Choosing a lab-grown diamond becomes much easier once the specifications stop feeling like a string of letters and numbers. Cut, color, clarity, and carat weight each describe something different; no single grade tells the whole story.
A lab-grown diamond is created in a controlled laboratory environment. It is not a mined diamond, and it is not a diamond simulant. The term describes the diamond's origin.
Start with the four Cs
The four Cs are cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. Read them together, then consider shape, dimensions, and the setting that turns the diamond into a finished piece of jewelry.
Cut
Cut describes how a diamond's proportions, symmetry, and finish affect its interaction with light. It is different from shape. Round, oval, pear, emerald, and marquise describe outlines; cut describes the quality and arrangement of the facets.
Brightness, contrast, fire, and scintillation are all influenced by cut. Because grading conventions differ across shapes, compare the information available for the specific shape rather than treating every cut description as interchangeable.
Color
On the D-to-Z scale, color refers to the absence of color. D begins the scale, and D through F make up the colorless range. Mythara diamonds are E–F color.
E and F are adjacent grades. Shape, cut, size, lighting, and surrounding gold can affect how either grade looks in a finished piece.
Compare E and F diamond color.
Clarity
Clarity describes inclusions and surface characteristics evaluated under 10× magnification. VVS means very, very slightly included; VS means very slightly included. Both categories contain grades ending in 1 and 2.
Mythara diamonds are VS–VVS2 clarity. The location, size, type, and contrast of clarity characteristics can matter as much as their number.
Understand VS and VVS2 clarity.
Carat weight
Carat is a unit of diamond weight, not a measurement of visible diameter. Two diamonds with the same carat weight can have different face-up dimensions because shape and proportions distribute weight differently.
When a piece contains more than one diamond, distinguish between:
- Center-stone or principal-stone weight
- Total carat weight, which combines the weight of every diamond in the piece
These measurements answer different questions and are not interchangeable.
Choose shape and setting together
Shape changes both outline and light pattern. Brilliant-style shapes create many smaller reflections, while step-cut shapes produce broader flashes and more open views into the diamond.
The setting determines how the diamond is held and how much of it is visible. Prongs, bezels, surrounding diamonds, metal coverage, band width, and profile height can all change the finished appearance.
Front, side, and profile views reveal different information. Look at how high the diamond sits, how the setting meets the gold, and how much of the stone is covered.
Compare dimensions, not carat alone
Face-up dimensions help show how large a diamond appears from above. Depth and proportions affect where its weight is carried. This is why carat weight alone cannot describe visible size.
For a finished piece, the jewelry's overall measurements matter too. A diamond's scale is always seen in relation to the setting and surrounding gold.
Make the final comparison about the whole piece
A diamond is one part of a finished jewel. Consider:
- Gold material and color
- Setting type and dimensions
- Overall scale and proportions
- Fit-related measurements
- Diamond shape, cut, color, clarity, carat weight, and dimensions
- How the setting protects and presents the diamond
Mythara jewelry is made in solid 14K gold, never gold plated. Every Mythara diamond is lab-grown, E–F color, and VS–VVS2 clarity.
Explore Mythara's diamond-quality guide and learn about solid 14K gold, or shop all jewelry.