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 Diamond Guide |
cut
All diamonds are created equal. They may have different tones or colors and they may have different internal characteristics, but basically a diamond crystal is a diamond crystal. It is what man does with the crystal that defines its beauty. How perfect does the cut have to be to dazzle you? What level of craftsmanship defines the love you want it to express? What do you want the diamond to do when you present it or select it for yourself?
A diamond can have perfect clarity and color (D Color, Flawless Clarity), but if the color is off, the diamond will not dazzle. Cut is the only one of the 4 C's that is determined by mankind. Thus we refer to the cut as the craftsmanship quality, or make of a diamond. We offer "Ideal Cuts", "Triple Zeros", the patented superb cutting style of "Criss Cuts", and the ultimate in brilliance and sparkle, the "Hearts On Fire Round Diamond" and the "Hearts On Fire Dream Diamond".
The cut of the diamond is the most difficult of the 4 C's to understand. It is a subject of mirrors and windows, reflection and refraction. It's the physics of light that produces sparkle, prismatic colors and scintillation, the elements of its beauty. We can explain how it works and why, but how can you select from what you can't see. No amount of information about angles and proportions can equal what your eyes can reveal. We are professionally trained to show you the difference in diamond cuts and help you choose. We want to be a part of your education and well informed choice of a diamond.
color
Diamonds are graded or categorized by color with the whitest diamond being of "D" color and descending through the alphabet to "Z" color as the subtle amount of the density of hue increases. Seems simple enough, easy to understand. Finished or faceted diamonds are all graded upside down. Your eye can note the subtle difference between different colored diamonds when they are placed table down on a white background under daylight simulated light and viewed at the correct angle. But why is it when the diamond is place table up or right side up that some "H" colored diamonds look whiter than some "F" colored diamonds. It's actually the cut that causes this confusion. A perfectly cut stone throws back more white light than a well cut stone and it appears whiter. Sometimes, we need to decide if we want to look at our diamonds upside down or right side up to select the perfect one.
clarity
The clarity is the number and placement of inclusions or flaws that occur naturally in a diamonds crystal. Some of these inclusions can detract from a diamond's beauty because they may be visible or of sufficient size that they interrupt the diamond's dazzling light show. Once again it's important to buy what you can see in a diamond. Make sure that you can see everything that is inside a diamond. Use a microscope and have a professional show you every nuance or inclusion of a diamond's crystal. A loupe or ten power hand held magnifier won't suffice. You need to see everything inside a stone to make an educated selection. And as for buying a stone based on its paper's or certificates alone, well keep in mind that all diamonds graded by any gem lab are graded by humans. One grader's SI1 clarity grade (slightly imperfect one clarity grade) may not be another grader's SI1 clarity grade. You need to see the stone and become educated in the visual differences to make your best selection.
carat
A carob seed was an early form of weight measure as they were pretty uniform in nature. From this evolved the more precise carat measurement. For some, a carat is a fifth of a gram and for others a carat is how big the rock on her finger is. It's not about size though. It's about weight. Why is it that some 2 carat diamonds look so much smaller than other 2 carat diamonds? Did they go on a diet? No, actually they are much plumper or thicker in the middle than a larger appearing 2 carat diamond. A more perfectly cut diamond will appear larger than a lesser cut diamond. It will have been cut for beauty rather than weight and will throw out more light; more sparkle and have a larger visual area. We want you to have the right size diamond, but most of all we want you to have the most beautiful diamond.
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