If the yellow metal has a widely practised quality-check procedure, can the queen of precious stones be far behind? Anyone looking to buy diamonds is demanding, when it comes to the quality of the precious stone.
To know a diamond is to understand the 4Cs of grading — carat, colour, clarity and cut. The next time you hold that rock, get it weighed to see if the carat mentioned in the certificate matches. Now, look for the colour — on a D to Z scale, the rarest and the most expensive falls among D, E and F. The whiter the better!
And then, clarity. Something that can't be ascertained with the naked eye. A stone is said to be clear, if it's free of blemishes and inclusions when viewed through a 10x microscope. And, the last to watch out for is the cut — the one that throws back maximum light is the best.
With an eye on providing such insights and more into the quality of diamonds, the International Gemological Institute, an independent laboratory for testing and grading diamonds, has opened shop in the city. With a promise of state-of-the-art facility, it offers a host of courses, including ‘Polished Diamond Grading and Assortment', for retailers and jewellers; ‘Rough Diamond Grading Course'; ‘Mounted Jewellery Grading Program'; and ‘Polished Diamond Grading Program'. The courses, interestingly, are open to the common man too.
And, for all those who believe some diamonds can bring ill luck, this is what Tehmasp Printer, managing director, IGI India, has to say: “Diamonds can never be bad, since they are a natural substance.” If you are unwilling to believe him, well, you know where you must head, to bust the myth yourself!
