Diamond information and jewellery

What is a diamond?

Diamond is the world's hardest natural substance and is widely considered to be the most precious stone on earth, although there are some gemstones that fetch prices higher than even the highest quality diamonds.

Diamonds are often the epitomy of romance and are the gifts of choice for engagements or wedding anniversaries (especially for the 10th, 60th and 75th wedding anniversaries).

While diamonds are usually clear/white stones, there are fancy colour diamond varieties. Diamond prices vary widely - not all diamonds are created equal. The value of the diamond largely depends on the Four C's.

The Four C's of diamonds

Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat. These Four C's are the major elements in assessing the value of a diamond.

Cut

This element refers to the quality, not the shape of the diamond cut. Diamonds sparkle by refracting (bending) the light that enters them and sending it back out, split into colours.

When a diamond is cut well, most of the light that enters the diamond is refracted within it and sent back out, resulting in a brilliant diamond. But if the diamond cut is too shallow or too deep, some or most of the light will escape into the side and the diamond will lose some of its brilliance.

Clarity

Clarity refers to the presence and size of inclusions or flaws inside or on the surface of the diamond. Marks on the surface of the diamond are called blemishes, internal marks are called inclusions. These are usually small mineral crystals or small fractures inside the diamond. Most diamonds have inclusions or blemishes, completely flawless diamonds are very, very rare and extremely expensive. They are not something you are likely to find in your ordinary jewellery store.

Clarity Grading Scales

F (or FL) - Flawless. Diamond shows no inclusions or blemishes of any kind when observed under 10x magnification by a trained jeweller. Flawless diamonds are very, very rare and exceptionally expensive.

IF - Internally Flawless. Diamond shows no internal inclusions but may have some surfact blemishes when observed under 10x magnification by a trained jeweller. Internally Flawless diamonds are very, very rare and exceptionally expensive.

VVS1 and VVS2 - Very Very Slightly Included. Diamond contains minute inclusions and/or blemishes that are difficult for a trained jeweller to see under 10x magnification. VVS1 grade inclusions are smaller than VVS2, but both make for luxury fine jewellery that is typically very expensive.

VS1 and VS2 - Very Slightly Included. Diamond contains small inclusions/blemishes that are somewhat difficult for a trained jeweller to see under 10x magnification. The inclusions usually comprise of small crystals and feathers and do not affect the visual attractiveness of the diamond. These diamonds are expensive and are used in very high quality fine jewellery.

SI1 and SI2 - Slightly Included. Diamond contains inclusions/blemishes that are easy to see under 10x magnification but are not visible to naked eye. This grade is the last grade of "eye clean" diamond - meaning that imperfections are not visible to the naked eye and do not affect the visual qualities of the diamond. The SI grade diamonds are affordable enough to be used in fine jewellery that is accessible to many and are a good value for money because they combine relative affordability and visual perfection.

I1 - Included (or Imperfect) grade 1. Diamond contains inclusions/blemishes that are easily visible under maginfication and are somewhat visible to the naked eye. These diamonds combine affordability and relatively little compromise of diamond brilliance.

I2 - Included (or Imperfect) grade 2. Diamond contains more inclusions and surface blemishes that are relatively easy to see with the naked eye. The imperfections affect diamond brilliance. These affordable diamonds are often used in discount fine jewellery.

I3 - Included (or Imperfect) grade 3. Diamond contains large inclusions and surface blemishes that can be clearly seen with the naked eye and affect the brilliance and structure of the stone. Sometimes used in discount diamond jewellery or for industrial purposes.

Colour

Diamonds in the normal colour range (ie not fancy colour diamonds) are graded from D to Z, D being absolutely colourless and Z being yellow. Colourless diamonds are considered more valuable than diamonds that are tinged with colour.

The GIA colour scale shows the colour range and corresponding letter classification for normal colour range diamonds. Diamonds in the near colourless range are usually the best compromise between desirable colour and price. But even the light yellow diamonds can look spectacular, especially when set in yellow gold, which makes it difficult to detect any tinge. In fact, some people prefer yellow diamonds.

Source: Gemological Institute of America

The fancy coloured diamonds also have grading scales. For example, champagne diamonds are colour-graded on scale from C1 (light champagne) to C7 (brown). While champagne diamonds are the most common fancy color diamonds used in fine jewellery, there are other fancy colors (with associated grades). Diamonds can be pink, blue, violet, yellow, orange, green and a host of other colours. Such fancy color diamonds are very rare and very expensive.

Carat

Carat refers to the weight of the diamond. One carat is equal to 0.2 of a gram. Fractions of a carat are usually called "points". One point is 0.01 of a carat - ie one carat equals 100 points.

So when someone refers to a 25 point diamond, they are talking about a diamond that weighs a quarter of a carat.

Generally larger diamonds are more rare and therefore more valuable. However, it is always important to remember the other three Cs. A smaller, but higher quality diamond (in terms of colour, cut and clarity) will often be more expensive than a larger diamond of a lower quality.

Diamond Jewelry

Please browse through our collection of gemstone jewellery with and without diamonds and our selection of fashion and diamond rings.