Everything You Need to Know Regarding the 5 Cs of Jewelry

In the early 1940s, Robert M. Shipley, the founder of the Gemological Institute of America, conceived the idea of the 4 Cs of judging a diamond – color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. While training jewelers, he showed them how to characterize a faceted diamond with these 4 factors. Since then, the 4 Cs have played a major role in the purchasing and selling of gemstones.

Recently, a 5th C has been added to the list, certification of authenticity. This provides customers the confidence to buy jewelry online. Here's a look at the 5 Cs of jewelry in detail.

1. Cut

The cut of a gemstone or diamond speaks of the stone's brilliance and workmanship. The number of facets in a stone helps determine how much light passes through it. The light transmitted by a diamond defines the following:

• Fire: The white light that gets split into the colors of a rainbow.
• Scintillation: The sparkle produced by a stone and the pattern of light and dark areas formed as the stone reflects light.
• Brightness: The internal and external white light that the stone reflects.

Diamonds and gemstones can be cut into a plethora of shapes, such as:

• Pear
• Heart
• Marquise
• Oval
• Cushion
• Emerald
• Baguette
• Asscher
• Round brilliant
• Princess Cut

You can buy different jewelry pieces online adorned with stones of these cuts, such as a pink sapphire heart shape pendant or diamond earrings embedded with marquise, pear, or round cuts of gemstones.

2. Color

Gemstones come in several colors that occur naturally or after treatment. Diamonds also come in various colors like bluish, black, pinkish, yellow, and more. An authentic diamond's color is graded in the product description as:

• D (completely colorless)
• E-F (colorless)
• G-J (nearly colorless)
• K (faint)
• L-Z (faint to light color)

A larger diamond provides better color prominence.

3. Carat Weight

A metric carat is equal to 200 mg. The carat weight gives you the weight of a stone. One carat is divided into a hundred points to be measured to the hundredth decimal place. The size and cost of the gemstones naturally increase with carat weight, if the other C’s are similar or equal.

However, there's an exception. Lab-grown diamonds are brighter, larger, and of better quality than mined ones of the same price. You can buy various jewelry pieces online made of lab-grown diamonds, including stunning rings and bracelets, especially when you're on a budget.

4. clarity

Clarity matters for gemstones and can be checked effectively. With better clarity, these stones have fewer inclusions on the inside and blemishes on the outside. Natural diamonds, for example, develop these flaws due to exposure to heat and pressure deep inside the earth. The price increases as the grade of clarity goes up:

• Inclusions (I1, I2, and I3): You can easily see the inclusions with 10x magnification.
• Slight Inclusions (SI1 and SI2): These inclusions are fewer but can be seen using 10x magnification.
• Very Small Inclusions (VS1 and VS2): The inclusions are generally minor and may be detected under 10x magnification.
• Very, Very Small Inclusions (VVS1 and VVS2): Such inclusions are hard to detect using 10x magnification.
• Internally Flawless (IF): You can't find any inclusions with 10x magnification.
• Flawless (FL): Neither any inclusions nor blemishes can be seen under 10x magnification.

Check for these abbreviations in the product description of authentic diamond jewelry pieces.

It's hard to afford the perfect diamond. But thankfully, some diamonds are near-perfect. When you buy diamond jewelry online, you may not be able to detect the clarity in the image. So, for peace of mind, check the certificate of authenticity of the product.

5. Certificate of Authenticity

Whether you purchase jewelry with diamonds, gemstones, or both, you must look for a certificate of authenticity for the product. Nowadays, online shopping makes it easier for people to compare the best prices of jewelry before making a purchase. But they often worry about whether they are buying genuine diamonds. This is why apart from the most competitive prices on our jewelry, we also give a certificate of authenticity for all gemstones used. Our customers, as a result, trust us to deliver authentic jewelry, made of the materials that have been described in the product description.

The checklist when buying jewelry doesn't end with the 5 Cs. You must also check for free shipping facilities, easy 30-day returns, and frequent attractive deals and discounts so that you get value for money with every purchase. Shop from our exclusive collection of jewelry to enjoy all these benefits.