The 4C’s: Our Industry and Our Company

Star Rays NY Inc. primarily deals in uncertified diamonds, aside from a small percentage of certified diamonds, that vary in size/carat weight, quality/clarity and color. So one can imagine the sheer amount of stones there are just to cover almost every type of round brilliant diamond there is. What is particularly interesting is the fact that all of these diamonds do not have any proper certification from a grading lab and are instead graded by skilled assorters who have been trained to grade diamonds. Before we get touch on the 4C’s roll in industry, let's briefly overview what the 4C’s are.

The 4C’s stand for cut, clarity, color and carat weight. The cut of the diamond refers to how precise the angles of each facet or window in the diamond is. The better the cut is, the better the light reflection and thus the more intense the sparkle. The cut of a diamond can be graded as Excellent, Very Good, Good and Fair. Clarity of a diamond depends on the amount and sizes of the inclusions and blemishes in a diamond. The more inclusions and blemishes there are, the lower clarity grading is of the diamond. Clarity of a diamond can be graded, in order of higher grading to lower grading, as Flawless, Internally Flawless, VVS (VVS1 & VVS2), VS (VS1 & VS2), SI(SI1 & SI2) and I (I1, I2 & I3) with subsections in a few of the categories. The color of the diamond depends on the shading of the diamond and how much pigment, which can primarily be yellow, brown and pink, is noticed. The color scale ranges from D to Z with D being the whitest and Z being the darkest of a shade. Finally, the carat weight of a diamond depends also on its size which can range from a stone being the size of dust to the size of a thumbnail and thus to know the carat weight of a diamond, a weighing scale is needed. The weight of the diamonds also gives insight to how rare the diamond is. A much larger stone is far more rare then a stone that is much smaller.

So how does the 4C’s factor into the diamond industry? In the diamond industry, there are thousands of carats of diamonds mined, traded and manufactured everyday. The sheer volume of these diamonds makes it virtually impossible for a grading society that has certified gemologists to grade each and every one of these stones. So only the stones that have certain qualities that make it stand out amongst the rest get sent to a grading society to have it officially graded and certified with a report thus giving it a specific value. Only a few out of thousands of stones get officially graded by a gemologist using a microscope and other equipment, the rest are graded by assorters or diamond graders. These individuals have mastered the 4C’s through sheer experience of grading and categorizing thousands of stones daily. An assorter will take a mixed parcel of a couple hundred carats of varying characteristics and spend several hours to a couple days armed with just a loupe and a tweezer grading and categorizing each stone by determining the color, cut  and clarity. Similar stones with similar characteristics get placed in the same lot and thus get an estimated price depending on the size, quality and demand of the goods.

At SRNY, we follow a similar process when it comes to grading. When our manufactured goods arrive, we assort all of our stones into its respective categories and select a few unique diamonds that will be sent to a grading society to get certified. In our inventory, we have a rough estimate of 900 distinct categories that are dependent primarily on color, size and clarity. We continuously refresh our inventory with new goods and constant assortment to make sure our stones are placed in the right group. We stock almost every quality ranging from Flawless to I3 in almost every size ranging from 000 to 3 carats in white, yellow, brown and black diamonds. 

Fluorescence and SRNY

Fluorescence, by definition, is the emission of light from a substance. In our case, diamonds, that have absorbed electromagnetic radiation through exposure of a UltraViolet light may display fluorescent characteristics. Diamonds when naturally forming within the Earth’s crust are surrounded by a mixture of elements and compounds and can influence the diamonds’ characteristics when they are growing. These additives can influence the color and luster of the diamond as well as its ability to have fluoresce. Normally, diamonds with fluorescence can influence the color appearance by improving it. A stone that would normally appear to have a light yellow tint without any fluorescence can appear whiter if the stone has fluorescence. 

Fluorescent diamonds are ubiquitous. When natural diamonds are mined, depending on the what type of mineral deposit surrounding the mine, the chances of the diamonds possessing the fluorescent can vary. When rough diamonds arrive to get traded to manufacturers who will later transform a rough stone into one of the well recognized shapes, the diamonds are not screened for fluorescence. So for the main part, fluorescence is largely ignored until the diamond reaches the retailer and thus the consumer.

Historically, fluorescent diamonds have been given a lower value in comparison with non-fluorescent. However, there is no proof as to why that is the case. The consumer’s preference over whether the diamond being purchased posses that characteristic is what truly determines the value of a fluorescent diamond. So the value depends entirely on the consumer’s desire and the trend at the time being. 

At SRNY, since we are wholesale traders who deal with thousands of carats of diamonds, we have experience with fluorescent diamonds. We have tailored our services for our customers who may or may not prefer to purchase fluorescent diamonds. Our team is equipped with tools that identify fluorescent diamonds and we can even grade the different types of fluorescent diamonds and how strong the fluorescence is. No matter the preference, SRNY has the right diamonds for the right customer.

SRNY Basics: Color

One of the major aspects of the 4C’s is Color. The natural colors of a diamond can vary depending on the location where the diamond was mined from. Certain countries are known to produce distinct colors other than white. Brazil, for example, is known to produce pink diamonds which are considered highly rare and valuable. Aside from pink, There are other colors that appear naturally such as green, yellow and brown. The shade of the diamond can vary and thus a color scale is used to determine the shade of the diamond. A ‘D’, on the scale, is given to a stone that appears the whitest and a ‘Z’ is given to stone that has a very deep shade of the color. The letters in between ‘D’ and ‘Z’ represent the different shades between the two boundaries.

As wholesalers, we come across various types of diamonds however we only tend to select those that we have an expertise. At SRNY, we specialize in three colors which include natural yellow and brown as well as black. There are technically four categories which we call  White, Light Yellow (LC), Light Brown (LB) and Black. As a disclaimer, our Black Diamonds are treated to give it the all Black color. In our White category, our diamonds are generally regarded as white by the naked eye and when graded they can range from ‘D’ to ‘H’ with a concentration of ‘E’ - ’G’ color. Our Light Yellow category stocks diamonds that are graded as ‘H’ - ‘J’. Along with that we also stock colors that range from ‘J’ - ‘O’ in smaller quantities as well. Our Light Brown also carries a similar range similar to the Light Yellow. 

Our team is  highly skilled at separating color so we are able to tackle any order given to us, no matter how specific the color.