DIAMONDS ARE THE HARDEST NATURAL SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO MAN.FORMED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, EVERY DIAMOND IN THE WORLD IS UNIQUE.Buying a diamond should be based on the right knowledge, as they come in many qualities. 
The four C’s are used worldwide to describe the quality of diamonds. They are: The
interrelationships of these characteristics greatly affects the value.
The rarest and most valuable diamonds are the clearest and purest of
color. Other factors that determine a diamond’s quality and value are
its symmetry and cut proportions. Learning as much as possible about the
differences in quality and value will help you choose the right
diamond. COLORDiamonds come in all colors of the rainbow – some of which are more expensive than the others. With
the exception of blue, pink and red diamonds (which are in the “fancy
colors” category of diamonds), “colorless” diamonds are the most
valuable. As mentioned before, the diamond’s beauty lies in the fact
that it acts as a prism. But the presence of color seriously limits the
diamond’s ability to act as one, thus, the less color the better. 
The
Gemological Institute of America created an alphabetical grading scale
for the degree of color in a “colorless” diamond. The scale goes from
“D” (least amount of color) to “Z” (yellow color). Anything over a “Z”
rating falls into the “fancy colors” category. 
CLARITYAgain,
you want a clear diamond to allow the light to pass through the diamond
with the least amount of obstructions. Besides color, another
obstruction would be interior and exterior inclusions (also known as
carbon spots or flaws), minute traces of mineral trapped in a diamond
during the crystallization process. Clarity refers to the number,
colour, size and position of these inclusions. The purest diamonds are
graded as “Flawless”. 
CARAT WEIGHTDiamonds
are measured in terms of weight, not size. One carat is equal to 100
points. Two diamonds of equal weight can have very different values,
because the quality is still determined by the color, clarity and cut. 
CUTCut
is the only diamond characteristic directly influenced by man. The
artistry and technical knowledge the master cutter applies while placing
the facets on the diamond greatly affect the value. If the stone is too
deep, light is lost through the sides, if too shallow light is lost
through the bottom facets. So the better a diamond is cut, the more
sparkle it will have. The shape of a diamond is a personal choice and does not materially effect its value. Here are seven of the most popular diamond cuts: 
Source: D. Blackman
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