Diamonds

 Clarity

The purer a diamond, the greater it's clarity and the more brilliant it is. Virtually all natural diamonds contain some sort of identifying  characteristics, yet many of these are invisible to the naked eye. With the aid of a jeweller's 10x-magnifying lens these naturally present phenomena, called inclusions may be seen. Inclusions in diamonds were naturally formed when the diamond itself was formed, many millions of years ago under tremendous heat and  pressure. Inclusions may look like microscopic crystals , clouds, or feathers. The number, colour, type, size, and position of surface or internal inclusions all affect the value of a diamond.

Diamonds graded as IF(internally flawless), when examined reveal no such inclusions. Flawless stones are rare and are treasured for their beauty.

Diamonds with very, very small inclusions are graded as VVS1 or VVS2. The larger the inclusion, the lower the grade and the less rare the diamond. At the lower end of the clarity scale we have  I,1, I,2, and I,3. Inclusions in these stones are normally visible with the naked eye. Major inclusions in a diamond can interfere with the path of light as it passes through the stone, affecting not only it's brilliance and sparkle but also it's value.

Colour

The purer a diamond's colour, the rarer it is. Diamonds are graded by their colour. The top colour starts at D and continues through the alphabet . While many diamonds appear to be colourless they may in fact have very subtle yellow or brown tones. Although still beautiful, they will be less rare and therefore less valuable.

To fully appreciate the individual beauty of a stone it is best compared side by side with other diamonds. 

"Fancy" diamonds come in well defined colours which include red, blue, green and canary yellow. These are particularly rare and as such are very highly prized.

Cut

Whilst nature herself determines a diamond's clarity, carat weight and colour, it is the hand of a master craftsman that is required to release the fire, sparkle and beauty of a diamond. When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light will reflect from one facet to another allowing it to disperse back through the top of the stone, resulting in a display of brilliance and fire. Diamonds that are cut out of proportion, that is to say are either too shallow or too deep will lose light through either the side or the bottom of the stone. The result is a stone that will be less brilliant and certainly less valuable than a well cut stone.

Carat

The chart demonstrates the diameter and height in mm of diamonds of different weight.

A carat of diamond is known as 100 points, a 0.75 carat diamond is 75 points, etc.