Besides offering exquisite, well-crafted fine jewelry, we take the time to educate each buyer about our products. We believe a customer's jewelry buying experience is enhanced by their knowledge of the characteristics of the gems, metals and workmanship that were used in creating their purchase.

Cut

The cut of a diamond is one of the most important characteristics. This refers to its depth and width proportions, in addition to its overall uniformity. The angles and finish of a cut diamond determine its ability to reflect light and produce sparkle.

Most round brilliant cut or fancy shaped diamonds have 57 or more facets. Facets are the carefully polished, angled surfaces on the diamond. It is the precision placement of each facet that gives your diamond the ultimate amount of brilliance and fire. A well-polished diamond reflects the maximum amount of light back to the eye.

An ideal cut diamond is one that has been cut to ideal proportions. This set of proportions allows all of the light entering the diamond to be dispersed and completely reflected back up through the table creating more brilliance and fire.

When a diamond is cut too shallow or too deep, much of the light is lost through the bottom and sides. The diamond may appear dark in the center or dull overall.

Color

While many diamonds appear colorless or white, diamonds are available in many different colors. Color variations are a result of temperature, pressure, and trace elements at work during the formation of diamonds in the earth. Many diamonds contain varying shades of yellow, brown and even gray. Typically the less color a diamond has, the rarer it is. The difference between grades is very subtle, and grading requires a master set of diamonds for accurate color grading.

Clarity

Clarity is an indication of a diamond’s purity. It is determined by a diamond’s naturally occurring internal characteristics. Clarity is determined by a trained professional using ten-power magnification. Almost all diamonds contain naturally occurring marks referred to as inclusions. The size, nature, location and number of inclusions determine a diamond’s clarity grade and affect its value. The fewer inclusions there are, the rarer your diamond will be. Without a jeweler’s loop or a microscope, you will probably never see the inclusions.

Carat Weight

Diamond weight is measured in carats. One carat is equal to 100 points so that a 1/2 carat diamond is 50 points or .50 carats. Carat weight is the easiest of the 4 C’s to determine as one only needs a scale. Two diamonds with equal weight can be very different in value based upon the other 3 C’s—cut, color and clarity.