Choosing a diamond can feel like it demands a vocabulary you do not have. Four Cs, grading scales, letters and abbreviations. This guide explains all of it. But if you are short on time, start with the section below — it covers the only choice you actually have to make.
The three diamond qualities we offer
Every KARAAT engagement ring is cut to an Excellent cut grade — the top grade, and the single biggest factor in how a diamond sparkles. That never varies. What you choose is the color and the clarity.
Good (G-H / VS)
Near-colorless, with inclusions only a loupe will find.
Best for: going as large as you can. If carat is what you are after, this is where every millimeter counts.
High (D-F / VS) — the quality most of our customers choose
Truly colorless, in the top color range, with inclusions only a loupe will find.
Best for: colorless to the eye, clean to the loupe — both, with nothing given up that you would ever notice.
Excellent (D-F / VVS)
Truly colorless and virtually inclusion-free, extraordinary even at 10x magnification.
Best for: not compromising. The whitest, clearest stone we cut — light passes through it almost untouched.
All three are eye-clean. You will not spot an inclusion in any of them with the naked eye. Where they genuinely differ is whiteness — and in what remains when you look through a loupe. The higher the grade, the closer the diamond comes to truly colorless, and the less there is standing between the light and your eye.
We have deliberately chosen not to offer anything below Good.
Two things worth knowing
Setting it in yellow gold? A diamond reflects whatever surrounds it, including its own setting. You will often read that yellow gold hides a lower color grade. Side by side in our showroom, we see the opposite: warm metal draws the yellow out of the stone. If you want your diamond to stay bright and icy against the gold rather than settle into it, color is where to spend. D-F holds its whiteness.
Drawn to an open cut — emerald, asscher, any step cut? Those long, clean facets work like a window into the stone. There is less sparkle to hide behind, so clarity carries more weight. VVS earns its place here.
If you are visiting one of our showrooms
A screen cannot show you the difference between these three. That is not a limitation of our photography — it is the point. The differences live at 10x magnification and in subtleties of white that a camera flattens. Seeing the stones side by side settles the question in about a minute.
When you come in, ask us to:
- Put all three qualities in front of you at the same carat weight, so the only thing changing is the grade.
- Show you each stone through a loupe. This is where the clarity difference is actually visible.
- Set them against yellow, white and rose gold. Metal changes how white a stone reads more than most people expect.
You can book a visit to our Helsinki or Stockholm showroom at any time. It is free, and there is no obligation.
Introduction to the diamond 4Cs
The 4Cs provide a common framework that defines a diamond's characteristics and quality. By examining a diamond's carat weight, clarity, color and cut, gemologists and consumers alike can assess it accurately and choose a diamond that matches their preferences and budget.
Originally developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in the 1950s, the 4Cs emerged as a comprehensive system to grade diamonds objectively. Over the years they have become the industry standard, ensuring transparency and consistency in diamond evaluation. Lab-grown diamonds are graded on exactly the same scales as mined ones.
Carat weight
Carat weight refers to the measurement of a diamond's physical weight, with one carat equalling 0.2 grams. Although carat weight is often associated with a diamond's size, carat weight alone does not determine a diamond's value or brilliance.
Imagine two diamonds of the same carat weight, where one has a higher clarity grade and a better cut. The diamond with superior clarity and cut will be the more valuable of the two, despite weighing the same. Cut in particular plays a decisive role in a diamond's brilliance.
The way a diamond is cut also affects its perceived size. A well-cut diamond reflects light in a way that can make it appear larger than its actual carat weight — an effect known as spread. A smaller diamond with exceptional clarity, color and cut can outshine a larger diamond with inferior characteristics.
Clarity
Clarity refers to the presence, absence or visibility of internal and external characteristics, known as inclusions and blemishes. These are like tiny fingerprints left behind during the diamond's formation, whether deep within the earth or in a laboratory.
The GIA grades clarity on a scale that runs from Flawless to Included.
Source: GIA
Flawless (FL) — no visible inclusions or blemishes, even under 10x magnification. Exceptionally rare, both in nature and in the laboratory.
Internally Flawless (IF) — may carry minor external blemishes, but the internal structure is pristine.
Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1, VVS2) — inclusions so minuscule they are extremely difficult to detect even under magnification. Invisible to the naked eye.
Very Slightly Included (VS1, VS2) — minor inclusions, challenging to observe even with magnification, and invisible to the naked eye. An excellent balance of quality and value.
Slightly Included (SI1, SI2) — more noticeable inclusions under magnification, and sometimes visible without it.
Included (I1, I2, I3) — visible inclusions that can affect transparency and brilliance.
KARAAT offers VS and VVS clarity only. We do not sell anything below VS, which is why every stone we set is eye-clean.
Color
Diamond color grading measures the absence of color. The ideal diamond is completely colorless, allowing maximum light to pass through it. The GIA grades diamond color from D (colorless) through to Z (light yellow or brown).
Source: GIA
Colorless diamonds, graded D to F, are the most highly valued. Differences between neighbouring grades are subtle, but they accumulate — and, as above, the metal you set the stone in changes how that color reads.
KARAAT offers D-F and G-H color. Both are in the upper part of the scale; there is no tinted stone in our collection.
Cut
Cut refers to a diamond's proportions, symmetry and finish, and it determines how effectively the stone interacts with light. It is the most important of the 4Cs, and the one most people underestimate.
Source: GIA
An Excellent cut ensures light entering the diamond is reflected internally from facet to facet and dispersed back through the top of the stone to the eye. A poorly cut diamond leaks light from its sides or bottom and looks dull, regardless of how well it scores on color or clarity.
Cutting well demands skill and precision: the cutter balances brightness (white light reflections), fire (the dispersion of light into color) and scintillation (the sparkle you see as the stone moves).
Every KARAAT diamond is cut to an Excellent grade. This is why sparkle does not vary between our three quality options — the cut, which drives sparkle, is identical across all of them. What varies is color and clarity.
In short
All KARAAT Everyday pieces are made with diamonds of D-F color, VVS-VS clarity and Excellent cut.
All KARAAT Wedding & Engagement rings are cut to Excellent. You choose the color and clarity: Good (G-H / VS), High (D-F / VS) or Excellent (D-F / VVS). All three are eye-clean.
Still unsure? Come and see all three side by side in Helsinki or Stockholm. The difference is far easier to see than to describe. Contact us if you have a question before you visit.
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