When helping you select a diamond, your jeweller will refer to some terms with which you need to be familiar in order to find the perfect stone for your engagement or wedding rings.
These terms fall under the criteria used by diamond graders called the
“Four C’s”:
Colour, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight.
“Victoria Taylor, designer jeweller and Gemologist from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and Kirstin O’Brien, from a family of jewellers (Diamond Essentials from GIA) will put some “clarity” into the mystery of the diamond!
”
COLOUR
Colourless diamonds are the most desirable since they allow the most refraction of light (sparkle). The whiter a diamond's colour, the greater its value.
To grade 'whiteness' or colourlessness, most jewellers refer to GIA's professional colour scale. This begins with the highest rating of D for colourless, and travels down the alphabet to grade stones with traces of very faint or light yellowish or brownish colour. Diamonds graded G through to I show virtually no colour that is visible to the untrained eye.
Think about what colour of precious metal you will use for your setting - if you like white gold, palladium or platinum, then we would suggest a higher grade colour for your diamond choice.
NOTE: Fancy coloured diamonds do not follow this rule. These diamonds, which are very rare and very expensive, can be any colour from pink, blue and green to bright yellow. These diamonds are more valuable for their colour.
Colourless & Near-Colourless Diamonds (TORY & KO. suggest D - H diamond colours)
TORY & KO. Diamond Solitaire and Diamond Wedding Ring
CLARITY
Most diamonds contain some inner marks (called “inclusions”) that occur during the formation process or after in the cutting/polishing process. The visibility, number and size of these inclusions give the “clarity” rating of a diamond.
Diamonds that have fewer inclusions create more brilliance and are therefore more highly sought-after (and priced). Diamonds are graded for clarity under 10x loupe magnification.
Remember that diamonds are not normally viewed under 10x magnification so clarity is a subjective choice when choosing your diamond.
The following ratings and descriptions will give you an idea of what to look for.
F – Flawless: no internal or external flaws. Extremely rare.
IF – Internally Flawless: no internal flaws, but some surface flaws. Very rare.
VVS1-VVS2 – Very Very Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions very difficult to detect under 10x magnification by a trained gemologist.
VS1-VS2 – Very Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions seen with difficulty under 10x magnification.
SI1-SI2 – Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions more easily detected under 10x magnification.
I1-I2-I3 – Included (three grades). Inclusions visible under 10x magnification as well as to the human eye. We do not recommend buying diamonds in these grades.
A beautiful TORY & KO. Diamond Halo Engagement Ring with french-set diamond shoulders
Some people decide to choose a larger stone with a SI1-SI2 clarity, while others prefer to have a smaller stone with less inclusions (in the VVS1-2 clarity rating). This is a personal choice and nobody looking at the stone (unless under a jeweller’s loupe) would ever notice the differences.
Even though some diamonds may have inclusions, this does not make them any less beautiful to look at - especially when set in a beautiful setting!
CUT
Cut is probably the most important quality factor and the most challenging of the four C’s to understand. A good cut gives a diamond its brilliance – the brightness that seems to come from the very heart of a diamond.
The cut doesn’t actually refer to the shape of the diamond (eg: round, pear, princess, emerald shapes); rather, the angles and finish of a diamond are what determine its cut and ability to reflect light, which leads to brilliance.
When a diamond is well-cut, light enters through the table (top surface of the diamond) and travels to the pavilion (the bottom point of the diamond) where it reflects from one side to the other before reflecting back out of the diamond through the table to your eye.
TORY & KO. Rose Ring with a 1.5ct super sparkling Diamond!
Diamonds which are graded Excellent or Very Good for Cut, Polish and Symmetry are recommended. This is what gives a diamond its sparkly brilliance and why you can’t take your eyes off one when you wear it!
In a poorly cut diamond, the light that enters through the table reaches the facets (the flat surfaces of a diamond) and then 'leaks' out from the sides or bottom of the diamond rather than reflecting back through the table to your eye. Less light reflected back to the eye means a less sparkly stone.
Diamond Cuts showing light reflection
CARAT WEIGHT
A carat is a unit of measurement used to weigh a diamond. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams.
We love the story of where the term originated from: the word "carat" is taken from the carob seeds that people once used in ancient times to balance scales. These seeds are so alike in shape and weight that even today's sophisticated instruments cannot detect more than three one-thousandths of a difference between them!
Because large diamonds are found less commonly than small diamonds, the price of a diamond rises according to its size or carat.
4 carat Diamond!
Round Brilliant Cut with Pear-shaped Diamond accents
DIAMOND SHAPES
There are so many beautiful diamond shapes to choose from.
Your ring can feature one of these beauties below or mix it up with some different shapes on the shoulder details….
DESIGNING YOUR PERFECT RING
At TORY & KO. Jewellers we help you decide on your perfect diamond.
You can look at different sizes, shapes and variations of colour & clarity through our jewellers loupe while we guide you.
These complimentary sessions are a great way to learn more about what diamond you are selecting for your perfect ring!
Complimentary design sessions follow where we discuss all the options for setting your diamond(s) - will you choose, yellow, white or rose gold or a combination?
Victoria and Kirstin work with you to finalise all the little details to make your ring truely unique!
Make your complimentary appointment and let your diamond ring dreaming become a reality…
Victoria Taylor and Kirstin O’Brien of TORY & KO. Jewellers