Diamond Infomation

Certified diamonds

 The difference between our standard range of engagement rings and our prestigious certified selection of rings is the quality of the diamonds we have selected for certification.  To grade these precious diamonds we have chosen to use AnchorCert / GIA, an independent organisation linked to the Birmingham Assay office established in 1773.The grading chart for Colour and Clarity they use is the same used by all major jewellers, which was established by the GIA (Gemmological Institute of America).But what is meant by Colour, Clarity, Carat and Cut, or more commonly, The Four C's?

It is easy to get confused by the science of buying a certified diamond, and below is a simple guide to choosing the perfect diamond for yourself, or a loved one.

  Colour

Above is the GIA scale for colour grading. D is at the top, and stands for Diamond. This means the gemstone is completely
colourless, or white in appearance. Typically a white diamond is the most popular, and the higher up the scale the better quality the diamond is. When buying a diamond ring, and the frosty winter white is what you are looking for, aim for a diamond between D-H. D is very rare, and will be hard to find in a diamond of large size, and the price will reflect this. E-F will be hard to  distinguish a difference with the naked eye. G-H is a good quality, and any colour is only really distinguishable when comparing to a higher graded diamond.  A diamond I-J on the colour scale may have a faint colour present, but when set in yellow metal this will be harder to see.  Between K-R colour will be clearly visible to the naked eye, but again, can still look desirable when set in yellow gold.  Anything below this is known as a “fancy”. Some celebrities have bought these diamonds into the spotlight, such as Jennifer Lopez’s 6.1 carat Pink diamond ring from Ben Affleck, although at $1.2 million is out of most price ranges!  When we talk about colour it is commonly yellow which can be seen, which is a build up of nitrogen when the diamond was formed millions of years ago, but nature has also given us a range of colours, such as Pink, Green, Blue or Orange, but most rare is Red.

Clarity

The diamonds that we buy today were formed millions of years ago completely naturally. Basically a diamond is formed by carbon being compressed in the earth under extreme conditions. It is an imperfect process, and, inevitably most commonly produces imperfect results. Small cracks, build-ups of uncompressed carbon and other minerals will often be found in the diamonds that we see. This means any diamond you buy will be as unique as the person who wears it. When relating this to the GIA clarity grading chart diamonds with less imperfections ,or “Natures Footprints,” are considered more valuable.

 As you can see from the chart above the top grading diamond is graded as FL, or flawless. This is a diamond that has no inclusions at all, and is extremely rare and expensive. The lowest grading is I3, this may also be referred to as P3 or “Pique”. At this grade you will clearly see cloudy patches, black marks and small cracks inside the diamond. Between these two extremes sit the more commonly found diamonds in a high street shop. VS1-SI2 are the most commonly found. What is more important than the grading itself is where the marks actually are in the diamond. A mark close to the setting, for example, is going to be less conspicuous than a mark on the top of the diamond or in the middle.

The world’s largest flawless diamond is the “Incomparable” a 407 carat yellow-brown coloured diamond. It is currently on display at the Natural History Museum in Washington DC, although an attempt to sell it on EBay was made in 2002, although, with an opening bid of $15 million there were no buyers. 

Cut

Cut is quite simply the shape that the diamond cutter chooses to get the best out of the diamond. A mined diamond will be split in half using a process called cleaving, roughly cut to shape and then laser cut and polished. The most popular cut is a round brilliant cut, which allows a diamond to really sparkle. Below is a chart of the most popular types of cut. No advice can be given here as it is very much a personal choice.  Please note the chart below is not the definitive list, but there are many different cuts available.   

Carat

 The term carat comes from the old fashioned weighing of diamonds where carob seeds were used to weigh a diamond.  One carat weighs 0.2 grammes or 2 miligrammes. Another way you will see a diamond weight explained is a point system. 100 points equals 1 carat. So a half carat diamond is 50 points, or 0.1 grammes   Remember carat is a measurement of weight, and is not directly related to size. A diamond is naturally formed and so can be short and fat, or long and thin, so will look different in appearance.   Although we measure gold and silver in the same carat format, weight is not relevant when referring to carat gold. A carat in gold refers to the amount of pure gold present. A nine carat ring has nine parts pure gold and 15 parts other metals, such as zinc or copper.   This is to make the item of jewellery stronger, and more durable.  Arguably the world’s largest diamond, at 530 carats, is the Star of Africa. This can be viewed at the Tower Of London in the Queens sceptre. 

Buying Guide

Below are a few simple steps to bear in mind when buying a diamond. These are all points from our own staff opinions, backed with over 13 years of experience in jewellery retail.

· If you are buying the engagement ring as a surprise, don’t worry about the size. But do check with the jeweller that they will adjust the size subsequently for no extra charge.

· The Clarity, Colour, Carat and Cut are only as good as the setting the diamond is in, and the band itself. Check the quality of the setting and make sure the diamond sparkles. It is no use getting a great deal on a high quality diamond if it falls out of the band after a year or so of everyday wear.

· Try and get a diamond with similar quality colour and clarity grades. A D grade I3 will look worse than a H Grade VS1

· It is worth spending the extra for a Platinum band, opposed to White Gold. All White Gold has plating called Rhodium, to keep it looking shiny. This plating will wear off over time. It will wear off quickly if you wear your ring for everyday tasks, such as cleaning. Platinum, on the other hand, is naturally shiny and will stay the same colour.

· Platinum is more expensive because it is so rare. If you took all the platinum in the world and put it in an Olympic sized swimming pool it would barely cover your ankles.