What Is a Rough Diamond?
Rough diamonds are diamonds in their natural state, as they were removed from the depths of the earth and before undergoing the polishing process which lends the rough diamond the glitter and luster that characterize diamonds in the eyes of the general public.
Natural Rough Diamonds
Many wonder, what does a rough diamond look like? So, what does a diamond in the rough look like? To the uneducated eye, rough diamonds look more like shards of glass washed up on the beach: They are oily and dull, and come in colors ranging from yellow through green to brown.
Evaluating Rough Diamonds
Rough diamonds’ price is lower than that of Polished Diamonds. To bring out the breathtaking beauty of a rough diamond, a professional polisher must first cut and polish the stone.
Gem-Quality Rough Diamonds
Only 20% of the diamonds produced annually are designated as gem-quality. Most of them are of inferior quality and are defined as industrial diamonds. For the most part, when speaking of rough diamonds, we refer to those stones defined as gem-quality diamonds.
The criteria used to examine Polished Diamonds and determine their price – such as cutting and polishing – do not apply to rough stones. Rough diamonds are sorted into groups according to the crystals’ shapes, sizes, and colors. Nevertheless, there is no regulated set of criteria to evaluate them, so it is difficult to assess their price.
