Jewelry Education
Everything You Need to Know
From the 4Cs of diamonds to caring for your precious metals — become an expert before you buy.
Diamond 4Cs Guide
Moissanite vs Diamond
Precious Metals Guide
Gemstone Guide
Jewelry Care Guide
Diamond 4Cs Guide
Understanding Cut, Color, Clarity & Carat
The 4Cs — Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight — are the global standard for assessing diamond quality. Understanding them empowers you to choose the perfect stone.
Cut is the most important of the 4Cs. A well-cut diamond reflects light from one facet to another, creating brilliance, fire, and scintillation. Cut grades range from Excellent to Poor. At Vevessa, we only offer Excellent and Very Good cuts.
Excellent
Maximum brilliance and fire. Light reflects perfectly through the crown.
Very Good
Exceptional brilliance. Most light is reflected properly.
Good
Adequate brilliance. Some light leaks through the sides or bottom.
Fair/Poor
Significant light leakage. We do not carry these grades.
Diamond color is graded on a D-to-Z scale. D is completely colorless (most rare and valuable), while Z has noticeable yellow or brown tint. For engagement rings, we recommend D-H color grades.
D-E-F
Colorless. The rarest and most valuable. Ice-white appearance.
G-H
Near Colorless. Excellent value. Color difficult to detect unless compared side-by-side with higher grades.
I-J
Near Colorless. Slight warmth detectable. Good value for larger carat weights.
K-Z
Faint to Light Color. Noticeable warmth. We do not carry these for center stones.
Clarity measures the presence of internal inclusions and external blemishes. Most imperfections are microscopic and invisible to the naked eye. We recommend VS2-SI1 clarity for the best value.
FL/IF
Flawless / Internally Flawless. No inclusions visible under 10x magnification. Extremely rare.
VVS1-VVS2
Very Very Slightly Included. Inclusions difficult to see under 10x magnification.
VS1-VS2
Very Slightly Included. Minor inclusions. Eye-clean (invisible to naked eye). Great value.
SI1-SI2
Slightly Included. Inclusions visible under 10x. SI1 is often eye-clean. Best value.
Carat is the unit of weight for diamonds (1 carat = 200mg). Larger diamonds are exponentially rarer and more valuable. Two diamonds of equal carat weight can have very different values depending on the other 3Cs.
Pro Tip: A 0.90ct diamond looks nearly identical to a 1.00ct but can cost 30% less. Consider 'magic sizes' like 0.50ct, 0.75ct, 0.90ct, 1.50ct, and 2.00ct for the best value.