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The Pennyweight

Glossary · Fine Jewelry

The 4 Cs

The 4 Cs are the four attributes a diamond grading report records: carat weight, colour, clarity and cut. They are the trade’s common vocabulary rather than a single quality score — a report states what one laboratory observed under its own standards. Grades are comparable only within a lab’s own system, so a colour or clarity grade means little until you know which lab issued the report.

Related terms

The short list

Three entries from the ledger — the full ranking lives on the best-of pages.

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