Ozel Jewelers
of Palm Desert, est. 1975
Understanding the Diamond
Diamond is a mineral composed of a single element: carbon. A diamond is the most durable gemstone and considered the hardest natural substance on earth. Diamonds are classified by the 4 C's: Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat.
A diamond’s color ranges from colorless to yellow, brown, gray, orange, green, blue, white, black, purple, pink and (extremely rarely) red. The cut of a diamond can vary from round brilliant to pear shape to square; a diamond cut is forever. Clarity is determined by the number of blemishes or inclusions inside the stone. The chart goes from Internally Flawless to Inclusions visible with just the human eye. The last category is the Carat, which stands for the weight of the diamond, diamonds come in all weights from below .01pts to over 100 carats.
Cut
Refers to how the proportions and finish of a diamond affect its overall appearance and quality. Cut is graded on a scale from Excellent to Poor and incorporates the diamonds brightness, fire, scintillation, weight ratio, durability, polish and symmetry.
The 4 C's
Carat
The standard unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones, carat weight is measured with highly precise electronic scale, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a carat.
Clarity
A diamond is assigned a clarity grade based on the number and placement of internal features (inclusions) and surface characteristics (blemishes) that are visible under 10x magnification. Clarity scale contains eleven clarity grades ranging from Flawless to I.
Color
A diamond is graded to determine its relative absence of color, based on the color scale which ranges from D(colorless) to Z (light yellow or brown).