Characteristics of diamonds. Purity of the diamond - scale

"The best friends of girls are diamonds", -says the famous song. And every friend needs to know what's called, to the depth of his soul. Diamonds are no exception. How to understand the world of jewelry terms and choose the right stone? What to look for when making such a meaningful purchase? Let's try to understand.

What is valued for diamonds

The fact that a diamond is a cut diamond is knownall. And the fact that nature does not create so many of these stones is also a well-known fact. And even the fact that the diamond is the hardest of the known minerals is also not new. So what is the most important characteristic of diamonds?

And what attracts jewelers in a diamond? The only answer is brilliance. The very name of the stone is translated from French as "brilliant". When a diamond reflects light, it shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow. The best diamonds reflect artificial lighting. It is in the light of lamps that the brightness and playfulness of the stone are manifested in all its glory. By the way, this is one of the reasons why wearing jewelry with diamonds before 5 pm is considered not quite decent.

Favorable investment

Now the fashion for wearing diamonds "everywhere and always"has passed. Buying a diamond ring is seen more as an investment than a definition of status in society. In comparison with other precious stones, diamonds do not "age" over time. They are afraid of a direct blow by a hammer or a stone. All other external factors are insignificant for them. And from the point of view of investing funds, it is necessary to study how and how diamonds differ from each other. And what characteristics of diamonds are preferable in different cases.

Score for the 4C system

There are not many diamond-mining countries in the world. And they are located in different parts of the world. But buyers are much more. And everyone wants to buy if not the most beautiful, then the most "right" stone. The world practice of valuation of diamonds has developed long ago and is based on the fact that the characteristics of diamonds are described by four indicators: mass, color, purity (transparency) and cut. Until the stone is cut, it is just a diamond. No play of light and jewelry significance. Only properly and professionally cut stone can refract light and sparkle. And be called a diamond. Actually, the 4C system got its name from the first letters of the English words, which characterize the class nature of the stone: carat, color, clarity, cut.

Diamond weight

Weight, as for all precious stones,measured in carats. 1 carat is 0.2 grams. That is how much one grain of a carat tree weighed, which from ancient times was used as a standard measure of weight for jewelry. The modern carat is divided into 100 parts. Because the weight (and size) allows you to assign a diamond to one of the groups: small (up to 0.29 carats), medium (0.3 to 0.99 carats) and large, or tapeworm (more than 1 carat).

The diamond, whose weight exceeds 6 carats,destined to be sold only at a closed auction. Of course, other characteristics are also important here, but one weight is enough to ensure that the cost of such a giant was sky-high. Therefore, those who want to buy a large diamond prefer to do it behind the scenes.

Small stones are evaluated by diameter, not byweight. But for large and medium sized stones, it is a mistake to believe that the larger the diamond, the harder it is. The characteristic of the stone sometimes allows you to make a unique cut, which at a large diameter will give a relatively small weight.

Defectiveness of diamonds

Of course, you always want to buy all the best. But in life we ​​are guided by the rule: to choose the optimal "price-quality" ratio. And diamonds are no exception. Absolutely clean stones in nature are very few. And, accordingly, they are very expensive.

Most often in nature there are diamonds withimpregnations of carbon and foreign crystals. Very rarely come across samples with internal cracks. On the one hand, it is impossible to consider this all with the naked eye. But on the other - when you buy a diamond that does not shimmer in the light (or very dull), and even more so when you make investments in stones, you want the characteristic of diamonds to be worthy.

There are several standards by whichthe quality of diamonds is evaluated. For example, the purity of a diamond. The scale by which all stones are divided into categories according to the number and quality of impregnations, according to the Russian standard, consists of 12 groups, where the 1st group is the purest diamonds, and the 12th group is "dirty". In fact, only beginning with the 9th group, one can consider inclusions without a microscope. And before that, a minimum of ten times magnification is necessary under a microscope to detect defects in the stone.

Probably, therefore, American puritydiamond, whose scale consists of 9 groups, does not consider the purest stones and stones with barely distinguishable inclusions in different ways. They belong to the same category.

Diamonds, classified to the 7th and further groups, are considered technical and are not used in jewelry business. In industry, the hardness of diamonds is more appreciated than the refractive characteristics.

Color of a diamond

Of course, the most popular are white diamonds. But just like absolutely pure stones, there are not many of them. Most often in jewelry we are offered diamonds of a yellowish hue. But it is impossible to determine this by eye - human vision does not perceive such a subtle difference.

In nature there are diamonds of different colors - fromwhite to black. Until recently, the concept of "black diamond" was not applied at all, and in the jewelry business such stones were not used. They were literally considered garbage. But fantasy yellow and blue diamonds - this is quite another matter. Being interestingly framed, they can become a real decoration of the collection.

In general, the concept of diamond color is very complex. In the Russian standard, terms such as "barely perceptible", "flowering", "barely noticeable", etc. are used. That is, assessing the chromaticity of a stone can be very subjective. Nevertheless, this characteristic of diamonds (a table that will help to understand the ratio of different standards, should be in every store) plays an important role in determining the price. Up to the eighth color group, diamonds are considered white with different shades. Starting with the 8th - the color is defined as yellow. But there are 3 subgroups.

Cutting

Cutting a diamond is very difficult. Describe the quality of the cut can be three characteristics: symmetry, proportionality and polishing. It is according to these parameters, according to the American standard, you can appreciate any diamond. In the Russian system for the quality of cutting, the stone can be attributed to one of the groups from A to G. Diamonds, the cut of which does not fit into the parameters set for these groups, are not subject to evaluation by TU.

In addition to the quality of the cut, there is also a form. This is something that can be assessed according to the simplest principle: like it - do not like it. Classical is the round shape of the cut of stones (it is sometimes called Russian). Oval, marquise, emerald, drop - all these are the options for polishing diamonds.

How to choose a diamond

The price of a diamond is made up of the ratioall four quality indicators. Asking the store for a diamond with the mark 1/1 (the first group of classiness in color and purity) means to prove yourself not just an ignoramus, but also a pompous snob. Even demanding that the characteristic of polished diamonds be 2/2 was also indecent. Diamonds with diameters of 3-5 and purity of 3-6 are most often sold.

From the point of view of investment when choosinga diamond is better to yield in color than in purity. Because a variety of inclusions change the refractive power of the stone, which means that the diamond does not play in the light. In addition, a variety of defects can lead to a split in the case of a diamond. Here it will not be simply insulting.

When choosing diamonds, pay attention to howthe stone is hidden in a frame. The more the frame or its elements hide the sides of the diamond, the more likely it is that the product uses a low quality stone.

Each diamond has a tag. It shows all the parameters: shape, number of faces, mass, color, purity, cut group. It looks like this: 1 Kr57 - 0.43 - 4 / 3A. The first digit indicates the number of diamonds in the product.

Diamonds of different purity

As already noted, diamonds are on saledifferent quality. The most common are 3/5, 4/5, 6/6. What are the characteristics of diamonds 3/5, and what are they fundamentally different from 2/2, for example? About everything in order.

Diamonds of high class

In the nature of these stones (with characteristic 2/2), soas little as absolutely pure. But by standards in diamonds of the 2nd group of purity a few bright points are permissible. A few are not more than two. And to see them from the side of the site with the naked eye is impossible. If the store has a stone marked 2/2, you need to check its certificate, and you need a GIA certificate (American Institute of Gemmology).

The most popular diamonds are round, with color andpurity 4. The gemmological characteristic of diamonds 4/4 allows to consider these stones as a reliable investment. The price of them never falls and gives a stable increase. In addition, it is these indicators of defectiveness and chromaticity that are beyond doubt.

So, what is a diamond with a purity of 4? Such a diamond can have 2 minor inclusions in the central part or 2-4 small defects in other parts. And to consider this all is possible only with a multiple increase.

By the way, diamonds with a defect of 5 can alreadyto be much cheaper than representatives of the 4th group. This is due to the fact that on small (up to 0.29 carats) stones defects of the 5th category can already be seen without a microscope. But on large stones, the inclusions are still not visible to the naked eye. Characteristics of diamonds 4/5 mean that in the middle of the stone there is a small "cloud", a cracks or 5-6 tiny dashes. If the inclusions are on other surfaces of the stone, then a small crack is allowed.

Large stone of medium quality

If the average buyer needs the mostlarge of diamonds, it is necessary to pay attention to the 6th grade of purity. The larger the stone, the more dispersed in it the inclusions. Again they can be seen only with a multiple increase. But the cost of such diamonds is significantly less than their more pure "brethren". Characteristics of diamonds 6/6: 8 light points or small interspersing of graphite are scattered throughout the area; it is permissible up to 5 dark points.

There is an opinion that the size of the stone on the fingerThe bride determines the degree of the groom's love for her. Since under natural illumination the defects of the stones of the 6th group are indistinguishable, it is necessary to choose a ring with such a stone - large and beautiful.

Characteristics of diamonds (the table clearly illustrates this) significantly affects their value. The table shows the price in dollars of medium and large diamonds.

Before you buy a tiny, but pure diamond, think: maybe it's worth reducing the quality criteria, but increasing the size.