Yellow Diamonds

• Round

  Also known as brilliant, this shape reflects the more light than any other shape.

• Princess

  This square diamond is the second most popular shape. It is a brilliant style with sharp square corners.

• Marquise

  French for "little boat", because it resembles the hull of a sailboat.

• Emerald

  This diamond is rectangular in shape and features step cuts comprised of larger facets that act as mirrors.

• Radiant

  Same faceting as a round brilliant and princess cuts but rectangular rather than square.

• Pear

  Teardrop shape, this diamond is a hybrid between the marquise cut and the round brilliant.

• Oval

  Oval shaped diamond is based on the traditional configuration of the round brilliant.

• Heart

  Heart shaped diamond that is brilliant cut and requires symmetrical lobes to form the heart shape.

• Asscher

  Patented in 1902, it is a square step cut that displays deeply cut corners that give it an octagonal outline.

• Cushion

  Square shaped diamond also known as the pillow cut features larger than normal facets.

The color of a diamond represents how faint or intense a color is. It is indicated on a scale from D to Z. D being absolutely colorless and Z being full of color. For white diamonds the closer to colorless the better.

The carat indicates the weight (size) of your diamond. The bigger the carat the bigger the diamond. Most solitaire engagement rings are around 1 carat.

The clarity of the diamond is how many tiny internal imperfections (called inclusions) it has which can block light reflection. Some inclusions are OK and can be like a fingerprint for your diamond since no 2 diamonds have the same inclusions. However too many can cause your diamond to look dull or dirty. The term eye clean means you cannot see inclusions without a magnifying glass

The better the cut is on a diamond the better it will reflect light and sparkle.

Color intensity, the deepness or richness of color, is the most important consideration when purchasing a fancy color diamond. The more intense the color, the rarer and more valuable the diamond will be. Fancy color diamonds are graded in order of increasing intensity from Faint, Very Light, Light, Fancy Light, Fancy, Fancy Intense, Fancy Vivid, Fancy Dark, and Fancy Deep.

The 4 C's

The four c's is the diamond industry's 4 most crucual grading criteria for determing a diamond's quality and value.

Carat Weight

The carat is the unit of weight for diamonds. Originally the carat was the weight of the carob seed, with which ancient lapidaries balanced their scales. In this century the carat was standardized on the metric system as .2 gram. The carat is divided into 100 points. A 1.00 carat diamond is a "100 pointer," a .50 carat diamond is a "50 pointer," and a .05 carat diamond is a "5 pointer."

Color

The color of a diamond is important. The closer it is to being absolutely colorless, the more valuable it will be. The GIA grading system assigns letters to various diamond colors. The scale begins with D (colorless) and continues to Z (very poor in color). There are also diamonds called "fancy diamonds," which are valued for their color. Diamonds can be found in many fancy colors which include blue, red and yellow. Most Kranich's diamonds fall into the colorless or near colorless range.

Clarity

Most diamonds have natural characteristics within the stone and these are known as natural inclusions. They may be minute crystals of minerals, cracks, feathers, or small whiter or black spots. Inclusions affect the clarity of the diamond to the degree that they interfere with the passage of light through the diamond. An internally flawless diamond is one in which no inclusions are visible to a trained eye under 10 power magnification and normal lighting conditions. Internally flawless diamonds are most rare and the vast majority of the world's most beautiful diamonds are not flawless. Inclusions make each diamond unique, like a fingerprint.

Cut

Diamonds and other Gems are cut and shaped in several different ways to emphasize their qualities, which include color, luster, and fire. A gem cutter will pick a cut based on the special properties of a particular gem. For instance, the multiple symmetrical facets of the brilliant cut enhance the sparkle of a diamond. The most popular cuts for a diamond engagement ring are Round, Princess, Marquise, Emerald, Radiant, Pear, Oval, Heart, Asscher and Cushion Shape.

Yellow Diamonds

Yellow Diamonds, often called Canary Diamonds or Canary Yellow Diamonds are the most common of all the fancy colored diamonds. The reason being, white diamonds are measured for their color on a scale from D to Z. "D" being absolutely colorless and "Z" having a faint yellow hue. But this scale actually goes beyond Z to the fancy yellow diamonds. the level Z is really the dividing line between white diamonds and fancy yellow diamonds. A white diamond becomes less valuable the closer it gets to Z, but once it passes Z it becomes a fancy yellow diamond and increases in value the more intense it gets. However since the natural yellow diamond is of the same caliber as the white diamond just on the opposite side of the color scale, it is far more common than naturally pink or other color diamonds which only form in special circumstances. Because of this, naturally yellow fancy diamonds are far more affordable than any other natural fancy diamond color.