How to Classify South African Kimberley Diamonds

The diamonds mined in South Africa are sorted and classified at Kimberley as follows:

• Close goods
• Spotted Stones
• Rejection cleavage
• Fine cleavage
• Light brown cleavage
• Ordinary and rejection cleavage
• Flats
• Naats
• Rubbish
• Boart

The next classifications of diamonds are further subdivided according to shades:

• Blue white
• First cape
• Second cape
• First bye
• Off color
• Light yellow
• Yellow

Only the close goods are actually carefully graded according to the eight shades. With the other grades the diamonds are graded less carefully. Each of the colors is again subdivided into several sizes, and when the goods arrive in London the Syndicate again sorts them into:

• Finest extra blue white Fine Capes
• Extra blue white Capes
• Finest blue white Byewaters
• Blue white
• Yellows
• Finest white
• Finest light brown
• White
• Light brown
• Silver Capes
• Brown
• dark brown

While diamonds are found in may different colors, the most common are white and yellow of various shades. The Jager stones are blue and/or white. In the trade blue-white stones are known as Jagers. Diamonds from the Wesselton mines are usually of fine white color. Capes and Byewaters have some tinge of yellow. Brown diamonds when light enough are often desirable. Stones of fancy shades, Golden Brown, Apple Green, Deep Blue, Canary, ect., if of a decent size are way more valuable than blue white stones of the same size and grade. The most valuable of all diamonds are red. Red diamonds are very rarely found and only a few specimens are in existence.