Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight.
The 4Cs are the global standard.
GIA’s 4Cs transformed the way diamond quality is determined and communicated, forever changing how diamonds are evaluated, bought and sold.
The 4Cs are for everyone. This framework is both a way to better understand your diamond, and to ensure accuracy in the evaluation of your diamond’s unique characteristics.
It is the best way to ensure clear information, uniform practices, scientific grading and transparent evaluation in the global diamond industry. The 4Cs are one of GIA’s many innovative contributions and one we are incredibly proud of because of how many consumers it continues to help.
With the strictest dedication to these standards, we deliver objective, consistent diamond grading results at all our laboratories around the world. While our language has been adopted worldwide, the only way to ensure you are receiving the strictest application of these standards is through the proprietary equipment and tried and tested procedures of an official GIA laboratory.
The 4Cs are the defining characteristics of every diamond.
GIA’s diamond grading provides the consistent and unbiased results that the global diamond industry and diamond customers trust.
Without strict standards, the characteristics, quality and value of a diamond would be left open to interpretation.
Choosing a diamond may be a matter of preference, but evaluating a diamond is a matter of precision.
That’s where we come in.
Diamond Color Grading.
Viewed in a standardized environment, every diamond’s color is graded against masterstones Multiple GIA graders independently evaluate each diamond and use our proprietary grading technology. The grade is not determined until there is consensus, and additional graders may be brought in until a determination can be made.
Diamond Clarity Grading.
Viewed with 10x magnification under standard conditions, multiple graders independently evaluate each diamond. First addressing any clarity enhancements or surface coatings, they document the diamond’s clarity, polish, and symmetry, while plotting the clarity characteristics on the diagram most representative of the diamond’s shape and faceting style.
Diamond Cut Grading.
Viewed using the GIA Cut Grading System, a proprietary computerized system designed to develop mathematical measurements, or metrics, to predict light performance based on more than 1 million modeled proportion sets to explore these components, followed by more than 70,000 human observations for nearly 2300 diamonds to validate and fine tune the metrics.
Before clarity there was chaos.
Weighed using the highest precision digital micro-balance available, every diamond is evaluated to the fifth decimal place, to the nearest hundred-thousandth of a carat to ensure accuracy, and then reported to the hundredths place.
