DIAMONDS

A Guide to Diamonds

Diamonds come in different shapes and sizes, and before buying a diamond ring, it helps to know something about the stone. The Four Cs CLARITY, CUT, CARAT and COLOUR~ are used worldwide to describe the quality of diamonds. Before you buy your platinum engagement ring, please continue reading this useful guide.

Diamonds are romantic and beautiful & a good one can be expensive. In some cases your beloved might be giving you a diamond ring worth two months of his salary. The fact that he loves you enough to spend such a large sum to buy a diamond for you is a very romantic gesture.

  • A diamond is an exceedingly rare item. Over 250 tons of ore must be processed to come up with just one carat diamond of any quality.

  • Diamonds are precious: Cubic zirconium and other imitations may be a lower price, but they are also man-made.

  • Diamonds, however, are rare natural stones made millions of years ago under intense heat & pressure.

  • Diamonds are forever they won't fade or discolour through time.

The Four C's

CLARITY

A diamond has the capability to refract more light than any other gemstone. This explains the reason why most engagement rings are diamond engagement rings, or rings containing diamonds. A diamond which is free of interior inclusions or exterior flaws has nothing to interfere with the passage of light through the stone and so is considered to be of the highest quality. Such stones are very rare and are correspondingly, of a higher value.

CUT

The cut allows the diamond to make the best use of light and ensures your diamond engagement ring or diamond ring is as beautiful as it can be. When a diamond is cut in the ideal proportions, light is refracted internally from one facet to another before being dispersed through the top of the stone set in your diamond engagement ring.

CARAT

The size of a diamond is measured in carat weight. One carat is divided into 100 points, so that a diamond of 75 points weighs 0.75 of a carat. Whilst carat weight seems the most obvious factor when assessing the value of a diamond, depending on their respective cut, clarity and colour, two diamonds of equal size can have very different values. Big is not necessarily better-diamonds of high quality can be found in all size ranges. However, one diamond of one carat is usually worth more than two diamonds of 0.50ct.

COLOUR

In gem quality diamonds, the accepted colour grading scale runs from colourless to light yellow. The differences from one grade to another are very subtle. Generally the best colour for a diamond is no colour at all. These diamonds are known as white diamonds and are the diamonds with which we are most familiar.

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