What You Should Know About Diamonds
Symbol of eternity
Diamonds have always been the ultimate symbol of love. They capture the spark of eternity in an instant, and symbolize joy and good fortune. In today's modern world, diamond jewelry can play an important part in life's special moments.
The diamond is singular among all other gems in its extraordinary hardness. In fact, diamonds are the hardest known material. They are therefor the most durable among all gems. A polished brilliant never goes blunt or scratched - except by other diamonds. In addition, its natural ability to refract light is much more powerful than other precious stones. With a cut and polished stone, you can see the diamond 'fire' its brilliance under light.
Valuation of Diamonds
The quality and value of a diamond is determined by four criteria - the Four C's.
- Carat
- Color
- Clarity
- Cut
Diamonds that possess the best of these characteristics can serve as an investment. Diamonds used in jewelry do not necessarily have to be perfect, so long as the imperfections are not visible to the eye. In particular, the color and purity of a diamond cannot accurately be assessed to the unaided eye. These minute differences can, however, have considerable impact on the price. It is up to the buyer to find the optimal balance between quality and price. Naturally, our rings are all set with diamonds that are of outstanding beauty which strive to achieve this balance. With our Solitaire rings, the buyer has the opportunity to select a diamond based exactly on these four criteria, and personally achieve the correct balance with respect to cost.
Carat
A carat is a unit of measurement that is used to weigh a diamond, and is abbreviated 'ct' or 'kt'. A carat is equal to 0.2 g, or one-fifth of a gram. This may not sound like a lot, but a 1-carat diamond that has good color and clarity can be valued at over ten thousand dollars. The diameter of a 1-carat round brillant is approximately 6.5 mm. Larger diamonds are very rare, and thus much more valuable. Diamonds of all sizes are used in jewelry. For solitaire rings, we recommend brilliant diamonds starting at around a quarter carat.
The following table compares weight and diameter of round brilliants. Please note that the actual diameter of a stone may slightly differ depending on the individual finish of the brilliant cut.
| Weight | Diameter | Weight | Diameter | Weight | Diameter | ||
| 0.01 ct | 1.3 mm | 0.60 ct | 5.5 mm | 5.00 ct | 11.2 mm | ||
| 0.02 ct | 1.7 mm | 0.75 ct | 5.9 mm | 6.00 ct | 11.9 mm | ||
| 0.03 ct | 2.0 mm | 0.85 ct | 6.2 mm | 7.00 ct | 12.2 mm | ||
| 0.04 ct | 2.2 mm | 1.00 ct | 6.5 mm | 8.00 ct | 12.5 mm | ||
| 0.05 ct | 2.4 mm | 1.25 ct | 7.0 mm | 9.00 ct | 13.1 mm | ||
| 0.07 ct | 2.7 mm | 1.50 ct | 7.4 mm | 10.00 ct | 13.6 mm | ||
| 0.10 ct | 3.0 mm | 1.75 ct | 7.9 mm | 15.00 ct | 16.1 mm | ||
| 0.15 ct | 3.4 mm | 2.00 ct | 8.2 mm | 20.00 ct | 17.7 mm | ||
| 0.20 ct | 3.8 mm | 2.25 ct | 8.6 mm | 30.00 ct | 20.3 mm | ||
| 0.25 ct | 4.2 mm | 2.50 ct | 8.9 mm | 40.00 ct | 22.3 mm | ||
| 0.33 ct | 4.5 mm | 3.00 ct | 9.4 mm | 50.00 ct | 24.1 mm | ||
| 0.40 ct | 4.8 mm | 3.50 ct | 9.9 mm | 100.00 ct | 30.3 mm | ||
| 0.50 ct | 5.2 mm | 4.00 ct | 10.4 mm |
Another very popular shape is the princess cut, sometimes also referred to as 'square modified brilliant'. The following table indicates the approximate edge length and diagonal diameter of princess diamonds. Again note, that the actual dimension of a stone may slightly differ depending on the individual finish of the princess cut.
| Weight | Edge Length |
Diameter | Weight | Edge Length |
Diameter | |
| 0.10 ct | 2.6 mm | 3.7 mm | 1.25 ct | 6.0 mm | 8.5 mm | |
| 0.25 ct | 3.5 mm | 4.9 mm | 1.50 ct | 6.4 mm | 9.1 mm | |
| 0.35 ct | 4.0 mm | 5.7 mm | 2.00 ct | 7.1 mm | 10.0 mm | |
| 0.50 ct | 4.5 mm | 6.4 mm | 2.50 ct | 7.6 mm | 10.7 mm | |
| 0.75 ct | 5.1 mm | 7.2 mm | 3.00 ct | 8.2 mm | 11.6 mm | |
| 1.00 ct | 5.6 mm | 7.9 mm | 4.00 ct | 9.0 mm | 12.7 mm |
Note that the princess diamond's diameter is larger than the diameter of a round brilliant of the same weight.
Color
Diamonds come in many different colors. The near colorless variety of diamonds, or 'white' diamonds, are more valuable than colored diamonds. A general rule of thumb is that the more colorless the diamond, the higher its value. The best diamonds are so white, that they appear bluish when they refract light - this is called River. The beauty of this type of diamond is most optimally shown in a setting of white gold.
Many diamonds are slightly yellowish in color. These stones are more attractive in price, and not any less suitable for jewelry. Only the trained eye of a specialist can differentiate between these subtle color differences, and in a setting of yellow gold - these diamonds glow a warm gold. Colored diamonds are substantially less expensive than the River variety, and a colored diamond can be complemented beautifully in a setting of yellow gold.
The GIA color code is used to distinguish between the color grades of diamonds. GIA is the Gemological Institute of America, and their color code system is recognized and used worldwide.
| Color | GIA Code | Previous Designations |
| Colorless | D | |
| E | River | |
| F | Top Wesselton | |
| Nearly Colorless | G | |
| H | Wesselton | |
| I | Top Crystal | |
| J | Crystal | |
| Very Slight Yellow Hue | K | Top Cape |
| L | ||
| M | Cape | |
| Very Slight Yellow | N | |
| ... | ||
| R | ||
| Slight Yellow | S | |
| ... | ||
| Z | Yellow |
Small diamonds are normally classified in a color range, for example as D-F or G-H.
Clarity
The beauty of a polished diamond lies in its brilliance and purity. Most diamonds have a few imperfections internally, either in the presence of small foreign objects or of discontinuity of crystal structure. The fewer inclusions a diamond has, the higher value it commands.
The clarity of a diamond is a measure of the number and size of these inclusions. For diamonds used in jewelry, it is important that any inclusions are not immediately visible to the naked eye. A high degree of clarity is quite important in a diamond if it is to serve as an investment.
| Clarity Grade | Abbreviation | Description |
| Internally Flawless | IF | No inclusions are visible even with 10x magnification |
| Very, Very Small Inclusions | VVS1 | Minutely small inclusions are barely detectable under 10x magnification |
| VVS2 | ||
| Very Small Inclusions | VS1 | Very small inclusions visible only with difficulty under 10x magnification |
| VS2 | ||
| Small Inclusions | SI1 | Small inclusions are easily visible under 10x magnification |
| SI2 | ||
| SI3 | ||
| Inclusions | I1 | Inclusions are visible to the naked eye |
| I2 | ||
| I3 |
For small diamonds the classification is generally less detailed. For example, instead of VS1 or VS2 only VS will be indicated or even just a range like VS-SI.
Cut
A rough, uncut diamond reveals none of its unique visual characteristics. The stone's brilliance is only revealed in its polished form, optimally when cut into the correct proportions. The type of cut is a very important characteristic of a diamond. The 'round-brilliant' cut has at least 57 facets, which in combination with the diamonds physical characteristics, is scientifically computed to maximize the brilliance of the diamond. Deviations from the ideal proportions, or cut, decrease the diamonds brilliance and value.
In addition to the round brilliant cut the so-called princess cut or square modified brilliant has become very popular recently. Seen from above, the princess stones are square. Regarding brilliance princess diamonds compare well with round brilliants. Princess cut diamonds are somewhat less expensive than round brilliants. The reason is that natural diamonds, which are octahedrons, already have a square cross-section. Therefor less material is lost in a square shaped cut.
Certificates
Because diamonds are so valuable, they have been falsely replicated time and again. This can be done by substituting diamond by similar looking precious stones. More recently, artificially manufactured diamond imposters have come on the market, which are virtually indistinguishable from a diamond to the naked eye. Synthetic Moissanite is a popular example because its physical parameters are very similar to the ones of diamond. Fortunately, there are instruments available today that leave no room for doubt about a diamonds authenticity. The diamonds on our rings are all thoroughly examined, and verified to be authentic before we distribute them to the public. The customer also receives the corresponding certification.
The certification boards play an important role in grading polished diamonds starting at a certain size. They evaluate diamonds on the four C's. Each diamond is issued a certificate with detailed information on the carat, color, clarity, and cut. The most important and internationally-recognized certification boards are:
- GIA – Gemological Institute of America, www.gia.edu
- HRD - Hoge Raad voor Diamant, Diamond High Council of Antwerp, www.hrdantwerp.be
- EGL – European Gemological Laboratory, www.eglinternational.org
- IGI – International Gemological Institute, www.igiworldwide.com
There is also a certification board in Switzerland, the SSEF Swiss Gemmologi Institut in Basel (www.ssef.ch).
When I receive a certificate, how can I be sure that it really belongs to my diamond? Normally the diamond's inclusions form a unique signature. This is useful to identify a diamond. For very clean stones modern technology offers another solution. On the girdle of the diamond, i.e. on the outside edge of the polished stone, a microscopically small number is laser engraved. The laser engraving process is very technically intricate, and thus very difficult to falsify. The diamond can thereby be matched to the certificate based on this laser-engraved number. Some certifiers do not only engrave the number but also the most important grading results.
As a matter of principle, starting at about 0.5 ct, H, SI1 we only use engraved and certified diamonds. The certificate, which you receive, authenticates and states the exact quality of your diamond purchase. Particularly smaller diamonds of lower value do not justify the effort for being certified. Nevertheless, if you still wish to receive a certificate please contact us and we will have it made for you. For brilliants without certificate we provide our own test report which confirms authenticity of the diamond and the approximate quality parameters. Please note that generally smaller stones are qualified in less detail than larger and expensive diamonds.
Ring Materials
As mentioned previously, the material that surrounds and holds your diamond, has a considerable influence on the way it looks. Practically speaking, only these materials matter for jewelry purposes: white gold, yellow gold, red gold, and platinum. White gold complements the natural beauty of the diamond best. A whisper-thin layer of Rhodium is applied to the ring and setting to maximize its shine (rhodium has a particularly strong silver gloss). All of our rings in white-gold are rhodium-coated for a beautiful polish and shine.
The purity of gold is measured in karat (ct or kt) or in parts per thousand (millesimal fineness). The 18 ct purity is generally assumed best for jewelry. This is the quality our jewelry is made of.
| Karat | Millesimal | Comment |
| 24 ct | 1000 ‰ | Pure gold, too soft for jewelry |
| 18 ct | 750 ‰ | Best for jewelry (¾ gold) |
| 14 ct | 585 ‰ | Lower quality jewelry |
| 9 ct | 375 ‰ | Low quality jewelry |
| 8 ct | 333 ‰ | Cheap jewelry |
Settings
With diamond rings, it is particularly important for the setting to be perfectly fitted. The prongs, which are like fingers that hold the diamond, should be as narrow as possible so as to not cover any more of the jewel than necessary. On the other hand, these prongs must also be strong enough to hold the diamond in place and prevent it from ever falling out. With well-manufactured settings, the diamond should never fall out on its own accord. The prongs can, however, become damaged by impact and long-term use. For this reason, specialists recommend that you regularly have the setting of your rings check yearly.
Our rings are perfectly finished. Before distribution, each ring and each setting is subjected to a quality control checking process. As an additional service, we offer to have the annual check of your rings setting done for you. Take advantage of this service!