Diamonds ~
The Ultimate Symbol of Romance and Love.
For centuries, diamonds have been desired as symbols of magic, passion and success. These fascinating gems hold a mystery like no other material object. Billions of years in the making, they hold a deep romantic mystery that lies within the heart of every gemstone. The name diamond comes from the Greek "adamas" meaning "invincible". Originally thought to be “Tears of the Gods,” diamonds were believed to hold mysterious qualities and possess supernatural powers.
The purchase of your diamond is one of the most important purchases of your life together.
It symbolizes your love and commitment to each other~ it is everlasting.
Why should you buy your diamond at Kaplan’s?
Our diamonds have the wow factor!-
Ivan Kaplan, owner and master jeweler, hand selects every diamond we sell, focusing on the highest quality and the best value for your financial situation. Most importantly, he selects diamonds with the best proportions in order to let the individual aspects of each diamond shine through to its highest potential.
What makes us a different type of jeweler?
You can trust that we will listen to your needs, educate, not push, and assist you in making an informed decision on what to purchase. You will view all of our diamonds loose, learn about the characteristics that make every diamond unique and then, after selecting the diamond that speaks to you, we will custom design a hand made setting, as individual as your relationship.
All these specialized services are done on our premises and every diamond comes with our personal guarantee of its quality and your satisfaction.
THE
4C’s of DIAMOND GRADING
~ Cut
~ Clarity
~ Color
~ Carat
Cut
Of all the 4 Cs, cut has the greatest effect on a diamond's beauty. Cut should not be confused with "shape." Shape refers to the general outward appearance of the diamond - such as round, princess, radiant, emerald, pear, etc.
The term "cut" refers to the diamond’s proportions - its symmetry and polish.
The proportions are the relationships between table size, diameter, depth, crown angle and pavilion depth. Symmetry and polish refer to the quality of the surface, the symmetrical arrangement and the evenness of all the facets. These mathematic equations affect how light travels within a diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance and fire.
When a diamond is cut to exacting proportions
-
neither too deep, nor too shallow - light will reflect from one mirror-like facet to another,
and reappear to your eye.
A diamond can be flawless and colorless, but it will not be as beautiful if it doesn’t dance with light. Good diamond cutting can also disguise lower color and can sometimes override lower clarity, due to dazzling light return.
“Ideal” cutting in round brilliant cut diamonds, refers to a recommended range of "best" proportions. An Ideal cut diamond reflects nearly all the light that enters it. Rare and beautifully brilliant, Ideal cut diamonds represent approximately only the top 3% of all diamonds cut.
Clarity
Clarity is the evaluation of a diamond's internal and external characteristics.
Being a natural, earthly material, made of pure carbon, almost all diamonds have inherent natural blemishes called “inclusions.” Three of the most common inclusions are crystals, feathers and blemishes. Crystals are minerals trapped inside the diamond and feathers are breaks in the diamond.
Blemishes are usually very small and are only on the surface of diamonds.
The size, positioning and color of these natural fingerprints determines where the diamond falls on the clarity scale. The clarity grading of a diamond is determined after examination under ten power magnifications.
Our diamonds have the wow factor!-
Ivan Kaplan, owner and master jeweler, hand selects every diamond we sell, focusing on the highest quality and the best value for your financial situation. Most importantly, he selects diamonds with the best proportions in order to let the individual aspects of each diamond shine through to its highest potential.
What makes us a different type of jeweler?
You can trust that we will listen to your needs, educate, not push, and assist you in making an informed decision on what to purchase. You will view all of our diamonds loose, learn about the characteristics that make every diamond unique and then, after selecting the diamond that speaks to you, we will custom design a hand made setting, as individual as your relationship.
All these specialized services are done on our premises and every diamond comes with our personal guarantee of its quality and your satisfaction.
THE
4C’s of DIAMOND GRADING~ Cut
~ Clarity
~ Color
~ Carat
Cut
Of all the 4 Cs, cut has the greatest effect on a diamond's beauty. Cut should not be confused with "shape." Shape refers to the general outward appearance of the diamond - such as round, princess, radiant, emerald, pear, etc.
The term "cut" refers to the diamond’s proportions - its symmetry and polish.
The proportions are the relationships between table size, diameter, depth, crown angle and pavilion depth. Symmetry and polish refer to the quality of the surface, the symmetrical arrangement and the evenness of all the facets. These mathematic equations affect how light travels within a diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance and fire.
When a diamond is cut to exacting proportions
-
neither too deep, nor too shallow - light will reflect from one mirror-like facet to another,
and reappear to your eye. A diamond can be flawless and colorless, but it will not be as beautiful if it doesn’t dance with light. Good diamond cutting can also disguise lower color and can sometimes override lower clarity, due to dazzling light return.
“Ideal” cutting in round brilliant cut diamonds, refers to a recommended range of "best" proportions. An Ideal cut diamond reflects nearly all the light that enters it. Rare and beautifully brilliant, Ideal cut diamonds represent approximately only the top 3% of all diamonds cut.
Clarity
Clarity is the evaluation of a diamond's internal and external characteristics.
Being a natural, earthly material, made of pure carbon, almost all diamonds have inherent natural blemishes called “inclusions.” Three of the most common inclusions are crystals, feathers and blemishes. Crystals are minerals trapped inside the diamond and feathers are breaks in the diamond.
Blemishes are usually very small and are only on the surface of diamonds.
The size, positioning and color of these natural fingerprints determines where the diamond falls on the clarity scale. The clarity grading of a diamond is determined after examination under ten power magnifications.
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F-IF - Flawless to Internally Flawless - FL diamonds reveal no flaws on the surface or internally and are the rarest diamonds available. IF diamonds have only minor blemishes which can be removed by polishing. |
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| ♦ |
VVS1-VVS2 - Very Very Slightly Included, very difficult to see inclusions even under 10 power magnification. |
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VS1-VS2 - Very Slightly Included, difficult to see under 10 power. |
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| ♦ |
SI1-SI2 - Slightly Included, after SI2, inclusions are sometimes visible with the naked eye in diamonds of larger sizes. |
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| ♦ |
I1-I3 – Very Included, has inclusions that are visible to the naked eye. |
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| ♦ |
I2-I3 – Inclusions drastically affect the durability and beauty of the diamond. |
The fewer the number of inclusions or blemishes, the more desirable the diamond.
Mimicking the shape of a pyramid, highly included diamonds sit at the bottom of the pyramid and are readily available in large quantities, making them much less expensive. The higher the diamond on the clarity scale, at the peak of the pyramid, the fewer and rarer they become, therefore, the higher the price per carat.
Color
Diamonds are valued by how near they are to colorlessness - the less color, the higher the value.
Color in diamonds varies from colorless to strongly tinted. The exception to this is fancy-color diamonds, such as deep yellows, pinks, and blues, which lie outside this color range.
The colorless scale begins with the letter D, and continues with increasing presence of color to the letter Z. Each letter grade has a clearly defined range of color. Diamond color is all about what you can’t see. Pure or nearly pure diamonds are transparent.
Colorless diamonds are extremely rare and very valuable. The presence of color is determined by impurities or structural defects naturally occurring in the rough. Many of these color distinctions are so subtle, but these slight differences make a very big difference in diamond quality and price. Diamonds are color-graded by comparing them to stones of known color, under controlled lighting and precise viewing conditions.
Carat
Carat is the measure of weight of a diamond.
The last of the 4C’s is carat weight. Diamonds are measured in "carats", each carat being 100 points. For example, a half carat is 50 points and is expressed as 0.50 carats. All things being equal, the greater the carat weight, the rarer the diamond, the more expensive it is. As diamonds increase in size, their cost increases geometrically rather than arithmetically. Thus, a one-carat diamond may cost more than twice as much as a one-half carat diamond of equal quality.
Two diamonds of equal weight can vary widely in price because of differences in the quality of their cut, clarity and color. A smaller diamond may actually be more valuable than a larger one.
