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Diamond Vault - The 4 C's
The 4 C's of Diamond Buying
Diamond Vault mission is to be the trusted hometown family jeweler
in every market it serves. Upon this cornerstone we build customer
loyalty, a trusted brand, and long-term growth for success. From the
first store founded in 2006 in Houston, Texas, - Diamond Vault strives to become the trusted hometown family jeweler in every community
we serve.
At Diamond Vault we understand that an educated
consumer is our best customer. This information about the "Four C's of
Diamond Buying" should be considered
before that all important diamond purchase.
1. CUT
Many people confuse cut with the shape of a diamond. The shape you select is a matter of individual taste, and today your choice is only limited by the skill and imagination of the craftsman.
The cut is the most critical component of the 4 C's, since the value
of two diamonds
with exactly the same carat weight could vary by up to 50% depending on
the quality of cut.
Just as fine cloth needs an expert tailor to create a quality garment,
the diamond cutter controls
the fire and brilliance of a diamond.
The cutting grade is determined by the diamond cutter's effort to
maximize the refraction of light
during every stage of the fashioning process. Most brilliant-cut or
fancy-shaped diamonds possess
fifty-eight carefully angled flat surfaces, called facets, whose
placement will affect the fire,
brilliance and ultimate beauty of your diamond.
Diamond Vault offers a broad selection of cuts, including most of
the standard cuts including: round
brilliant, princess, marquise, emerald, oval, radiant, asscher, cushion
and heart-shaped diamonds.
In loose diamonds we also carry the beautiful Hearts & Arrows Cut officially graded by the prestigious gemological laboratory, European Gemological Laboratory (EGL), one of the official laboratory that grades the cut of a diamond. The Hearts & Arrows pattern appears in brilliant-cut diamonds that have very good parallelism. Although many diamonds are cut to ideal proportions (and have an incredible amount of fire and brilliance), very few diamonds will display a clean, perfect Hearts & Arrows pattern. According to both Roman and Greek mythology, a person shot with Cupid's arrow fell in love, thus linking the hearts & arrows and love. A Hearts & Arrows diamond is often referred to as “the perfect diamond” and is available at Diamond Vault.
If you do not find the exact cut you are looking for on our site please Contact Us with the specifics of what you need and we will do our best to accommodate you.
2. COLOR
The most prized diamonds are color-less. Their beauty depends entirely upon their remarkable optical properties. All the colors of the rainbow are reflected back to your eye. Though most diamonds appear to be icy-white, the fact is that most diamonds have slight traces of color, usually yellow or brown. The most valuable is no color, or colorless, due to its rarity. With each subtle departure from colorless, there is a decrease in rarity and value. The GIA color grades range from D (colorless) all the way to Z (yellow-brownish).
At Diamond Vault, our standard collection includes only the most desirable colorless or near colorless diamonds to our customers, ensuring a bright, lasting beauty in every diamond purchase. We can also special order fancy color diamonds such as yellow and pink. If you would like to order a fancy color diamond please Contact Us with the specifics of what you need and we will do our best to accommodate you.
3. CLARITY
Clarity in a diamond is defined by the presence of natural characteristics. A diamond is graded using a microscope at 10 power (10x) magnification. The most rare and valuable diamonds have no natural characteristics at 10 power, and diamonds with more and larger characteristics are less rare and less valuable. As with color, differences in clarity can be very subtle, yet have a decided impact on value.
To better serve our customers, Diamond Vault carries diamonds in a full range of clarity, providing multiple price points and value from which to choose.
4. CARAT WEIGHT
Carat weight is the standard unit of weight for diamonds. One carat equals 1/5 of a gram, or .007 of an ounce. Carat weight is further divided into decimals. For example, exactly 1/2 carat is .50 carat and expressed as 50 points. Because diamonds are weighed to hundredths of a carat, they must be weighed on extremely precise and sensitive scales. All other factors being equal, as weight increases, so does rarity and value.In solitaires, Diamond Vault regularly carries from 1/10 carat up to 2.0 carat total weight (ctw) single stones. We also carry large total carat weight diamond jewelry items from diamond tennis bracelets up to 6.0 ctw for women and men, diamond fashion rings and anniversary rings in many sizes. If you need something larger or a combination that you do not find on our site or in our stores, you can contact us with the specifics of what carat weight stone or combination you need and we will do our best to accommodate your specific requirement.
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