Carat - How big is the diamond? Larger diamonds often cost more per carat due to their size. There are 100 points to a carat. Hence a 50 point diamond is ¹/₂ a carat (there are 5 carats to a gram). It is more precise to use the actual point size of a diamond rather than a fractional weight.

Clarity - How clear is the stone? Clarity ranges from flawless (perfect) to I (included). Here is a breakdown:

• Flawless: flawless inside and out - no inclusions visible with 10x magnification
• Internally Flawless: may have minor blemishes on the outside
• VVS1, VVS2: have very very small imperfections. VVS2 imperfections are more visible than WS1.
• VS1, VS2: have very small inclusions. VS1 imperfections are harder to see than VS2.
• SI1, SI2, SI3: have small imperfections
• I1, I2, I3: have imperfections visible to the naked eye

Color - Diamond colors generally range from D - Z for white and yellow diamonds. D is the whitest. Around Z they start to become 'fancy' yellow diamonds.