Diamond Guide
The 5 C's of diamonds are Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat Weight and Confidence.
Cut
Today there are many different 'cuts' or shapes of diamond but the most popular are:
Clarity
The clarity of a diamond depends on the subjective judgement made by an experienced grader against an agreed industry standard.
| Clarity Grade | Number and size of inclusions |
| FL-IF | no inclusions |
| VVS (VVS 1+2) | very very small inclusions |
| VS (VS 1+2) | very small inclusions |
| SI | small inclusions |
| I1 | inclusions |
| I2 | larger and/or numerous inclusions |
| I3 | large and/or numerous inclusions |
Colour
Colour, together with cut and clarity determines the value of a diamond. As well as 'colourless' white diamonds there are also coloured diamonds including yellow, deep brown (champagne), pink and blue. Unlike white diamonds, a coloured diamond is valued higher as the intensity of the colour gets higher.
For white diamonds there are two main scales on judging quality and therefore value. The European CIBJO scale and the GIA American scale. The best possible diamond colour is described by CIBJO as 'Exceptional White Plus' and in GIA scale this is know as category 'D'. The scale then moves down through varying degrees of whiteness until you reach 'Tinted Colour' as described by CIBJO and this would relate to categories 'M' through to 'Z' in GIA.
Carat Weight
The carat is the unit of weight for diamonds. The name is derived from the seeds of the Carob bean, which are very uniform in weight and were used by early traders a the universal measure of the stone.
One carat = 100 points
Half a carat = 50 points
Quarter of a carat = 25 points
Confidence
Buying Diamonds is always an exciting event and often a very emotional one. The significance of diamonds in our society is that of a powerful symbol of love and of a promise that means forever.
We are happy to put all of our expertise at your disposal and will be glad to answer any of the questions you may have.