Carat is the easiest of the 4 Cs to determine. The most popular is the claw setting for solitaires. The beauty of this setting is that the diamonds are set in such a manner that there is no metal support between them. Each one resting on the adjacent piece, giving a look as if it has been simply glued on to it. Here the diamonds are embedded in metal and very tiny grains of the metal are then rolled onto the edges of the diamond, forming minute holdings.
Closed setting is a setting which has been used where no claws are used to hold the diamond.
The housing for the diamond is made in such a manner that it holds the diamond firmly with metal covering the circumference of the gemstone. Though very firm, the only disadvantage of this setting is that the diamond appears to be smaller because of the metal covering the edges. Diamonds are classified into seven main categories . Round brilliant is the most popular of all the polished shapes. Oval is an adaptation of the round brilliant and appears larger than a round stone of the same carat weight.