It is a mineral made up of carbon atoms formed into a crystalline lattice arrangement. Its modern popularity is owed to the discovery of huge diamond deposits in southern and central Africa during the 1800s and since then has become a gemstone to be coveted even by ordinary people.

When obtaining or buying a diamond, the industry has standards to which a diamond's worth and value can be measured.

Although there are other factors of a diamond piece that experts consider, like its symmetry, table percentage, and fluorescence, to determine its value, consumers usually learn about the four Cs beforehand as a starting point.

These are Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat.

1. Cut - the cut of a diamond actually pertains to both its shape and how well the diamond is formed in relation to its proportions and polish.

This factor of a diamond defers from all the others, as it is the only one that is determined by human hands. Nature is responsible for a diamond's color, clarity and carat, but only an expert cutter can make a rough diamond achieve its most beautiful form.

As for the shape of a diamond, there are 8 major shapes, which include round, marquise, emerald, pear, princess, oval, radiant, and heart. The round shape is the most popular and readily available in any possible size and quality.

If a diamond is cut too shallow or deep, it losses its brilliance by the light leaking at the side of bottom. A well-proportioned diamond emphasizes its natural beauty and brilliance.

2. Color - the color of a diamond varies from shades of yellow to the higher quality and more uncommon colorless types.

A diamond's color is graded, D being the highest for the perfectly colorless stones, to grade Z, which has tints of yellow in the piece.

There are some that are also called fancies, available in brighter hues of blue, pink, yellow, green, purple and even red. These types, although colored, are more rare and much more expensive.

3. Clarity - like our own fingerprints, no two diamonds are alike. This is because diamonds have inclusions, tiny internal flaws of non-crystallized carbon that are mostly invisible to a human eye.

These inclusions affect a diamond's clarity, which is the degree in which light passes through the stone. Blemishes can also appear after the cutting process and can affect clarity.

Clarity grades range from internally flawless to imperfect.

4. Carat - pertains to a diamond's weight and is measured in increments called points, 100 points being equal to one carat.

Since larger diamonds are rare, the value of a 2-carat diamond is priced higher than that of 2 1-carat diamonds of the same quality.

A diamond's carat is the easiest to measure since it is determined on a diamond scale. Its weight also does not necessarily reflect its size, since a diamond can be cut in a way that makes its discernable top surface