hi I'm Craig my large forehead sparkles
like a diamond and this is Mental Floss
on YouTube today I'm gonna answer butter
wits big question why are white diamonds
so expensive
well mr. butter wit a few things
determine a diamonds quality therefore
its price these are what the diamond
experts refer to as the four C's color
cut clarity and carat there's a fifth
optional which is Craig us specifically
about color but I'm gonna tell you a
little bit about all of them because all
four affect the diamonds cost let's get
started
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okay listen up fellas I just proposed to
my girlfriend and buying the ring was
the hardest part this is important a
diamonds cut refers to how symmetrical
and well polished the diamond is this is
important because it determines how
light reflects off of the diamond unlike
the other C's diamond cut doesn't have a
standardized grading scale some of the
most popular ones are the round cut oval
cut princess cut Mario Luigi n toad
currently round cut diamonds are more
pricey because they're popular and more
expensive to make so if you choose a
white diamond in a different cut it
would be less expensive a diamonds
clarity determines if it has blemishes
cloudiness cracks and so on this is the
diamonds clarity scale if the diamond
has scales on it you've got that diamond
from a dragon and I salute you brave sir
or madam ideally the diamond is flawless
if you can't see any of that stuff under
ten times the magnification the higher
the clarity the more rare and expensive
it is moving on to karat which describes
a diamonds mass one carat equals 200
milligrams a diamond with a higher carat
is more expensive are you starting to
see a pattern here as for color it has a
scale as well a white diamond is known
as colorless which is ideal on a scale
why well let me throw a 5th see at you
Carbon I threw Craig at you earlier but
that's not real diamonds are completely
made up of carbon a white diamond is
pure carbon which means it has no
impurities and then that means it's more
expensive most of the diamonds that are
found fall lower on the color scale with
a yellow or brown tint to them this is
nitrogen and even a small amount of it
can change the color making the diamond
impute once you go beyond Z on that
scale you reach what is known as now i
know my abcs no fancy colored diamonds
as you probably know some of the most
expensive diamonds in the world are pink
red and blue the dark blue Hope Diamond
is worth over 200 million dollars that's
simply because these diamond colors are
more rare and more expensive
thanks for watching Mental Floss on
YouTube made with the help of these
lovely diamonds if you have a question
of your own that you would like answered
such as will you marry me leave it in
the comments below the answer to that
one is no I'm Martin
see you next week
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