Diamond buying guide

Diamonds, the ultimate gift of love, are often bought at milestones in peoples lives, and as such represent a considerable financial and emotional investment. Our quick guide to understanding the main attributes of the diamond may help to make your special purchase more meaningful and informed. The grading scale known as ’The 4 C’s’ sets out the industry recognized diamond standards. They are:

Clarity  

Most Diamonds have some tiny marks or inclusions within the stone. These can vary from tiny veil-like wisps to large black spots of carbon. These natural inclusions within the Diamond will affect the way light passes through the stone, and therefore the amount of brilliance or sparkle that you see. The grades are: 

F – Flawless: No inclusions visible, even under 10x magnification

VVS – Very very slightly included: Minute inclusions difficult to see even under 10x magnification

VS – Very slightly included: Minor inclusions, ranging from difficult to fairly easy to see under 10x magnification

SI – Slightly included: noticeable inclusions easy or very easy to see under 10x magnification

I – Imperfect or P (Pique) Inclusions that are easy to see with the naked eye

Cut 

The shape and proportions of the stone. The only factor determined by man. Round brilliant, princess and emerald cuts are the most popular, but there are many more. A well proportioned round brilliant cut is designed to achieve the maximum brilliance from the diamond. 

Colour

Diamonds vary in colour, most have a tinge of yellow or grey to them. The most desirable and valuable diamonds are white, or colourless. The colour scale goes ,from D= colourless down to Z=a distinctively yellow colour, with all shades between. Up to G/H Colour grading its virtually impossible to see the ‘colour’ in a diamond with the naked eye. From I onwards the colour gradually increases to a point where, beyond the distinctly yellow shade of Z, they become ‘fancies’ and have enough colour saturation to qualify as yellow diamonds, It is also possible to see pink, blue or brown diamonds. 

Carat 

This is the weight of the stone, not the size. A 1 carat diamond will weigh 0.20 of a gram. A carat is usually shown in points. 1 carat=100 points, therefore 0.50 points= 1/2 carat and 0.25 points= 1/4 carat. 

It can be seen that the ‘perfect’ or most desirable stones would have ‘D’ colour and be flawless. Unfortunately due to the rarity of such stones they carry a high premium, often considerably more expensive than an equivalent sized stone of a slightly lower grade. As most perceived imperfections are invisible to the naked eye, and need a trained valuer to identify, a G/H colour VS included diamond represents a more affordable and still regarded as high quality option. 

Given all this information, its easy to lose sight of the sentiment behind the gift, Our wealth of experience means we can guide you through your purchase, enabling you to buy with confidence, but above all, buy with your heart.