Diamond Education

We believe that it is vital for customers to have a deep understanding about diamonds before they invest in a special item of diamond jewelry for their loved one.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT DIAMONDS
Diamonds are mined in many countries, and are found in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors, with most being white or near-white. The biggest producer of diamonds in volume terms is Russian miner Alrosa, while the world famous De Beers sells the most in financial terms. De Beers' sales in 2011 were close to $7 billion.
Most natural diamonds are created under high-pressure high-temperature conditions 140 to 190 kilometers under the surface of the Earth. Minerals containing carbon provide the source, and the growth of the diamond takes place over periods of 1 billion to 3.3 billion years.

Diamonds are then carried to the Earth's surface due to eruptions deep underground creating magma which cools and creates rocks known as kimberlites where they can then be mined.

THE 4Cs
The first steps in understanding diamonds is an understanding of the "4Cs". The 4Cs stand for: Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat (or weight of the diamond). Meanwhile, another "C" is also increasingly important: Certificates.

COLOR

The color of a diamond is critical in whether a diamond sparkles brilliantly and also plays a vital part in setting its price. Diamonds without color are the most valuable because they allow the largest amount of refraction of light, which gives the diamond its sparkle. A diamond serves as a prism: it breaks light down into its spectrum and reflects it back to the eye of the viewer in flashes of fire.
Off white diamonds, by contrast, containing some yellow or brown do not absorb as much light and do not allow light to reflect as efficiently. Consequently, the brilliance of the diamond is much lower.
The question then arises about how to decide the color of a particular diamond. The Gemological Institute of America's color scale provides an almost universally agreed way of grading. A diamond with a D-grade means it has no color and therefore is very valuable because the percentage of such diamonds from global production is very low. From D, the color grade goes down the alphabet, according to the light yellow or brown color, and goes down to Z as you can see from this diagram.

The best, and highest value, diamonds are in the color grade D to I.

CUT

The second C is the cut. The way a diamond is cut determines the brilliance of the diamond.
This diagram illustrates how vital a perfect cut is because it allows light to enter the stone through the table (the top flat part of the diamond) and travel to the pavilion (the lower angled part) where it is completely reflected back through the table. A poor cut means that light is not reflected entirely – and for the buyer that means the stone does not have as much fire, brilliance and sparkle.

CARAT

The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. A carat is 0.2 grams – in other words five carats equals one gram. The heavier the stone, the more it costs, generally speaking, although it also depends on the clarity, color and quality of the cut.

CLARITY

The third C is clarity, and relates to whether it has flaws inside it. The vast majority of diamonds have flaws, or inclusions. If the diamond has inclusions, it will have a lower price. The more inclusions, the lower the price. Scratches, or blemishes, on the surface of the stone also influence the clarity.
There are five generally accepted levels of clarity.

IF
IF stands for Internally Flawless. The diamond does not have any flaws inside it, but may have some surface blemishes. Such diamonds are extremely rare and, consequently, are the most expensive.

VVS1-VVS2
The next gradation is VVS, or Very Very Slightly Included of which there are two grades. The diamond has tiny inclusions which are very difficult to detect without a 10x magnification by a trained gemologist.

VS1-VS2
Next down is Very Slightly Included of which there are also two grades. So small are these inclusions that they can only be seen with difficulty using 10x magnification.

SI1-SI3
This means Slightly Included, and again there are two grades. This size of inclusion can be more easily seen using 10x magnification.

I1-3
Finally, there are inclusions which are big enough to be seen using 10x magnification and even the human eye.

The diagram below for a quick view of the nature of inclusions.