Choosing Your Diamond

When looking to purchase a diamond it is important to remember the “Four C's”, the characteristics which give the diamond its quality and value. These are: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat-weight.

Cut: A diamond's cut is what gives it sparkle and fire. The better the proportions, the better the diamond is able to handle light, creating more sparkle and scintillation. A diamond cut to proper proportion allows the greatest amount of light to be reflected, for maximum brilliance.

Color: Diamonds are found with a range of colors from light yellow or brown through to the rarest, which have no color at all. The majority of diamonds range from those with barely perceptible yellow and brownish tints up to the very rare pinks, blue and greens which are known as fancies. The absolute finest colorless stone carries a D rating, descending through each letter of the alphabet to Z, designating a diamond of light yellow, brown, or gray.

Clarity: Most diamonds contain tiny inclusions, not discernible to the naked eye. The fewer and smaller they are, the less likely they are to interfere with the passage of light through diamond, and therefore the more rare and beautiful it will be. The fewer imperfections in a diamond, the better; a flawless diamond is extremely valuable.

Carat-weight: A carat is a measure of weight, which also indicates size. One carat is divided into 100 ‘points', so that a diamond of 75 points weights 0.75 carats. (1 carat = 0.2 grams). Two diamonds of equal weight can therefore have very different values, depending on their cut, clarity and color.