A guide to diamonds

Diamonds and the Four C’s – Clarity, Colour, Cut and Carat
Clarity

Clarity is a measure of the number and size of the tiny imperfections that occur in almost all diamonds.
Many of these imperfections are microscopic, and do not affect a diamond's beauty.

Diamond Clarity Diagram
Clarity Grades:
  • FL – IF = Flawless, Internally Flawless: No Internal or external imperfections. Internally Flawless: No internal imperfections.
  • VVS1 – VVS2 = Very, Very Slightly Included: Very difficult to see imperfections under 10x magnification.
  • VS1 – VS2 = Very Slightly Included: Imperfections are not typically visible to the unaided eye.
  • SI1 – SI2 = Slightly Included: Imperfections re visible under 10x magnification, and maybe visible with the unaided eye.
  • I1 – I2, I3 = Included: Imperfections are visible with the unaided eye
    • Colour

    Colour refers to a diamond's lack of colour, grading the whiteness of a diamond. A colour grade of D is the highest possible,
    while Z is the lowest. D = Absolutely colourless: The highest colour grade.

    Diamond Clarity Diagram
    Colour Grades:
  • D-F = Colourless: Minute traces of colour can be detected by an expert gemmologist.
  • G-H = Near-colourless: Colour is difficult to detect unless compared side-by-side against diamonds of better grades.
  • I-J = Near-colourless: An exceptional value with slightly detectable warmth or tone.
  • K-M = Noticeable colour: Faint Yellow.
  • N-Z = Noticeable colour: Very light yellow to light yellow.
    • Cut

    Cut is a diamond's most important characteristic. It has the greatest overall influence on a diamond's beauty
    and determines what we generally think of as sparkle.

    Diamond Clarity Diagram
    Cut Grades
  • Ideal Cut: Reflects nearly all light that enters the diamond.
  • Very Good Cut: Reflects nearly as much light as the ideal cut.
  • Good Cut: Reflects most if the light that enters.
  • Fair Cut: Still a quality diamond, but a fair cut will not be as brilliant (sparkly) as a good cut.
  • Poor Cut: (Deep or Shallow) The diamond will lose most of the reflective light out the sides and or the bottom of the diamond.
    • Carat

    Carat is the standard international unit of weight for Diamonds and does not refer directly to the Diamonds size. 1 Carat = 1/5 (0.2) Gram. The Carat is further divided into points; a unit of weight used only for Diamonds. 1 Point = 1/100 (0.01) Carat. We tend to evaluate diamond size by viewing it from the top because that is how diamonds are presented to us when set into a ring.

    At Dominic Walmsley Jewellery, we only use diamonds of a very high quality. All of the diamonds in our collections are of at least F/G in colour and Si1 in purity (unless otherwise stated). In addition, our diamonds have been purchased from legitimate sources and we guarantee - based on personal knowledge and written guarantees by our suppliers - that these diamonds are "conflict-free".

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    Dominic Walmsley Jewellery Limited Studio 2, 21 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DP & 3 The Square, Riverhead, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 2AA