The goal of gmodell.com is to provide high quality diamonds at the lowest possible cost. We are Diamond importers with offices in Antwerp, Tel Aviv and New York City, and we uniquely offer diamonds foreclosed from our pawnbroker operations. This enables us to provide outstanding prices on fine diamond jewelry. Your purchase is important to us, and we have provided the following information on the four C's Color, Cut, Clarity, Carat to help you understand the value of your diamond purchase. The fifth C only gmodell.com offers is for Cost, for we are very much concerned that you buy the highest quality at the lowest cost.

Color

The best diamond contains the least amount of color. The higher the color grade of a diamond the better it's ability to absorb all rays of light equally. Thus emitting the most brilliance. However, colorless diamonds are extremely rare, and most diamonds contain slight traces of yellow, brown or gray.

The universal grading process as used by GIA, consists of a letter scale and includes ranges D through F if they have no detectable color tone to the unaided eye. Diamonds of these grades are highly prized because they allow a maximum quantity of light to pass into the stone. Diamonds in the G to I range are nearly colorless to the eye, but a trained gemologist can detect a slight tint. In diamonds graded J to M, the untrained eye can detect a trace of color, but these shades of diamonds are still considered desirable as affordable jewelry pieces. Diamonds with color ratings of N and below carry a noticeable yellow tint, which some people prefer as a matter of personal taste.

Cut

The cut or fashioning process is the craftsmanship that brings a rough diamond alive and gathers light into the stone. Today this is done by both skilled cutters and sophisticated machines. The flat surfaces on a diamond are called facets. These act as prisms to capture and break white light into a spectrum, and mirrors that reflect back both multicolored and white light to the eye as fire and brilliance. Their arrangement and angle of the facets is crucial to achieve maximum refraction. If a diamond is poorly cut, the light that enters the diamond from above will leak out of the sides and bottom of the stone, and the diamond will look lifeless. A diamond without sparkle or fire has much less value regardless of its color and clarity.

Clarity

Diamonds are formed in molten rock under extreme heat and pressure millions of years ago deep within the earth. The composition of Diamonds is pure carbon, however as it was formed, impurities such as other minerals are encapsulated within the diamond. These are called inclusions and may include trace minerals, fractures, and other imperfections. These contribute to its unique fingerprint. This chart represents grades of clarity gemologists use to describe how many or how few of these inclusions are within the diamond. These grades are based on a scale that ranges from flawless (FL) through included (I3) as illustrated below. (The charts in this figure are typical of the diamond maps shown on diamond certificates).

Just as there are tradeoffs between the cost and its color grade, there are tradeoffs between cost and clarity. When you make your purchase, you must decide what level of clarity will match your budget. For fine jewelry, it is better to avoid inclusions that are visible to the naked eye. If you are on a tighter budget, or if you feel relatively comfortable with imperfections in your stone, then you will want to choose a lower clarity grade.

Carat

Diamonds are measured in carat weight. One carat is equal to 1/5th of a gram. Sometimes weights are quoted in "points". One point is equal to 1/100th of a carat. For example, a "50 point" diamond weighs ½ of a carat. A diamond's weight is measured in carats. Derived from the Arabic word quirat and used historically as a measurement of weight, a carat is equal to nearly 0.2 grams Larger diamonds are found in nature much less frequently than smaller stones, and for this reason are generally more valuable. A two-carat diamond of a given quality is always more expensive than two one-carat diamonds of the same quality.

Note: Use this chart as a relative guide only. (Its size will depend on your monitor settings and may not be accurate.)

QUICK FACTS A diamond can only be cut or polished by another diamond. You can use a solution of one part ammonia and six parts water to clean your diamond at home. Gentle scrubbing with a soft brush (such as a toothbrush) should loosen most dirt and greatly increase the brilliance of your diamond.