diamond

Before choosing a diamond, you must first understand what GIA is. The full name of GIA is: Gemological Institution of America, which is a non-profit organization specializing in gem research and education. GIA is very authoritative in diamond identification and grading, and its grading system is very strict. What is easily misunderstood about GIA is that GIA only identifies and grades diamonds and does not sell any diamonds. The so-called GIA diamonds refer to diamonds that have been identified and certified by GIA.

4C is the diamond grading system, which are:

• Color
• Clarity
• Cut
• Carat

GIA's color grading starts from the English letter D and ends at Z. Long before GIA, the market was full of various grading standards, A, B, C..., I, II, III..., and even adjectives such as very white and slightly yellow. These gradings made consumers very confused. In order to unify the standards and avoid duplication with other grading systems, GIA chose to start from the English letter D.

Most natural white diamonds are colored, with yellow being the most common, followed by brown and gray. GIA divides them into five major blocks according to the degree of color:

• Colorless: D, E, F
• Near Colorless: G, H, I, J
• Faint Yellow: K, L, M
• Very Light Yello: N, O, P, Q, R
• Light Yellow: S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

D is the highest grade in diamond color grading, and the ones after the letter Z are classified as colored diamonds. For white diamonds, the higher the grade, the rarer they are and the higher the price. However, not all consumers need to choose the highest grade. Diamonds at each stage have their own characteristics. The differences of some diamonds are not easy to detect. You can make different choices according to your budget. Consumers who have questions about color are welcome to make an appointment with the Nut Box and let the specialist introduce it to you.

Clarity is the degree to which inclusions and surface features are easily observed when the diamond is viewed from the front under 10x magnification. Note that this refers to ease of observation, not size or quantity. GIA divides diamond clarity into the following grades:

• FL Flawless: flawless inside and out.
• IF Internally Flawless: Internally flawless.
• VVS1, VVS2 Very Slightly Included: Very slight inclusions, very difficult to see even at 10x magnification
• VS1, VS2 Slightly flawed: Slight inclusions that can be seen under 10x magnification but cannot be seen with the naked eye
• SI1 SI2 Micro-inclusions: Inclusions are easily observed under 10x magnification and some inclusions are visible to the naked eye.
• I1 I2 I3 Inclusion grade: Obvious inclusions can be seen under 10x magnification and are visible to the naked eye when observed head-on.

Under GIA’s clarity grading, consumers can choose according to their budget, but we do not recommend purchasing diamonds with clarity within the “I” grade range, because inclusions within this range may affect the transparency and brightness of the diamond, and even endanger the durability of the diamond.

Cutting is the only aspect of the 4Cs that is controlled by humans and is directly related to optics. The most common round diamonds on the market are round brilliant cuts, which can best show the fire, brightness and sparkle of diamonds. Round brilliant diamonds have 58 cutting faces including the cusp, which are divided into the crown (upper half) and the bottom (lower half) from the middle waist. Diamond cutting is composed of three factors: symmetry, proportion, and polish. Perfect cutting can not only maximize the reflection of light to the observer's eyes, but also allow the light that penetrates into the diamond to be reflected from the front, making the diamond sparkle, fire and four colors, and brilliant!

GIA cut grades are:

• Excellent (EX)
• Very Good (VG)
• Good (G)
• Fair (F)
• Poor (P) poor

Thanks to modern technology, diamond cutting technology is advancing with each passing day, and it is no longer a dream for consumers to own a perfectly cut diamond.

Carat is put last because it is a very easy concept to understand. The heavier the diamond, the more expensive it is! Carat is a unit of weight, not size. 1 carat is equal to 0.2g, and 1 carat is divided into 100 points, which means 30 points = 0.30 carat. The word carat comes from a carob tree native to the Mediterranean coast of Europe. The weight of each seed (carat bean) of this carob tree is magically the same, about 0.2 grams (g). Since the ancient weighing technology could not measure such a small unit as 0.2 grams, people began to use the characteristics of carob seeds to weigh diamonds, which evolved into the current carat. The heavier the diamond, the rarer and more expensive it is, but the price does not increase in proportion. For example, a 50-point diamond ranges from about NT$45,000 to NT$70,000 or NT$80,000, but a 1.00 carat diamond ranges from NT$150,000 to more than NT$400,000 . ※The above prices are for October 2023. Although the Carat diamond box is discussed last, it is recommended that consumers should think about the approximate size of diamond before choosing a diamond, because the weight almost determines the price of the diamond to be purchased.