WHY THE 4 C’S REALLY SUCK

The 4C’s of diamond grading are: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight!

These 4C’s are what determine the quality of the diamond and the price.

These 4C’s are what most of America uses to evaluate a diamond. In the jewelry industry, the 4C’s can make or break a diamond sale. Quality speaks for itself. But who’s doing the speaking and who’s getting deceived?

Confusion:

The 4C’s can become very confusing. I mean, it’s a good thing that we have a grading system, don’t get me wrong there, but why is it so confusing and who do you trust? This is where the 4C’s fall short…

The biggest downfall in the whole rating system is the fact that it’s:

Not Consistent!

You can show a diamond to 10 different people and literally get 10 different opinions about the 4C’s of that diamond. Why?

Because there is no perfect diamond

Diamonds are like people. Every single one is different. Just like people have different fingerprints, freckles, moles and skin tone. Diamonds vary from diamond to diamond. So with every single diamond being different, you can see how every diamond graded is subject to the opinion of the person grading it.

It’s just an opinionated guess really

There are no rules that say SI diamonds have 6 flaws, and they lie around the outside of the table…

It can’t be done like this.

This is why you can view 5 SI clarity diamonds and they’ll all look different (peek at these SI1 clarity diamonds to see for yourself). There is no exact law. Just guidelines to follow. But who’s following them and who’s crossing the line, that’s where the 4C’s fall apart.

A lot of jewelers grade their own diamonds

They will look at a diamond and make their own decisions as far as the quality goes. Some jewelers will even round up to the next closest clarity and color (not round down). I mean, they are guidelines, after all. Right? Nothing is written in stone.

And the sad thing about jewelers and how they grade diamonds is this:

Many are not honest.

You’ll find that a lot of independents will blur the lines of clarity and color. If it’s an I1 clarity diamond, everybody stands to make more money if it’s rated an SI2 instead. Just one step higher, no biggie…

A white lie?

Some people’s opinions would call it an SI2. Some won’t!

There’s always a little pushing on the quality control that makes customer’s cautious and jeweler’s smile.

Can you blame them?

If you could jack something up and make an extra $500 on it, would you? Who’s going to say it’s not graded properly? I mean, it is their opinion and they do know more about diamonds than you.

So how do you keep from getting ripped off?

Here’s how…

You make sure you’re buying a certified diamond.

And before you run out and buy a diamond that’s certified, there’s one more piece to this puzzle… Who certifies it!

That’s right, because the company that certifies that diamond is very, very, important.

Listen up:

There is only ONE true certificate company that I totally trust… And that company is GIA.

GIA:

GIA is the Gemological Institute of America. They are the leaders in the jewelry industry. They devised the 4C’s. They made the 4C’s from the ground up. Most of America uses this grading system to grade their diamonds (Only not as strict, as we see). GIA literally wrote the book. There is no one out there better to grade diamonds than the people who set the standards.

So if you’re buying a diamond that’s been independently certified by GIA, then you know that the quality of that stone is accurate. You’re buying peace of mind. The 4C’s; Color, Clarity, Carat Weight and Cut, are correct and true and graded under strict policies and laboratory settings. It’s not a jeweler’s sly opinion.

It’s not been marked up (grade bumped) or exaggerated.

It’s the truth.

And GIA’s truth is the only way to guarantee what the 4C’s really are!

Check out these GIA certified diamonds HERE!

Cheers! :)