The diamond melee certicards from Provident Metals undergo a detailed grading process by an expert in the field.
Watch the video at the bottom of this post to learn how the diamond certicards are made.
Diamonds have their own grading system. Today’s universally accepted standard was developed in the mid-20th century by the Gemological Institute of America, or GIA. Before then, standards varied far and wide.
GIA’s grading scale can be described as the “4Cs of Diamond Quality,” and is used throughout the world to assess the quality of diamonds. This makes communicating quality very easy, and allows customers to know exactly what they’re buying.
The 4Cs stand for: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight.
Continue reading for a brief explanation of each parameter.
Color
In the case of a diamond, the color is actually based on the absence of color. Like a drop of pure water, a pure diamond will have no hue, and therefore the highest value. The D-to-Z grading system from GIA measures the colorlessness of a diamond by comparing it to established stones under controlled lighting.
The GIA scale begins at D, which is the purest (colorless). As the diamond increases in color, so does its place on the scale. Please see below for a breakdown:
• Colorless = Grade D-F
• Near Colorless = Grade G-K
• Faint = Grade L-N
• Very Light = Grade O-S
• Light = Grade T-Z
Clarity
Diamonds are created through a complicated natural process involving tremendous amounts of heat and pressure. This process can produce a variety of characteristics that are unique to each diamond. Internally, these characteristics are called “inclusions,” while the external characteristics are referred to as “blemishes.”
Diamond clarity involves determining the number, size, relief, nature and position of these different characteristics.
GIA’s Diamond clarity scale ranges in degrees from flawless to included – while no diamond is absolutely perfect, the more flawless it is, the more valuable it is. In total, GIA’s clarity scale has 6 categories and 9 sub-categories.
Cut
It’s easy to assume that by cut, we’re talking about the diamond’s shape. However, “cut” actually refers to the diamond’s ability to transmit light and sparkle. Cutting a stone to the ideal shape and proportions requires very skilled and precise workmanship.
GIA determines the quality of cut by examining the proportions of the different facets, or sides, of a diamond. This allows graders to see how successfully a diamond interacts with light. Cut is by far the most complicated of all the 4Cs to determine.
GIA’s “cut” scale for standard round diamonds consists of 5 grades ranging from Excellent to Poor.
Carat Weight
The fourth and final C, carat, is a measure of how much a diamond weighs. One metric “carat” equals roughly as 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams. Each carat (scale range from 0 to 5) is subdivided into 100 “points,” which allows very precise measurements to the one hundredth decimal place.
As you can imagine, the higher the carat value, the more valuable a diamond is. But remember, a diamond’s ultimate value is determined by combining all the 4Cs, not just the carat weight.
The 4Cs from the GIA is a handy tool for determining the value of diamonds. While this has traditionally been the exclusive domain of jewelers, diamonds are seeing increased interest from bullion investors.
Here’s a video showing our full process: (you may want to turn up your sound)
So if you’re looking for a new and exciting way to diversify your portfolio beyond just gold and silver, consider buying diamond bullion today.
