What Is An Investment Grade Diamond

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What is an Investment Grade Diamond?

An investment grade diamond is usually classified as a perfect to almost perfect white diamond. The rarest rough diamonds are shaped by the most talented diamond polishers, offering the most demanding quality standards and potential for major price increases.

Investment grade diamonds are more valuable and of higher quality than jewelry grade diamonds. The most popular shape for investment grade diamonds is the brilliant round shape.

Another necessity of an investment grade diamond is that it is certified by an excepted gemological laboratory with a certificate that displays the unique measurements and physical characteristics of that diamond. These diamonds sell for a higher price than non-certified stones, since they have been graded by an independent, certified gemologist.

There are many characteristics and factors that affect the value of a diamond. To begin with, you have the famous 4C’s, Cut, Carat, Color and Clarity.

Cut is the shape and polish of the actual finished diamond.

Carat is the weight of the diamond.

Color is defined as the shade of coloration that the stone has. For white diamonds, the less color it has the more valuable the stone will be. The grade for white diamonds starts with the letter D and goes to Z, with D being perfectly colorless and Z having the most color. If the diamond has more color than a level Z it is considered a fancy colored diamond.

Clarity grades define the amount of, or lack of inclusions in the diamond. The highest clarity grade is IF which stands for internally flawless. The next grades are VVS1 (very very slight inclusions), VVS2, VS1 (very slight inclusions), VS2, SI1 (slight inclusions), SI2, I1, I2, and I3 which has the most inclusions.

Other Important characteristics are the Certification, Cut Grade, Polish Grade, and Symmetry Grade, Depth %, Table % and Fluorescence.

The certification of a diamond shows that it has been graded by a professional gemologist from one of the well-known diamond laboratories. The best certification for investment diamonds is from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

They have set the highest standards for diamond grading. The Cut grade shows how well the diamond was cut. The grades are; Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. The Polish and Symmetry grade, like the cut grade, show how well the stone was made. The grades are; Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. The Depth % is the height of a diamond, measured from the culet to the table, divided by the width of the gemstone. The depth percentage is critical to creating brilliance and fire in a diamond, and a gemstone with a depth percentage too low or too high will lack sparkle. The Ideal percentage for a diamond is 60.1 - 62.8%.

The Table percentage is the width of the table divided by the diameter of the stone. The table percentage is critical to creating sparkle in a diamond. The Ideal table percentage is 53 – 57%. Fluorescence is when diamonds produce a visible reaction when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.

Generally the more fluorescence a diamond has, the lower its value.