CUT
The cut of a diamond refers to both the diamond’s shape and how effectively the diamond returns light back to the eye. A well-cut diamond appears remarkably brilliant and fiery, while a poorly cut diamond can look muddy and lifeless, regardless of its color or clarity. Cut is all about the precision of a diamond’s angles, proportions, symmetrical facets, fire, scintillation and finishing details. Not only do well-cut diamonds appear more brilliant, they also tend to appear larger than other diamonds of the same carat weight. All of our diamonds, from the smallest to the largest stone, are cut to our exacting standards.
COLOR
Color is the second most important of the 4Cs and refers to the absence of color in a diamond. Diamonds come in a variety of hues, but the closer to colorless a white diamond is, the rarer and more valuable it becomes. Starting from D, meaning colorless, the scale follows the alphabet downward. Colorless to near colorless diamonds appear clear on the scale and are graded in a range of D through J. Any stone beyond J will begin to show slight amounts of pale yellow.
CLARITY
A diamond’s clarity refers to the visual purity of a stone and is determined by the number of inclusions or imperfections. A stone is graded as flawless if, under 10-power magnification, no inclusions (internal flaws) and no blemishes (external imperfections) are visible. Because inclusions impede the refraction and return of light, the lower the clarity grade, the cloudier the diamond will appear. For a diamond that’s completely clear of inclusions visible to the eye, we recommend selecting a stone graded VS2 or higher.
CARAT
A carat refers to a diamond’s weight, not its size, and bigger isn’t always better. The way a diamond is cut can influence how large it appears. In fact, a higher carat diamond with a poor cut can appear smaller than a lower carat diamond with a high-quality cut. And carat weight doesn’t solely determine a diamond’s value. For example, two different one-carat stones can vary widely in price when clarity, color and cut are factored into the equation.
