Which is better when it comes to Quality and the 4 C's?
Cut or Clarity? It's a great debate! Here's a little story to illustrate my topic...
A Story
A guy walks into a Jewelry Store (Sounds like the beginning of a joke), and he's come prepared. He wants to see a Certified Round Diamond, VS1 Clarity, G Color. I smile and walk him to our Loose Diamond counter. I proceed to pull out Certified Diamonds and show him. The closest Diamond I have to what he's looking for is a Certified, VS2 Clarity, F Color. (One Grade lower in Clarity, but one grade higher in Color!)
He shakes his head while I'm removing the Diamond from the paper and says "That's all right! I'm only interested in VS1. Nothing else!"
Shot Down
Talk about being shot down! He wouldn't even entertain the notion that this Diamond could be better. (I believed it was!) He was dead-set on one Diamond quality and one Diamond only! Wow!
The funny thing is, a lot of people are like this. They get so wound up in getting an exact Clarity or Color that they fail to shop for Diamonds using one of the best instruments in the World...
Their eyes!
When you get so stuck on a certain Clarity, you lose sight of Color and Cut. And when it gets to the point where you won't look at anything else, it's a shame. You're only hurting yourself!!!
Whether it's SI1 Clarity that tickles your fancy, or even I1 Clarity (There are some), it doesn't matter.... People put blinders on. They have a goal. They know their purpose. Whatever else a Jewelry Store may offer doesn't matter.
The Worst Part
Here's the worst part of it all... People like this don't care what the actual Diamond looks like. Even if the Diamond (in the example above), with VS1 Clarity, and G Color looked dark and crappy, it wouldn't matter. All he wanted was VS1, G... So be it! To him, it only mattered what the Certificate said. VS1, G! Period! This my friends, is SAD!
Most people get stuck on one or the other, Clarity versus Color. Usually it's a toss up. Some people have actually gotten stuck on J Color before. I'm serious! It doesn't matter if the Clarity was VVS or I Clarity, all they cared about was that it was J Color! Insane? Possibly!
So, when dealing with Color and Clarity, is one better than the other? Does Clarity win out? Color? Should you be more concerned with one or the other? What's the answer?
NEITHER!
Both Cut and Clarity have their own strengths and weaknesses. You can't choose one over the other. They create a great balance that make up half of the Diamond's Quality and half of the 4 C's!
I always tell people... Buy a Diamond that looks beautiful to your eyes first! Then everything else, like Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight comes second. Above all, the Diamond you pick out MUST sparkle and be beautiful first. It has to be full of Life and Fire and Brilliance. This is what you're going to see day in and day out for the rest of your life. You don't see the VS1 listed on the Diamond Report... Get real! You see the sparkles! (Known as Scintillation!)
It may not be the biggest Diamond in the World, it may not be the cleanest Diamond in the World, but if it looks stunning, takes your breath away and makes you happy, then that's what truly matters!
So don't turn away from other Clarities or Colors. If you're out looking and comparing Diamond Qualities, do one thing first... Physically look at the Diamonds before you shoot them down. Don't get so entangled in Letters and Numbers and Reports that you lose track of a Diamond's sheer Beauty. Let your eyes pick the Winner!
1000 Times Better
A Diamond with a lower Clarity and a lower Color COULD look 1000 times better than the Diamond you were looking for. Why is this? Because it could have a better Cut. It could be Fluorescence Free! It could have an even Girdle versus an uneven one. Or a faceted one versus a rough one. It could have a small Culet versus a large... You just never know. There could be lots of reasons why it looks better. Diamonds aren't all cut and dry. All VS1's don't look the same. All G Colored Diamonds may look different as well. These differences are things that you must observe to fully understand.
So if you're shopping on the Internet or even by phone, you're not helping your situation any. You could be passing up on a killer stone because someone told you to "Only buy an SI1 Clarity!!!"
Let your Eyes be the Judge
I say, let your eyes be the judge. Let your eyes do the shopping first. The Diamond has to look magnificent. You will be amazed at the deals you can find once you open yourself up to other Clarities and Colors. Every Diamond is different and every Diamond deserves the eye test.
Look at the Diamond first before you make up your mind to dismiss it. In the end, a certain Clarity or a specific Color doesn't really matter... What matters is being able to look at the Diamond, be happy with your choice and be happy with the Beauty it brings you.
Because Beauty is the true Magic, Lore and Love of Diamonds!
Beauty is the Winner!
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