Jewelry Shopping: Buying Diamonds on St. Maarten St. Martin

St. Maarten Jewelry Shopping

The Dutch St. Maarten capital of Philipsburg boasts over 100 duty-free jewelry stores. When shopping these stores, choosing a diamond may sometimes seem complicated so here’s what are called the 4 C’s of diamond value.

Carat: The weight of the diamond. Diamonds with larger carat weights are rarer and thus more valuable but a diamond can appear larger or smaller depending on its cut and mounting.

Color: The presence or absence of color in white diamonds. D refers to colorless diamonds with Z being yellow tinted stones.

Clarity: The presence of surface or internal flaws created during the natural diamond formation process are often referred to as inclusions. The rarest are internally flawless diamonds. Clarity grades run from very, very slightly included (VVS), very slightly included (VS) to slightly included (SI) and included (I).

Cut: The angles, proportions and execution of the diamond’s design. Cut also refers to the shape of the diamond (i.e. round, marquis, oval, heart) and accounts for the brilliance or sparkle of the diamond.