Diamonds. 1919 ideal cut. CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIAMOND FOR YOUR LOVED ONES.

INTRODUCTION

A diamond is a salute to the precious moments in our lives, a dazzling (exciting, extremely attractive) reminder of someone’s love, a reward for a great accomplishment (something that is successful or is achieved after a lot of work or efforts) and an enduring (existing for a long time) symbol to be treasured and celebrated.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIAMOND

Diamonds are graded using a universal system that assesses the stone on its colour, clarity, cut and carat-weight, commonly known as the ‘Four Cs’. Every diamond, no matter how large or small, has a set of unique characteristics that determine its value.

COLOUR

Colour refers to the presence or absence of a yellow or brown tint in white diamonds. The closer a diamond is to colourless, the more rare and valuable it is.

Most diamonds appear colourless to an untrained eye, yet many have slight tones of yellow or brown which affect its value. (The exception to this is fancy-coloured diamonds, such as deep yellows, pinks and blues, which lie outside the white diamond colour range.)

The colour of a diamond is measured on an alphabetical scale starting from D (colourless). Each letter grade has a clearly defined range of colour appearance that determines its value, and as you move down the scale, the colour tint in the diamond increases.

D:	Absolutely colourless. The most rare and most valuable. Less than 1% of diamond’s mined worldwide are graded as colour D.
E – F:	Also considered colourless, even though it is a minimal trace of colour that can only be detected by an expert gemmologist. Less rare than D, and more valuable than G – H.
G – H:	Near colourless. To the eye these diamonds appear clear and colourless, although they also contain minute traces of colour. Less rare than E – F, but more valuable than I – J.
I – J:	Near colourless with a faint tint of yellow not easily identified by the eye. Less rare than G – H, but more valuable than K – L.
K – L:	Faint yellow tint, visible to the eye. Less rare than I – J, but slightly more valuable than M – N.
M – Z:	Very light yellow, easily identified by the eye. Least valuable of the diamond colour grade.
Fancy Yellow:	More rare and more valuable than the colourless and near colourless white diamonds. These diamonds contain nitrogen which results in a yellow appearance. The more yellow the diamond is, the more rare and more valuable it is. Yellow diamonds are graded Light Fancy Yellow, Fancy Yellow, and Intense Fancy Yellow.

CARAT.

The carat of a diamond is determined by the weight and not the shape of the gemstone; in this case a one carat diamond is an estimated 200 milligrams. During the grading process a jeweller will establish the carat weight of a diamond by subdividing the gemstone into 100 points. For example, instead of referring to a 0.25 carat diamond a jeweller will refer to the stone as a 25 pointer. A one carat diamond is more valuable than a half a carat diamond, considering that the stone has been cut correctly. Even though the weight of the diamond plays a big part in the grading process, the other qualities of the diamond should also be considered.

CLARITY

Clarity measures the incidence of natural inclusions or imperfections found in a diamond. The closer a diamond is to flawless, i.e.: no inclusions visible through a jewellers loupe, the more rare it is and the greater its value. Most inclusions are not visible to the naked eye, so diamonds are examined under a 10x magnifying loupe to determine their clarity.

Clarity characteristics are usually divided into two categories:

· Inclusions: imperfections that occur naturally inside the diamond itself. These were formed miles below the surface, when the diamond was formed under intense heat and pressure.

· Blemishes: imperfections that occur on the surface of the diamond and occur during the cutting and polishing process.

A diamond’s clarity is determined by the number, size, type and placement of the inclusions, such as tiny white points, dark dots, or feathery cracks naturally found in the diamond. A diamond’s clarity is unique and acts as a fingerprint. When choosing a diamond, you should select a clarity grade in which the inclusions are not visible without magnification. In other words, we recommend diamonds with a clarity grade of SI2 and up.

DIAMOND CLARITY SCALE:

F (Flawless):	No inclusions or blemishes visible to a skilled gemmologist under a 10x magnification loupe.
IF (Internally Flawless):	No visible inclusions under a 10x magnification loupe, insignificant surface blemishes.
VVS1 – VVS2 (Very Very Slight Inclusions):	Minute inclusions so small they are hardly visible under a 10x magnification loupe. Not visible to the naked eye.
VS1 – VS2 (Very Slight Inclusions):	Minor inclusions that are visible under a 10x magnification loupe. Not visible to the naked eye.
SI1 – SI2 (Slight Inclusions):	Noticeable inclusions seen under a 10x magnification loupe. Not visible to the naked eye.
I1 – I2 – I3 (Included):	Inclusions are large and noticeable to the naked eye. For this reason, Shimansky carries only FL to SI clarity diamonds.

CUT

A diamond’s cut is not just a description of its shape, it is the most important factor in determining its fire, brilliance and scintillation (a spark, a flash). While nature determines the colour, clarity and carat of a stone, the cut is in the hands of the master diamond cutter.

Essentially, the cut of a diamond determines how effectively light that enters the stone is refracted within and reflected back through the top of the diamond. Factors such as proportion, symmetry and polish affect the quality of the diamond: the closer they are to perfect, the better the diamond will perform in terms of fire, brilliance and scintillation.

A diamond cut to ideal proportion and symmetry will reflect the perfect balance of light back through the top of the stone, while a poorly cut diamond will result in a loss of light, and hence sparkle, through the sides and bottom.