Diamond Engagement Rings

The science of diamonds

Formed deep beneath the earth’s surface and comprised of one single element, carbon, diamonds are created under high pressure and temperature conditions. Eventually, the diamonds are ejected towards the earth’s surface to be unearthed by miners. It is then cleaved, cut, and polished to its perfect state ready to be sold.

The 4 Cs of diamond quality

Diamond quality is measured by four quality characteristics named the 4 Cs–cut, clarity, colour and carat weight.

Cut

Cut grades are given only to round diamonds and refers to the balance of proportions achieved by the diamond cutter, not the diamond’s shape, as is commonly mistaken.

Ranging from excellent to poor, a cut grade combines three types of reflections–brilliance, fire and scintillation. For the greatest brilliance and fire, we recommend (and typically only offer) ‘very good’ and ‘excellent’ cut grades for round diamonds, which essentially guarantees a sparkly appearance.

Over 92% of our customers choose an excellent cut grade round diamond.

Clarity

While they’re forming in the earth, diamonds develop natural birthmarks – slight irregularities and features that are visible to a skilled grader under magnification. These are often referred to as ‘clarity characteristics’ and may or may not be visible to the naked eye depending on size, quantity, placement or colour.

To ensure the brilliance and fire that makes diamonds so enchanting, we offer ‘SI1” clarity grades and above. In fact, each diamond is inspected to ensure that any clarity characteristics shouldn’t be visible to the naked eye.

The most frequently selected clarity grade is VS1, closely followed by VVS2, VS2 and VVS1. Each of these clarity grades are excellent choices that are eye clean, meaning they won’t have inclusions visible to the naked eye.

Color

The most popular diamond colour is F, closely followed by E and G. E and F colours are in the colourless category while G is in the near colourless category – all diamonds in the colourless and near colourless category would appear bright and white in appearance.

Carat Weight

Carat is often confused with the size of a diamond, but it is actually a unit that measures weight. Today, one carat is equal to 0.2 grams. Larger diamonds are more rare, and more heavy, which increases their price. Though price increases aren’t steady, they exponentially increase with carat weight. For example, a 1ct diamond would be valued higher than two 0.50ct diamonds of the same quality. In general, a diamond of double the weight can cost three to four times more.

Just because a diamond is bigger, doesn’t mean it’s better. The right diamond isn’t just based on one factor but a combination of all 4 Cs (cut, clarity, colour and carat weight). When choosing a diamond, focus on the quality that’s most important to you, then work to balance the remaining three for the perfect diamond engagement ring.