These basic 4'C of Diamond Characteristics - for Natural Mined/Alluvial and Lab Grown Diamonds

Cut

Diamonds cut with shallow or deep culets can and will detract from the overall sparkle and brilliance. We’ve all heard the stories, ‘look for a diamond that looks big big weighs less’

That’s fine but well cut Diamonds are just that “WELL CUT” they will have the correct percentages to make the diamond IDEAL.

These Cut Grades based on a Round Brilliant Cut Diamond:

IDEAL /EXCELLENT – perfect symmetry and faceting – Often described as ‘Hearts & Arrows’ in Round Brilliant Cuts.

VERY GOOD – very good symmetry and faceting

GOOD – good symmetry and faceting tend to be shallow or deep cut

FAIR – fair symmetry and faceting are usually shallow or deep cut

POOR – poor symmetry and faceting are definitely shallow or deep cut

Colour

Deciding the best diamond colour can be based on your budget along with your preference and often your design of the ring.

Throughout the world a persons culture, value and views of colour vary vastly. Some people can immediately detect a top rated diamond colour that is outside the colorless range.

COLOURLESS – D,E and F are considered to be colourless diamonds

NEAR COLOURLESS – G,H,I,J and K are considered to be near colourless diamonds

NOTICEABLE – L to M graded diamonds are considered to have a noticeable colour

FANCY COLOUR – M to Z graded diamonds are often referred to as fancy in colour

Most engagement ring buyers are searching for diamonds that are mainly white and colourless . Diamonds in the near-colorless range (G,H,I,J and K) generally fit this criteria. It’s no surprise to tell you that near-colorless diamonds cost far less than colourless ones do. Many many of our clients have found the ultimate diamond and the best value in this range.

Me Jewellery has a complete diamond colour set to show you in person what are the true colours.

CLARITY

Selecting the clarity of a diamond is also very important when choosing diamonds. Let’s look at the grades first. These grades are based on using a 10 x Magnification eye loupe.

FL – Flawless in everyway

IF – Internally Flawless in everyway

VVS1 & VVS2 – Slight Inclusions only detectable by a skilled Gemmologist and Diamond Grader.

VS1 & VS2 – Minor inclusions are noted by a Gemmologist and Diamond Grader.

SI1 & SI2 – Noticeable inclusions are readily detected by even the untrained Grader.

I1, I2 & I3 – Obvious to very obvious inclusions are seen and can affect brilliance and the correct refraction of light.

The diamond grading scale above is also indicative of the pricing structure of those clarities. Let’s consider the two top clarities FL & IF, both of these clarities are extremely rare and attract a high price point. Both of those Clarities are often purchased as Investment Diamonds. Most discerning diamond buyers are more interested in what is called “eye clean” stock. There is some logic to selecting those clarities that exceed “eye clean”, simply because the presence of some inclusions can occasionally impact the refraction of light within the diamond. Even if these inclusions such as SI Clarity diamonds may impact your diamonds fore and brilliance.

CARAT WEIGHT

The forth part of the “4C’s” is the actual size of your diamond by weight alone. A diamonds carat weight is a measurement of how much a diamond weighs in Metric measurements. A metric “carat” is defined as 200 milligrams. Each carat can be subdivided into 100 ‘points. eg

A 1 carat diamond weighs 100 points and is written as 1.00ct

This not only provides a very accurate way to universally grade but to be within a hundredth decimal place. Jewelers will usually give the weight of a diamond below one carat by its ‘points’ alone. eg

A diamond that weighs 50 points is written as 0.50ct

Often described by many jewellers as a ‘fifty pointer’ or a ’half carater’. Of interest is that diamonds can be a variety of diameters yet will weigh the same in points.

Hearts & Arrows

Over time, diamond cutters around the world have modified their cutting techniques and angles of today’s diamonds. None more so than the cuts seen on Round Brilliant Cuts, and Modified Cushion Cut Diamonds. Precision cutting of diamonds has introduced a new term when selecting the perfect diamond, “Hearts and Arrows”.

Very briefly the term “Hearts and Arrows” can be seen in the image on the right. Eight clearly visible ‘Arrows’ which display from looking through the crown (Top) of the diamond and eight “Heart” shapes which can be seen from looking at the pavilion (bottom) of the diamond. This can only really be seen through a Hearts and Arrows viewer. The red colour shown here is just a reflection from viewer. Me Jewellery has access to a viewer and can show personally show you these Hearts and Arrows.

A “Heart and Arrows” cut diamond is for those that are seeking the best! Me Jewellery are Specialists for Hearts and Arrows Diamonds.

CERTIFICATION

The “GIA” Gemological Institute of America is probably to worlds most ‘trusted’ when it comes to accurate diamond grading. After all they were the inventors of the 4 C’s diamond grading system that we use today. They certify Natural and Lab Grown Diamonds but the majority of their work is primarily Natural.

The “AGS” American Gemological Society is another gem laboratory based in the United States . Instead of using an alphabetical rating method like that introduced by the GIA, AGS uses a scale of 0-10 for rating a diamond’s characteristics, with 0 as the best and 10 as the worst.

The “ADGL” Australian Diamond Grading Laboratory is an independently owned and operated lab however utilises GIA ‘Facetware’ GIA ‘FacetScan’ and other reputable testing equipment. The ADGL is based in Queensland Australia and is operated by a diamond grader with over 30 years of experience in GIA and GAA ‘Gemmological Association of Australia’ training.

The “IGI” International Gemological Institute are more widely known in Europe (Antwerp) and throughout Asia and the USA, with offices all over the world. They are becoming Global Competitors in their field. The IGI certify both Natural and Lab Grown Diamonds with a vast amount of their work dealing in Lab Grown Diamonds. They’re Certificates are detailed and very good, quite often describing Hearts and Arrows Ideal cutting on their certificates. Of special interest of late is that they are also ‘noting’ if their are any obvious signs of ‘Post Production’ enhancements in Lab Grown Diamonds.

These diamond grading laboratories are not an extensive list

Coloured Diamonds

Searching for the best, the rarest or something more unique in colour ?

Me Jewellery has access to a selection of outstanding Natural mined heat treated diamonds & Coloured laboratory diamonds. Contact us if you are searching for something unique from the Argyle Mine or a unique coloured diamond requirements and we’ll search for the best possible diamond.

Lab Grown Diamonds

Blood diamonds have long been a red flag over the Natural Diamond Industry. Now with the production of Lab Grown Diamonds, this is a more affordable but ethical solution. We have access to tens of thousands of Lab Grown Diamonds and GIA, IGI & GCAL Certified Lab Diamonds.

To make an educated decision we have FAQ’s you can read with important information that will help you weigh up the pros and cons. We definitely think they are a great alternative to Naturally Mined Diamonds.

Various shapes and inclusion densities of Salt and Pepper Diamonds

Salt and pepper Diamonds

Not sure what they are? salt and pepper diamonds are natural diamonds but with black and white spots or specs inside the Diamond.

Are salt and pepper diamonds cheaper?

Almost all Diamonds have some form of imperfection inside them, thse are called “inclusions”. The less inclusions, the dearer and rarer, and the more inclusions the cheaper and more common. So yes they are cheaper than a traditional White Diamond. That being said, Salt and Pepper Diamonds are unique in themselves with no two being identical and no real grading scale exists.

Types of salt and pepper diamonds.

As you can see in the image, salt and pepper diamonds vary immensly from mildly spotted to grey, marbled or near black. They are also usually only ‘Rose Cut’. This cut has facets on one side and the bottom being flat.

*Images: The images used-depicted on this page are borrowed from websites indicated are either our own or have been displayed as ‘Fair Use’ and will remove them if requested to do so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_us

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