Oval Allegra Engagement Ring
from $5,800.00
Details Oval cut diamond in a four-prong setting. Pavé melee round brilliant diamond band. Metals Available in 18ct Rose Gold, White Gold, Ye...
View full detailsThe 4 C's of a Diamond
Colour, Clarity, Cut, Carat
At Armans, all of our jewellery is handmade from premium diamonds, precious metals and gemstones. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is one of the most prominent independent diamond laboratories who provide an unbiased assessment of a diamond’s quality according to the 4Cs: colour, clarity, cut and carat. The report also discloses if the diamond has been treated to improve its colour or clarity. All Armans diamonds are GIA certified and come with a GIA certificate which includes a report number. This number can be looked up on GIA’s online database to verify its authenticity.
Colour
The colour of gemstones is based on the absence of colour - meaning that the most desired diamonds are colourless. The most popular colours and diamond types are a combination of pink, blue, brown, yellow, orange, green and red. Yellow is the most common naturally occurring colour in diamonds. The most uncommon colour of diamonds are blue, green, red and completely colourless. GIA’s D to Z colour grading scale begins with D, representing colourless and progresses towards Z which is lightly coloured. The difference in these grades are quite subtle and are sometimes indiscernible to the naked eye, however, these differences have a great impact on the price and quality of your diamond.
Clarity
The immense heat and pressure required to form diamonds can result in a variety of internal (inclusions) and external (blemishes) characteristics and flaws. The GIA Clarity Scale contains 11 grades which considers the size, nature, position, colour and clarity visible under 10x magnification.
- Flawless (FL) - No inclusions or blemishes visible.
- Internal Flawless (IF) - No inclusions are visible but slight blemishes are.
- Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS1 & VVS2) - Minute inclusions that are invisible to the naked eye and very difficult for a grader to see.
- Very Slightly Includes (VS1 & VS2) - Minor inclusions that are visible to a skilled grader but not visible to the naked eye.
- Slightly Included (SI1 & SI2) - Inclusions that are easily visible under magnification and are sometimes visible to the naked eye.
Included (I1, I2 & I3) - Inclusions are obvious and easily visible to the naked eye.
For further information on GIA’s Clarity Scale, please visit their website by clicking the learn more button below.
Cut
Although you may think diamond shapes are different cuts, a diamond’s cut actually relates to how the stone interacts with light to create a sparkling and prismatic effect; brightness, fire and scintillation. The GIA Diamond Cut Scale ranges from Excellent to Poor and takes into account a diamond’s proportions such as symmetry, table size, depth, height and angles. However, the GIA cut scale can only be applied to round cut diamonds. Any other diamond shapes (pear, oval, princess etc.) are referred to as fancy shapes and they do not receive a GIA cut grade due to the variability in their shapes and asymmetry.
Carat
A diamond’s carat weight is how much the stone weighs on a gem scale, with one carat equalling 200 milligrams. Each carat is then divided into 100 points which allows for an extremely precise weight measurement to the hundredth decimal place. As a general rule, the price of a diamond will increase as its carat weight increases due to larger diamonds being rarer and more valuable. It is important to note that a diamond’s cut and shape will also alter its appearance and size. Longer shapes, such as oval and pear, will appear visually larger than round and princess cuts as they have less surface area at the top.
