The Ultimate Diamonds Guide
Everything you need to know about buying diamonds, from settling on a style to choosing a metal type, as well as diamond clarity.
SETTING OF THE DIAMOND
HALO
A halo ring features a center diamond surrounded by a circle of smaller diamonds. A bold style that stands out in a stack.
SOLITAIRE
A solitaire ring is an engagement ring with a single, solitaire diamond. A classic style that emphasizes the center stone.
SIDESTONE
THREE STONE
Just what it sounds like—three diamonds side by side. Traditionally thought to represent the past, present, and future of a relationship.
BEZEL
PAVE
Pave (pronounced pah-vay) is a French word that means “paved.” Rings with pave bands look like they’ve been paved with diamonds—there is little visible metal, meaning maximum visible sparkle.
DIAMOND BAND
ALL-METAL BAND
A band that has no diamonds on it.
DIAMOND CUTS
This is probably the most important when it comes to determining a diamond’s value and beauty. It shows the skill of the cutter who fashioned the diamond to bring out the brilliance and scintillation of the diamond to make it sparkle from across the room. Technology can be used to assess the diamond’s light performance and hence the quality of its cut. A diamond’s light performance depends on the cutter’s decision of angles and placement of the facets, as well as the skill to place those facets precisely. Getting a diamond to its full luster takes time and careful polishing. Like minute scratches that dull a glass surface, a poor polish can reduce the brightness and sparkle of a diamond. The quality of the cut also affects a diamond’s value, and can increase it by up to 50% more. When the cut is more precise, the more captivating it is to the eye.
DIAMOND COLOR
Not all diamonds are colorless, like the ones most often seen in jewelry. In fact, they come in many hues ranging from colorless to light yellow and even light brown. The rarest of these are the colorless diamonds. The ones with color to them are known as fancy, and their grading is unique, like a fingerprint. Determining a color or colorless diamond is done with Comparison Diamonds in a controlled atmosphere.
DIAMOND CLARITY
This is another important thing to look for when buying the perfect diamond, as it can also have an effect on a diamond’s value. Diamonds can have internal characteristics, also known as inclusions, as well as external characteristics that are known as blemishes. A flawless diamond, one that has neither inclusions nor blemishes, is very rare. When a grader looks at clarity, he uses magnification and specific lighting and determines the diamond’s clarity grade based on the particular characteristics he sees.
DIAMOND CARATS
Carats are the units of measurement that are used to determine a diamond’s weight, where one carat is equal to one fifth (1/5) of a gram, and is then divided into 100 points.
LEARN THE ANATOMY OF A DIAMOND
CROWN
TABLE
CULET
PAVILION
FACET
The “faces” or “surfaces” of a diamond that give it its sparkle. Our Round diamond has 57 facets, and our Dream diamond has 70 facets.
GIRDLE
The thin perimeter that separates the top and lower halves of a diamond. We inscribe our Hearts On Fire diamonds with their serial numbers on the girdle.
