Hello and welcome to 2016! It’s the start of a brand new, bright year, so what better way to kick-start our blog than with a post about some shiny new diamonds?!

It is proposal season after all, and no proposal is complete without a bit of sparkle, which is why we’ve put together the ultimate guide for you (with a little help from the folks at Tiffany & Co who make us feel some serious diamond envy).

 The 4 Cs

The Cut:

When we think about a diamond cut, we think about the shapes, whether it be round, emerald, pearl or so on. However, a diamond’s cut grade is really about how well its facets interact with the light. Out of all the diamond 4Cs, it is the most complex and technically difficult to analyse.

The Colour:

You evaluate a diamond on the absence of colour. For example, a chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond without any hint of colour (like a drop of water) has a higher value. The most widely accepted grading system is the D-to-Z colour-grading system, which measures the degree of colourness by comparing a stone under controlled lighting and precise viewing conditions.

The Clarity:

Evaluating the clarity of a diamond involves determining various characteristics such as the number, size, relief, nature and position of the stone as well as seeing how they affect its overall appearance. While no diamond is perfectly pure, the closer it comes, the higher its value. There are usually 6 categories, with 11 specific grades used to determine the value, with many inclusions and blemishes unnoticeable by the naked eye, which is why an accurate assessment from an expert is so important.

The Carat:

This is the measurement of weight. Each diamond carat is subdivided into 100 points to allow very precise measurements to the hundredth decimal. Therefore a diamond can even weigh as little as 0.25. Typically, the price of a diamond increases with its diamond carat weight, however you should remember that even two diamonds of equal carat weight can have very different values depending on the other Cs.

If you’re looking for someone to accompany you on your diamond shopping trip then give us a shout. We’re always happy to shop for something new and sparkly. Jokes apart though, we hope your 2016 is full of many bright and shiny moments.