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 Diamond Information
Diamonds sold at Little 15 Jewellery are warranted by our
suppliers to be ethically sourced diamonds which conform to the
Kimberley Process therefore ‘conflict free’.To find out more look at www.kimberleyprocess.com
Clarity, Colour Cut & Carat
A diamond’s value depends on four sets of characteristics – the famous 4Cs, CLARITY, COLOUR, CUT and CARAT.
CLARITY
– refers to the number of visible imperfections or ‘inclusions’ in a
diamond. These can be tiny fractures or minerals trapped within the
stone. When viewed through a ‘loupe’ – the 10x magnifying tool
jewellers use to look at diamonds – they may appear like minute clouds,
crystals or feathers. The size and position of such inclusions in a
diamond is important in terms of its value.
If they are at the side
they may be hidden by the mount and may have little effect on the
stone’s beauty or brilliance. If they are at the top or in the middle
of the diamond however they may impact upon the light dispersion and
make the diamond less brilliant and less desirable. Clarity is graded
on a scale from Flawless (FL) to Included (I). The grading is as
follows:
FL - Flawless - no inclusions or surface blemishes under 10x magnification
IF - Internally Flawless – no inclusions and only insignificant surface blemishes under 10x magnification
VVSI - VVS2 Very, very, small inclusions – extremely difficult to see
SI1 - SI 2 Slightly included
I 1 - I 13 Included - inclusions visible to the naked eye (sometimes referred to as P1 – P3 or piqued.
COLOUR
– refers to how ‘colourless’ a diamond is. The scale used ranges from
the most-coveted, icy white perfection of D (colourless) to Z which
describes the more brown/yellow diamonds.
Not all diamonds
are white. Rare ‘fancy’ diamonds come in glorious canary yellow, soft
blue, green, orange, pink, and red which is the rarest of them all.
Black and brown/beige or ‘champagne’ diamonds as they a known, are
currently particularly fashionable.
CUT – The brilliance
of a diamond is determined by the precision with which it is cut.
Perfect proportions allow light to reflect internally and disperse
through the top of the diamond, giving it that unmistakable sparkle.
The round brilliant cut is the most popular shape, although there are
others such as emerald, princess, oval, marquise, pear and heart.
CARAT
– refers to the weight of the diamond, not as is frequently assumed,
its size. One carat weighs 200 milligrams or a fifth of a gram. A
Carat can be divided into 100 ‘points’ – which means that a diamond
weighing ¾ of a carat can also be termed as having 75 points, a 75
pointer or being 0.75 ct. Given equivalent grading for clarity, colour
and cut, the factor which determines the scarcity of a diamond is its
weight. Good quality large diamonds are scarce and hence highly
prized.
Conflict-free Diamonds: Diamonds are often
associated with conflict, corruption and misery in the countries where
they are mined and it is important to us that we act responsibly as a
retailer and support designers who use ethically sourced diamonds. The
'Kimberly Process' was set up to control the system of import and
export of rough diamonds and ensure the use of conflict-free diamonds
in the jewellery trade. It is estimated that only 1% of the annual
production of diamonds are traded outside the Kimberly Process. |
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