Of all the precious stones in the world, the diamond is certainly the most popular. You've seen it worn by royalties and celebrities, but it's also available to every me and you.

Its toughness and beauty have been known and praised since ancient times. The actual word "diamond" comes from the old Greek "adamas", which means "unconquerable".

The decision to purchase a diamond is a rather important one. To the Romans, diamonds were falling stars that tipped the arrow of Eros, the God of love. This meant that those who wore them would be filled with love and spread feelings of happiness around them.

Whether or not the belief was based on real facts, diamonds seem to have some form of energy around them, and you should pay special attention when choosing one.

Assessing the Four C's is a method that helps us see the true value of a stone we're about to purchase. Used mainly by professional jewelers, it's still very simple to be applied even by an untrained eye.

They are Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat.

... is considered by many jewelers as the most important of a diamond's properties.

Depending on how well it is made, it determines how well it reflects light. Professionals strive to make the cut as precise as geometrically possible so that it will reflect more light. If the cut is too shallow, light escapes out the sides and the diamond loses brilliance. If the cut is too deep, light is lost out the bottom and the diamond appears dark or dull.

Therefore, a bright shining diamond, with a symmetrical appearance is a definite sign that the cut is of high quality.

Despite the common belief, not all diamonds are white or colorless. In fact, most diamonds you will find have slight tones of yellow, brown or blue.

There is an actual scale you can use to get a beautiful diamond at a reasonable price. It covers all leathers from D to Z.

D to F are colorless diamonds. These are the rarest and of course, the most expensive. Unless you have a huge pocket, look for stones in the range of...

G to I. These ones offer excellent value and they have a light blue color.

Stones graded above K can still be lovely if they have a great Cut and ...

... refers to the number of imperfections in the stone. Absolutely perfect diamonds are extremely rare.

So the value of the crystal is deeply influenced by the number of "Inclusions" or "Blemishes".

There is also a more complicated scale to rate the perfection of a Diamond, but I won't bore you with it.

Just watch for diamonds rated "I", which have imperfections that may be visible with the naked eye. The other grades aren't important because when mounted in jewelry, the slight imperfections become invisible.

This is generally the only property people follow when purchasing diamonds.

The carat is the measurement unit for a diamond's weight. One carat weighs 200 miligrams, or 1/5 of a gram. Each carat is divided into 100 points.

The bigger the crystal, the more carats is has and the bigger the price.

Don't be tempted to say the bigger the better. Ultimately, you want a diamond that has a balance between the Four C's.

With this kind of knowledge, you are now ready to start searching for the greatest gift you could ever think of. So wait no longer. I guarantee that you'll be satisfied with the jewel you'll choose.