Diamond info Hallmarking and Ring sizes

The 4 Cs of a diamond are Carat, Clarity, Colour and Cut. Each of these characteristics

alters the diamonds look and value.

Carat

Carat is the unit weight used to weigh diamonds.

1ct = 200 milligrams in weight.

Two diamonds of equal carat weight might vary greatly in value depending upon their cut, color and clarity. This is important because when mounted, one diamond may appearlarger than the other, although they actually weigh the same. Because large diamonds are rare, they generally have a greater value per carat. For example, the price of a two-carat stone will be several times higher than four 0.50ct diamonds of equal quality.

Clarity

The Clarity scale ranges from F to I3. Due to the way natural diamonds are formed under extreme heat and pressure, it is very rare to find a diamond that has no internal or external flaws. These characteristics allow gemologists to differentiate individual natural diamonds from synthetic and simulate diamonds.

There are a number of different types of inclusions or imperfections that can be found in a diamond and some are more noticeable than others. The inclusions found in an I clarity diamond can be seen with the naked eye but this does not necessarily mean it will be a bad looking diamond as some inclusion are hardly noticeable especially to the untrained eye. SI1 and SI2 inclusions are not visible to the naked and can only be seen under 10x magnify.

Colour

The colour scale ranges from D to Z  with the most commonly used colours for jewellery been G to I which are nearly colourless or slightly yellow.

When graded, colours of diamonds are determined by comparing them to a master set. Each letter between D & Z represents a noticeable shade of colour.

Cut

The Cut scale ranges  from Excellent to Poor.

The grades are determined by the way light behaves within the diamond and how it returns to your eye. Characteristics like fire and scintillation (flashes of light and colour) are taken into account when grading the cut.

It is the proportions and symmetry of the diamond that affect the way light behaves within it, and as a result, affects its overall appeal. Thus why cut grade is considered a very important factor.

Clarity Enhanced

A clarity enhanced diamond is a real natural diamond that is mined from the ground and is not created or man-made. The method of clarity enhancing is to optically remove feathers and other internal inclusions that almost every diamond contains. To achieve this, the diamond goes trough a high temperature and high pressure thin film infusion process using state-of-art-technology. The thin film material is set to match the reflective index of the diamond itself thus increasing the clarity. This process results in the diamond's clarity being improved on average by one and a half grades, but does not add any measurable weight. By filling the inclusion, light traveling through the diamond will not reflect in an erroneous manner when it hits the filling, giving you a more visually dazzling diamond.

Diamond Size Chart

Ring Sizes

Hallmarking

All items being sold as gold, silver or platinum in the UK must be hallmarked to confirm that they meet the legal standard. This cannot be done by the manufacturer or importer; goods must be submitted to one of the four UK Assay Offices, or an Assay Office belonging to the International Convention.

The only items which are exempt are those which are under the legal weight threshold, 
1 gram for gold, 0.5 grams for platinum and 7.78 grams for silver.