Education is at the core of what we do.
The 4Cs are the perfect place to start, but they don't tell the full story of a diamond.
At UD, we pride ourselves on educating our clients and reviewing every diamond in its entirety.
Before recommending any diamond, we take a comprehensive approach. We assess proportions and ratio, fluorescence, the grading certificate, any treatments, light performance, and the overall visual beauty of the stone. It is this meticulous review process that determines whether a diamond meets our standards and earns a place in our collection.
Number One
Cut
The cut is often considered the most important factor because it dictates how much the diamond sparkles. Before a diamond is cut, the location of inclusions and flaws, the natural colouration, and the original shape of the rough stone are studied extensively.
Number two
Colour
Diamonds are graded based on the amount of colour they do or do not possess. The scale runs from D (colourless) to Z (light yellow). An absolutely colourless diamond is rare and therefore very valuable.
Colour is a personal preference no one colour is better than another, some clients love thier stone to have some warmth, others are after that crisp white colour.
Number three
Clarity
Clarity measures the purity of the diamond and the presence (or absence) of natural flaws, known as "inclusions" (internal) and "blemishes" (external)
The clarity is judged by the number and types of these characteristics and is designated using a scale that runs from Fl, defined as flawless, to I3, defined as inclusions visible with the naked eye.
Often clarity scales are exaggerated, we educate our clients on what inclusions are ok and what to avoid.
Number Four
Carat
Carat is the metric used to measure a diamond's weight, not its physical size. You can have two 1ct diamonds that look different sizes.
Different shapes also hold thier weight, some in the base of the diamond appearing smaller and others in the table appearing larger.
No to be confused with Karat
Carat weight can also be divided further by using points. There are 100 points in one carat.
So a 1/4 (.25) carat stone can also be expressed as 25 points (pt) and mean exactly the same thing.