The Four C’s of Diamonds

Diamonds are very valuable commodities which are evaluated using a universal grading system developed by the GIA (The Gemological Institute of America). The value of each diamond is calculated using four variables – Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat.  Also known as the 4 C’s.

 If you are buying a diamond or an engagement ring it is useful to acquaint yourself with these variables which we will discuss in detail here. However we always recommend that you do not get bogged down with these details so firmly that you forget to choose a ring that you like rather than a ring purely for its investment value.  At the end of the day an engagement ring is something that you will hopefully wear for life and should be something that symbolizes love and that you want to wear forever.

 Cut

Many people make the mistake of thinking that cut refers to the shape of a diamond when in fact it is more to do with the proportions of the diamond, rather than its shape.   The cut of a diamond has three attributes: brilliance, fire and scintillation.  Brilliance refers to the amount of light reflected from a diamond, fire is the dispersion of light into the colours of the spectrum and scintillation is the sparkle recreated when a diamond is moved. Every diamond regardless of its shape gets its brilliancy, fire and scintillation by cutting and polishing the facets so that the maximum amount of light can enter through the top and subsequently be reflected back out the top again.  A poorly cut diamond is one that is cut too shallow or too deep and as a result the light that enters through the top escapes through the bottom or sides resulting in poor brilliance, fire and scintillation.

As for shapes of diamonds, the round brilliant is the most popular diamond used. However there are numerous fancy shapes such as princess, emerald, pear, oval, marquise, heart, cushion and baguette. 

 Colour

Diamonds actually come in numerous colours such as pink, blue, green and black.  These are known as fancy colour diamonds and are rare and expensive. However most diamonds available in jewellery stores are colourless or near-colourless and these are the stones we are most concerned about.  The best colour for a diamond is no colour at all as a colourless diamond allows light to pass through easily, so the less colour the higher the value.  The GIA’s colour grading scale ranges from the letters D to Z.  D represents colourless and Z is light yellow or near-colourless.  Colour is often so subtle that it is invisible to the untrained eye. But these differences do make a big difference in diamond quality and price.

 Clarity

The clarity of a diamond refers to the number, size, nature and location of inclusions and blemishes in the diamond.  These inclusions and blemishes are created when the diamond is formed deep within the earth.  Inclusions are internal imperfections and blemishes are external imperfections.  The fewer the inclusions, the more beautiful the diamond and therefore the more expensive. Every diamond is unique and none is absolutely perfect though some known as flawless come very close.  Very few people will actually have ever seen a flawless diamond as they are so rare and valuable.

The GIA clarity scale consists of 11 grades from F to I3 with F being flawless and I3 being included #3.  VVS is very very slightly included, VS is very slightly and SI is slightly included.  When buying an engagement ring most people will opt for a diamond between SI2 and VS1.

 Carat

Carat is the standard unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones. One carat equals 0.20 grams.  One carat is divided into 100 points, so for example a 20 point diamond is equal to 0.20 carats. As the carat weight of a diamond increases so does its rarity and thus its value.  So if you were to buy two 0.50 carat diamonds, you would pay less than if you were just to buy one 1.00 carat diamond, as the 1.00 carat diamond is rarer.  But it must be emphasised that two diamonds of the same carat can have very different values as the end value will depend on the other four C’s of clarity, colour and cut.

 We hope this information is useful.  But at the end of the day, always purchase diamonds from reputable jewellers and then you can be certain of the quality and source of your diamonds. Then you do not need to worry about the quality of the stone, you just need to decide how much you can afford to spend and what you fall in love with.

Choosing the correct ring size

When purchasing a ring where trying it on is not an option, such as when buying a gift or making an online purchase, there are a few things you should consider to make choosing a size much easier.

 The most accurate way of determining ring size is to get your finger professionally measured by a Jeweller, where they will use ring sizers to determine the most perfect fit for your finger.  However, if this is not an option the best way would be to borrow a ring belonging to the person for whom the ring is for and then bring this into a Jewellers to get it sized.  Of course this isn’t a foolproof method as the ring they have may be worn on another finger to the new ring or the ring may not be a perfect fit itself, but at least it will be a start and give you an idea of the size you need.

Then if neither of these two options are suitable the next suggestion would be to use a paper ring measuring strip or other sizing tool which can be found on numerous online websites.  As a Jeweller we would never recommend this method as it can be highly inaccurate but it will certainly give you a rough idea of the ring size needed.

 Now before measuring a finger, there are a number of things that you need to aware of.  Firstly fingers swell depending on temperature, exercise, medication and other variables.

In hot weather or when out and about shopping or exercising, fingers can swell and this will mean the finger size now will be much greater than it would be when the finger is cold so all this needs to be taken into consideration.  Also some people on medication notice that their fingers may temporarily swell, as do pregnant women.  Therefore it is important to take all this factors in account.

 Secondly there are other factors which also need to be considered when determining the correct ring size such as the thickness of the ring you intend to purchase.  Often if it is a thick or wide ring, a person may need a size larger to get a comfortable fit than they would for a normal or thin ring.  The size of stones in a ring can also sometimes have an effect on the ideal ring size. As can the type of finger, some people have wider knuckles then the base of their finger whereas other people have narrower knuckles than the base of their finger so this all needs to be taken into consideration.

 Remember, accurate ring size measurements are especially crucial for engagement rings and wedding rings as many of these may be difficult and expensive to resize and some may not be resizable at all because of their intricacy.  So bear this in mind if choosing a ring for which you are not sure of the ring size needed. If in doubt always speak to a Jeweller.

How to wear your Claddagh Ring

Claddagh Ring: The Heart represents Love, the Hands are for Friendship and the Crown represents Loyalty.

The ring worn on the right hand, crown turned inwards shows that the wearer’s heart is yet unoccupied.  Worn on the right hand with the crown turned outwards reveals that love is being considered.  Worn on the left hand with the crown turned outwards shows that the wearer’s heart is well and truly spoken for.

Fallers Silver Claddagh Ring