Clarity of a Diamond is Important

Clarity is one of the four Cs that determines a diamond’s value.  [NOTE: Diamonds are graded and certified based on the four Cs:  carat, cut, color, and clarity.] 

Clarity is a measure of internal defects of a diamond called inclusions.   Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or another diamond crystal, or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. The number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and other organizations have developed systems to grade clarity, which are based on those inclusions which are visible to a trained professional when a diamond is viewed under 10x magnification.

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How to Evaluate the Color of Diamonds

One of the four Cs that determines a diamond’s value is “color.”  [NOTE: Diamonds are graded and certified based on the four Cs:  carat, cut, color, and clarity.]  Diamonds occur in a variety of colors — steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink to purple, brown, and black, virtually in every color of the rainbow.  

Colored diamonds contain chemical impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, while pure diamonds are perfectly transparent and colorless.  Most diamonds used as gemstones are basically transparent with little tint, or white diamonds.

Hope Diamond

Hope Diamond

Depending on the hue and intensity of a diamond’s coloration, a diamond’s color can either detract from or enhance its value. For example, most white diamonds are discounted in price as more yellow hue is detectable, while intense pink or blue diamonds (such as the Hope Diamond) can be dramatically more valuable.   [NOTE: The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats and can be seen at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.]

The most common impurity, nitrogen, replaces a small proportion of carbon atoms in a diamond’s structure and causes a yellowish to brownish tint.  This effect is present in almost all white diamonds; in only the rarest diamonds is the coloration from this effect undetectable.

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has developed a rating system for color in white diamonds, from “D” to “Z” (with D being “colorless” and Z having a bright yellow coloration), which has been widely adopted in the industry and is universally recognized, superseding several older systems. [NOTE: They began with the letter D to avoid confusion with earlier inconsistent systems that used A, B, and C.]

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I Pay Top Dollar for Gold, Jewelry, Diamonds, Coins, and More

If you want cash fast, gather up the treasures in your house that you no longer want and call me.  I pay top dollar, guaranteed!  I buy gold.  I buy world class jewelry, diamonds, and other gemstones.

My name is Sam Walker, but I’m known as Gemologist Sam.  I’ve been a Master Jeweler since 1978 and am GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified.

While I specialize in buying gold and world class jewelry, I also pay cash for regular jewelry, silver, watches, class rings, scrap gold, platinum, diamonds, gems, rare paper currency, coins, and almost anything historical.   

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      Gemologist Sam makes house calls or you can meet with him at his office. Either way, it's by appointment only!

      Call Sam at 727-804-7463.

      E-mail him at Sam@GemologistSam.com.

      His office is located at: 5510 River Road, Suite #211; New Port Richey, FL 34652.


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