As Marilyn Monroe once said "diamonds are a girl's best friend". "Women have an attraction to diamonds for their rarity and exquisite shape. They can be classified depending on their size, shape, color, clarity, cut, and quality. Diamonds are used in earrings, bracelets, necklaces, crowns and rings. Brides that are just engaged want the perfect diamond ring. In Latin America, the "quinceañeras" receive a diamond ring on the eve of their birthday. But, what is it about diamonds? it is only a shiny glass. But the purity of the diamonds as well as the rareness is what makes them so valuable.
The size. What is the perfect size? Diamonds have different sizes. Most people think that the bigger the better. But this is not true in all cases. A big diamond could have a low quality depending on the clarity of the diamond. Clarity is the measure of the internal defects of a diamond. The less internal defects, the more clarity the diamonds would have. Defects of the diamonds include other metals inside the diamonds and tiny cracks. If you see an opaque diamond you now know that something is very wrong with that diamond!
Contrary to what you may think, diamonds can have certain color and be rarer than transparent diamonds. Colors such as blue, pink, and even extremely yellow have a high value on the market. Colors can be classified from D to Z, where D has no color and Z has a yellowish color: from D to F, the diamond has no color. From G to J, the diamond is almost colorless. From K to M, the diamond has a slight coloration. From N to Y the diamond has a light brown or yellow color. And finally, Z means that the diamond has a bright yellow color. These kinds of diamonds are considered rare. For color the extremes are the best. The most colored and the most colorless diamonds are the rarest.
The cut and shape of a diamond are often confused. A Diamond’s cut is creating mathematically the best angles for the diamond to look brighter. The most common shape is the round shape. Other shapes are the baguette, princess cut, heart and pear out. The Taylor Burton diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Other famous diamonds include the Blue Heart, the Florentine, and the Hope diamond.
Diamonds are measured in carats. 142 carats is equal to one ounce. The largest diamond in the world is the Golden Jubilee. This diamond was designed by Gabi Tolkowsky. The Star of South Africa was a 69-carat old style pear-shaped diamond. As you can realize, many diamonds that are famous have different colors, such as blue and yellow. Remember, to classify diamonds you may think of the four c’s: Clarity, Color, carat and cut. Diamonds may range from a couple of hundreds to millions of dollars, so never underestimate the high price you may pay for such a small valuable mineral!
