Glossary

Fifteen terms that cover most of what sellers will say to you.

4Cs

Cut, color, clarity, carat: the four graded attributes on a diamond report. Cut matters most.

Bow-tie

The dark band across the middle of elongated brilliant shapes. Faint on good cuts, a mustache on bad ones.

Brilliant cut

Facet pattern built for sparkle: rounds, ovals, cushions, princesses, pears, marquises.

Carat

A unit of weight, one fifth of a gram. Not a size; see the carat size finder.

Certificate

An independent lab’s grading report. Major-lab paper or no sale.

Eye-clean

No flaws visible to an unaided eye at normal distance. The only clarity bar that matters on a hand.

Face-up size

The millimeter footprint seen from above; what eyes register instead of weight.

Girdle

The stone’s outer edge, where report numbers get laser-inscribed.

Halo

Small diamonds encircling the center stone, making it read a size or two bigger.

Melee

The tiny accent diamonds in halos and pavé bands.

Pavé

A band paved with tiny diamonds. Pronounced pah-VAY.

Prong

The small claws holding a stone. Four show more stone, six hold it safer.

Rhodium

The bright plating on white gold that thins over years and gets renewed cheaply.

Shy weight

A stone just under a milestone weight (0.90, 1.40, 1.90): same look, lower price.

Step cut

Long parallel facets: emerald and asscher cuts. Glassy elegance that hides nothing.