
have 56 facets, 32 facets are above the girdle, 24 are below.
Most modern-day diamonds are brilliant cut since it maximizes the
amount of reflected light from the stone (its natural fire). The
brilliant cut was introduced in the 1600's.
Step Cut- The
step cut is generally used for colored stones. This cut is
rectangular to square and has many facets parallel to the edges
of the stone.
Mixed Cut- A
mixed cut in one in which the style of the facets above and below
the girdle are different. A standard mixed cut is brilliant cut
above and step cut below
Carat- Carat (ct.) is a standard measure of weight
used for gemstones. One carat weighs 0.2 gram (1/5 of a gram or
0.0007 ounce). A hundredth of a carat is called a point. The
carat unit was introduced in 1907. The larger the size, with good
color and clarity, the higher the Value" |
