Melbourne client care · Made in Surat
Cut. Colour. Clarity. Carat. These four qualities determine the appearance and value of every diamond — lab grown or mined. Understanding what each one actually means, and how to prioritise them within a budget, is the difference between making a great decision and a regrettable one.
Cut is the most important of the four. It is also the most misunderstood. Cut does not refer to the shape of the diamond — round, oval, pear, emerald. Cut refers to the quality of the faceting — how precisely the stone has been cut so that light enters, reflects and returns through the top of the stone.
A poorly cut diamond will look dull and lifeless regardless of how large it is or how high its colour and clarity grades are. An excellent cut diamond will sparkle intensely. If you have to compromise somewhere in the 4Cs, cut is the last place to do it.
Diamond colour is graded on a scale from D to Z. D is completely colourless — the rarest and most valued. Z has a noticeable yellow or brown tint. The difference between adjacent grades on the scale is almost impossible to detect with the naked eye, and even more difficult to see once a stone is set in metal.
The important thing to know: you do not need a D colour diamond to have a beautiful, brilliant ring. Most people cannot distinguish between D and G without laboratory equipment. Choosing a G or H instead of a D can save a significant amount of money with no visible difference in the finished ring.
Clarity refers to the presence or absence of internal imperfections (inclusions) and surface blemishes in a diamond. Every diamond — lab grown or mined — forms with some degree of internal characteristic. The clarity grade tells you how significant those characteristics are and whether they affect the appearance of the stone.
The key concept is eye-clean. An eye-clean diamond is one where no inclusions are visible to the naked eye at a normal viewing distance. You do not need a flawless diamond to have an eye-clean diamond — and eye-clean is what matters when you are wearing a ring, not looking at it under a loupe.
Carat is a unit of weight, not size. One carat equals 0.2 grams. Two diamonds of the same carat weight can look very different in size depending on their shape and cut — a well-cut oval will appear larger than a round of the same weight because of how the stone is proportioned.
Carat is the number most buyers fixate on — but it is probably the least important of the four for the actual appearance of the ring. A 0.9ct stone that is cut to Excellent grade will look better and appear nearly the same size as a 1.0ct stone cut to a lower grade.
Browse our IGI certified lab grown diamond collection or talk to our team. We will help you choose the best stone for your budget.
