Diamond and CZ Master Sets
By Rubina Posh February 13,2017
The colour of diamonds is determined on the basis of a visual assessment by a Diamond Grader comparing a diamond using master stones under a suitable light source.
Acquiring a set of diamond master stones can get a bit expensive. A set of 10 stones can be anywhere from $20,000.00 to $100,000.00.
Colour comparison sets made up of Cubic Zirconia stones are available and are used in the same way as the diamond master sets.
The CZ master set ranges from $300.00 to $1000.00 and can be purchased online.
A good practical Master Stone Set would include these seven – E, F, G, H, I, J, K.
The most common master colour grades available are – E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M.
Diamond companies prefer to list diamonds available from D to M and because of this it is not necessary to have a master diamond in lower colour grades.
The master set needs to include the different colour stages and this generally ranges from “E to N”. The minimum number of diamonds required for this is 7 stones but 10 are preferable. These master stones must be the same shape and size and their inclusions should not affect their colour.
The best shape would be round, the size anywhere between 0.40ct to 1.00ct and clarity should be SI1 or better.