Are Diamonds Really Rare?

When you walk into a jewelry store and see
all the diamonds in all of the various settings
that are for sale, it is difficult to realize that
diamonds are indeed rare. Most people
don’t even stop to consider how that
diamond came to be sitting in that jeweler’s
case! There is quite a bit of work that is done
before a diamond is ready to sell to the
general public!

For every one million diamonds that are
mined, only one will be found that is a quality
one caret diamond. In order to find a two
caret diamond, about five million diamonds
must be mined. More than two hundred tons
of ore must be mined to find one small
diamond, and even then, more than 80%
of the diamonds that are mined are only
good for industrial use, such as diamond
drill bits.

So, the next time you visit your local jewelry
store, ask to see the one carat diamonds.
You should look at this diamond with new
appreciation – knowing that it truly is one
in a million!

All About the Clarity of Diamonds

Clarity is an important aspect of a diamond,
and it is important to know how to grade the
clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is
actually quite easy to learn how to grade the
clarity of a diamond. There are basically two
things that you must understand: Diamonds
with visual inclusions and blemishes, and
those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there
are no inclusions or blemishes that can be
seen with the naked eye. From there, the
clarity of a diamond is further broken down
into subcategories.

Many people mistakenly think that diamond
clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so.
Clarity actually refers to the internal and
external imperfections of the diamond. The
best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL
or IF – Flawless or Internally Flawless –
meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2
or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect,
with a grade of I-3 being the worst.

Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which
means that the diamond is very, very slightly
imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the
diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and
SI-2, which means that the diamond is

About Diamond Weights

Diamonds are measured in Carat Weight.
One carat weighs 200 milligrams. If a
diamond is referred to as four grains, this
also means that it is a one carat diamond.
The word Carat comes from the word carob.
A carob is a bean that grows on a tree in the
Mediterranean. In times past, if a diamond
weighed the same as a carob bean, it was
one carob, or one carat.

However, in the far east, where Carob trees
do not grow, rice was used to measure the
weight of a diamond. If a diamond weighed
as much as four grains of rice, it was four
grains – or one carat as we know it to be
now. The majority of diamond purchases
are for diamonds that are 1/3 of a carat.

Beware when shopping for diamonds that
are already set or mounted. If more than one
diamond is used in the piece, the tag on the
jewelry will give the CTW or Carat Total
Weight – it does not tell you the carat weight
of each stone in the piece. You need to ask
the jeweler for the total carat weight of the
largest diamond in the piece to truly
understand what you are buying.