THANK YOU FOR VISITING US ONLINE AT WWW.DENNISWSIMMONS.COM

BELOW YOU WILL FIND INFORMATION THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND DIAMONDS AND THEIR PROPERTIES.  
  WHETHER YOU PURCHASE FROM US OR SOMEONE ELSE WE HOPE THIS INFORMATION IS HELPFUL TO YOU.

THE HIGHER THE QUALITY THE HIGHER THE VALUE.  JEWLERS USE A TERM
CALLED THE 4 C's  TO DETERMINE A DIAMONDS UNIQUENESS TO EQUATE ITS
VALUE AND PRICE. TO THE UNTRAINED EYE TWO DIAMONDS MAY LOOK JUST 
ALIKE. BUT OUR FORENSIC METHODS CERTIFIES A DIAMOND'S QUALITY AND 
INTEGRITY.  WE STAND BEHIND OUR DIAMONDS CERTIFICATIONS.

DIAMOND CUTS ARE DIFFERENT. VIEW DIAMOND SHAPES ABOVE.  THERE ARE
STANDARDS OF EACH CUT SO TO RECIEVE THE MAXIMUM REFLECTION.

A DIAMOND IS FORMED BY CRYSTALLIZATION OF CARBON UNDER PRESSURE.
INCLUSIONS IN A DIAMOND ARE FORMED WHEN NOT ALL OF THE CARBON
CRYSTALLIZES.  WE DETERMINE ITS CLARITY BY EXAMINING UNDER MICROSCOPE
THE DEGREE OF INCLUSIONS.  THE FEWER AND SMALLER THE INCLUSIONS
DETERMINE THE VALUE AND RARITY OF THE STONE.  INCLUSIONS INTERFERE
WITH PASSAGE OF LIGHT THROUGH THE STONE THUS REDUCING ITS BRILLIANCE.

THE SCALE TO WHICH WE GRADE A STONE ARE  < IF > TO < I23 >.
PLEASE NOTE THE DIFFERENCES BELOW IN OUR CHART

Sincerely;
Dennis W. Simmons
www.denniswsimmons.com

IF = INTERNALLY FLAWLESS                    ~ NO INCLUSIONS
VVS1 = VERY VERY SLIGHT INCLUSIONS  ~ EXTRMEMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES
VVS2                        "  "                              ~ VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES                      
VS1 = VERY SLIGHT INCLUSIONS             ~ DIFFICULT TO SEE MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES
VS2                         "   "                              ~ SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO SEE MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES
SI1 = SLIGHT INCLUSIONS                       ~ VISIBLE INCLUSIONS MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES
S12                         "   "                              ~ EASILY VISIBLE MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES
I1 -2 -3 = VISIBLE IMPERFECTIONS           ~ EASILY VISIBLE INCLUSIONS MAGNIFIED 10 TIMES AND MAY AFFECT THE BRILLIANCE


THE COLOR OF A DIAMOND USUALLY APPEARS WHITE BUT ALMOST ALWAYS HAS A TINT OF COLOR. WE DETERMINE A DIAMONDS
COLOR BY MEASURING TO WHAT DEGREE A DIAMOND APPROACHES COLORLESSNESS.  THE COLOR OF DIAMONDS ARE RATED BY
LETTER, WHERE Z HAS A YELLOWISH COLOR MOVING TO D WHICH IS COLORLESS.  DIAMONDS RATED D, E AND F ARE MORE
EXPENSIVE DIAMONDS.   GET TO KNOW YOUR DIAMONDS COLOR EXTENT AND IF ANY INCLUSIONS ARE PRESENT BEFORE YOU 
PURCHASE YOUR DIAMOND.

PLEASE NOTE THAT COLOR GRADES OF I AND J OFTEN ARE DESCRIBED AS "NEAR COLORLESS" BUT THEY
OCCAISIONALLY HAVE A VERY SLIGHT YELLOWISH TINT.  IF AND I OR J DIAMOND IS MOUNTED IN WHITE GOLD
OR PLATINUM SETTING THERE MAY BE MORE VISIBLE COLOR THAN IF AND I OR J DIAMOND WAS SET IN 
YELLOW GOLD MOUNTINGS.  IN YELLOW GOLD YOU MAY NOT SEE A DIFFERENCE AT ALL.

DIAMONDS THAT FLUORESCE IN ORDINARY DAYLIGHT DO SO BECAUSE THE CARBON ATOMS ARE 'EXCITED'
DUE TO THE U/V LIGHT IN SUNLIGHT AS WELL AS ARTIFICIAL U/V LIGHT (BLACK LIGHT);  THE ENERGY THAT IS CREATED BY THE 
EXCITED ATOMS, 'GLOWS'.  THE COLOR BLUE OFTEN SHOWS AS EITHER BLUSISH OR WHITE IN NATURAL SUNLIGHT, BUT 
WHEN OBSERVED BY ARTIFICIAL LIGHT, THE TRUE BODY COLOR OF THE DIAMOND MAY BE SEEN AS COLORLESS, LIGHT YELLOW, 
OR LIGHT BROWN.

UNLESS THE FLUORESCENCE IS SO STRONG THAT IT IMPARTS A CLOUDY OR OILY QUALITY TO THE BODY OF THE DIAMOND, IT IS
AN ASSET RATHER THAN A LIABILITY.  FLUORESCENCE IS NEITHER A DEFECT OR AN UNFAVORABLE QUALITY; IT IS 
DISTINCTIVELY FAVORABLE.  THE VALUE OF A BLUE FLUORESCING DIAMOND CAN BE AS MUCH AS 10% ABOVE NON-FLUORESCING
DIAMONDS - IF PROPERLY BALANCED.  BLUE FLUORESCENT DIAMONDS ARE MORE DESIRABLE BECAUSE THEY ARE OF SUPERIOR
QUALITY IN DAYLIGHT - ESPECIALLY SO IN OR NEAR SUNLIGHT - IF THE BODY COLOR IS NATURALLY  A LIGHT YELLOW OR LIGHT
BROWN.  SOME DIAMONDS CAN BE FLUORESCE PINK, GREEN, EVEN YELLOW COLORS.

CARAT REFERS TO WEIGHT OF THE DIAMOND NOT THE SIZE OF YOUR DIAMOND. A ONE CARAT DIAMONDS WEIGHT IS EXACTLY
200 MILLIGRAMS.   

ALSO, SINCE OTHER PRECIOUS GEMSTONES ARE MEASURED IN CARATS, AND THE DENSITY BETWEEN ALL MINERALS VARY,
A ONE CARAT DIAMOND WILL LOOK SMALLER THAN A ONE CARAT SAPPHIRE.  THEREFORE, DO NOT EXPECT ALL GEMSTONES
SIZES  TO BE THE SAME IN APPEARANCE.  EVALUATORS REFER TO STONES USING POINTS.  ONE CARAT IS DIVIDED INTO 100
POINTS MUCH LIKE A DOLLAR IS DIVIDED INTO 100 PENNIES.  A HALF CARAT IS 50 POINTS. 25 POINTS EQUAL A QUARTER CARAT.
ON AN APPRAISAL, RECEIPT OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR STONE THE WEIGHT WILL BE SPECIFIED IN CARATS NOT
POINTS AS REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

CUT IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE 4Cs BUT ONE OF THE HARDEST FOR THE CONSUMER TO EVALUATE.  THE ONLY
ONE OF THE 4Cs DETERMINED BY MAN IS CUT.  THE FIRE AND BRILLIANCE OF A DIAMOND IS DIRECTLY DETERMINED BY THE CUT.
THE CUTS MUST BE PERFECTLY ARRANGED IN GEOMETRICAL RELATIONS TO RECIEVE BRILLIANCE. OTHERWISE LIGHT WILL NOT'
BE REFLECTED THROUGH THE DIAMOND.  THE SKILL OF A GEM CUTTER LIES IN ANGLING THE FACETS OF THE STONE SO THAT 
EACH LIGHT RAY ENTERING IT IS REFLECTED MANY TIMES BEFORE IT EMERGES FROM THE STONE.  THE BRILLIANCE OF A DIAMOND
IS DUE TO THEIR HIGH REFRACTIVE INDEX, OR HOW STRONGLY A TRANSPARENT MATERIAL BENDS LIGHT RAYS.

THE TABLE OF A DIAMOND (THE LARGE, FLAT FACET ON THE 
TOP OF THE STONE) DETERMINES IF A DIAMOND "POPS" OR
IS KIND OF GLASSY LOOKING.  THE CLOSER YOUR PROPORTIONS
ARE TO THE CHART BELOW (FOR A ROUND DIAMOND), TWO 
THINGS WILL OCCUR:

1. THE LOOK OF THE DIAMOND WILL HAVE POP, SPARKE OR FIRE.
2. THE MORE EXPENSIVE IT WILL BE

DEPTH AND TABLE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. 
THINK OF A DIAMOND HAVING THE QUALITIES OF GLASS, A MIRROR OR A PRISM.  THE BASIC IDEA IS TO HAVE THE LIGHT
ENTER THE DIAMOND FROM THE TOP, THEN BE REFLECTED ON ALL THE FACETS AT THE BOTTOM, THEN REFLECT BACK OUT THE
TOP WITH ITS BEAUTIFUL COLORS.  THIS IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "POP" OR "FIRE" OR "SPARKLE". 
                                                       ~ SEE THIS EXAMPLE IN OUR ILLUSTRATION LOCATED ABOVE "LIGHT REFLECTION".

DEPTH AND TABLE PROPORTIONS ARE LOCATED ON YOUR DIAMOND'S CERTIFICATE.

TO OBTAIN THE "POP", "FIRE" OR "SPARKLE" THE PROPORTIONALITY OF A DIAMOND MUST BE IN A CERTAIN RELATIONSHIP.  A
WELL CUT DIAMOND COULD BE A HALF A CARAT OF FIVE CARATS, A CALCULATION WAS DEVELOPED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
WOULD BE THE BEST PROPORTIONALITY OF THE ROUND DIAMOND SHAPE. 

TABLE = A GEMOLOGIST FIGURES OUT BY MEASURING IN 
MILLIMETERS, HOW BIG THE TABLE IS COMPARED TO THE
DIAMONDS OVERALL DIAMETER.

DEPTH = THE TOTAL MEASUREMENT TOP TO BOTTOM OF THE CROWN
PLUS THE PAVIALLION IN MILLIMETERS IS TAKEN. THEN A
CALCULATION TO THAT MEASUREMENT AS TO HOW IT RELATES TO
THE OVERALL GIRDLE DIAMETER IS ARRIVED AT.

VERY FEW DIAMOND HAVE THE IDEA CUT, SO YOU MAY HAVE AN
IMPERFECT CUT AND STILL HAVE A VALUABLE AND BEAUTIFUL
STONE.