Nothing seems more precious than a diamond. It is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after and brilliant gemstones, fascinating people all over the world. The diamond is simply the king of gemstones.But what makes this stone so special that it is the only gemstone traded on the stock exchange? After all, a diamond consists of nothing but carbon. Its name is derived from the Greek word “adamas” – the unconquerable – referring to its exceptional hardness. It was not until the 13th century that people succeeded in working with the hardest of all natural stones. The technique of the brilliant cut as we know it today was only developed around 1910. It is the cut that gives the diamond its incomparable fire and makes it appear to radiate from within.
As a piece of jewellery, diamonds come in every imaginable variation. However, a classic engagement ring usually features a white diamond as a solitaire. The value of a diamond is determined by the so-called 4 Cs: Clarity, Cut, Colour and Carat.
There are various international designations used for the classification of diamonds. The following tables provide an overview of the different designations used for diamond colour grading and clarity.
Colour scale
| Classification | Old designation |
New designation GIA |
International term |
Deutsche Übersetzung |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colourless | River | D | Exceptional white + | Hochfeines Weiss + |
| E | Exceptional white | Hochfeines Weiss | ||
| Top Wesselton | F | Rare white+ | Feines Weiss+ | |
| Near Colourless | G | Feines Weiss | ||
| Wesselton | H | White | Weiss+ | |
| Top Crystal | I | Slightly tinted white | Leicht getöntes Weiss | |
| J | ||||
| Faint yellow | Crystal | K | Tinted white | Getöntes Weiss |
| L | ||||
| Top Cape | M | Tinted colour 1 | Getönt 1 | |
| Very light yellow | N | |||
| Cape | O | Tinted colour 2 | Getönt 2 | |
| P | ||||
| Light yellow | Q | Tinted colour 3 | Getönt 3 | |
| R | ||||
| Light yellow | Yellow | S-Z | Tinted colour 4 | Getönt 4 |
Clarity scale
| International term | Deutsche Übersetzung | Inclusions visible | |
| IF | internally flawless | Lupenrein | not at all |
| VVS1 | very very slightly included | sehr sehr kleine Einschlüsse | difficult to see under 10x magnification |
| VVS2 | |||
| VS1 | very slightly included | sehr kleine Einschlüsse | visible under 10x magnification |
| VS2 | |||
| SI1 | slightly included | kleine Einschlüsse | easily visible under 10x magnification |
| SI2 | |||
| I1/P1-I3/P3 | included | Einschlüsse | visible to the naked eye |