diamond clarity

We look under various lighting conditions to make an optical assessment of the fire, scintillation, brightness and contrast of the diamond. We also then assess the lustre of the diamond to check how well the light reflects off the facets and also whether the diamond has any milkiness.

For round diamond we check the quality of the Hearts and Arrows pattern, ensuring the diamond has perfect optical symmetry to give the best light return. Fancy shaped stones, like princess cut, are checked to make sure they are the right shape and proportions.

We then put it in a white tray to check the colour of the stone and see if the diamond has any colour overtones. Stones can have green or brown tinges depending upon their country of origin and this characteristic isn’t graded by GIA.

Lastly we check the documentation and provenance of the diamond. This is to ensure not only every diamond that we offer complies with the Kimberley process, but that we know the exact details of the supply chain of the diamond, so we can guarantee every diamond passes our ethical and quality standards. You can buy with confidence knowing that our diamond experts have checked every detail of the diamond to ensure it will match the highest of expectations.

Description

Whether you are looking to learn a bit more about diamonds or you would like to become more of an expert, our diamond videos and diamond guides are made just for you. In this video, we explain 'diamond cut' and why it is so important to how beautiful the diamond looks.

Video Transcript

In some cases, a diamond can be made too shallow. Again this means that the angles are less than optimal, so light leaks through the bottom of the stone. A round brilliant diamond is given a cut grade by the major grading labs like GIA, IGI and HRD. These grades are Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent.

The cut grade gives you a good starting point guide but it is worth knowing that each grade involves a range of quality, so two diamonds which for example are both Excellent Cut will often have differing levels of optical performance.

Here is a comparison between a GIA "good cut" and one of our Hearts and Arrows diamonds which has been graded Excellent cut by GIA. You are looking to see which stone has more flashes of refracted colour as it moves through the light - this is what you will see when you view the diamond in direct sunlight or office lighting.

Comparing the brightness of the two diamonds, the hearts and arrows has a lot more white light return and so looks the brighter diamond with better contrast pattern. The differences you are seeing are down to the quality of cut of the stone. When you are choosing a diamond, if you want it to be a beautiful as possible, it is important to choose the very cut possible.