Every diamond is unique and has a beauty all of its own.  There is a huge choice available – something to site every budget.  The factors that influence the value are:  The Quality of the diamond – the Clarity, Colour and cut – and its size (Carat weight).

Colour
White diamonds vary enormously in colour with most of them carrying subtle tones of yellow, brown and grey.  Very few are truly colourless, and these are the rarest and most highly valued. 

An unskilled eye would struggle to differentiate between two adjacent grades of colour, but a qualified and experienced AnchorCert gemmologist, assisted by a pure white light and GIA master “comparison stones” (stones graded and recorded at the Gemological Institute of America) can accurately classify diamonds according to recognised colour grading scales.  The colour scale starts at D (Colourless) and ends at Z (Colours).  Following on from Z, diamonds are graded as ‘Fancy colours’.

‘Fancy’ coloured diamonds are rare, attractive and desirable, and command high prices.  They exist in various hues of yellow, brown, orange, pink, red, green and blue. 

There is no such thing as the “Correct” Colour – it is just one of the factors which makes a diamond unique and should be used as a guide and not a rigid rule.

Cut
Round Brilliant is the most popular polished diamond shape.  Traditionally a round brilliant has 58 facets. The facets are aligned at precise angles in relation to each other to maximize the light reflected through the diamond.  The shape of the finished gemstone will vary according to the natural characteristics of the stone and the skill of the cutter. It is one of the most important aspects of a diamond.  The quality of cut will significantly affect the look and therefore the value of your diamond. 

Diamonds are also cut in other shapes, depending on the original form the rough diamond takes.  These include emerald, heart, marquise, oval, pear and princess cut.

A rough diamond looks like a dull pebble.  It takes hours of expert skill to reveal a diamond’s inner beauty by cutting and polishing it to perfection.  The cutter will fashion and polish the stone so that light is reflected from one facet to another and then dispersed through the top of the stone.  It is the way a diamond reflects and refracts light that makes it a thing of beauty.  When the maximum amount of light is reflected, a diamond sparkles with fire, brilliance and scintillation.   The most ideal and accurate proportions can be mathematically calculated to generate 100% brilliance in a diamond.

The girdle is the outer edge of a diamond.  It can be bruted (leaving a matt finish), faceted or fully polished. It is rated in terms of thickness in a scale ranging from Extremely Thin to Extremely Thick.

The culet is found at the bottom of a stone, parallel to the table and in many cases is actually a very small facet designed to protect the diamond from damage or abrasion. 

The polish of a diamond reflects its extreme hardness.  This enables the facets and faces to be polished extremely precisely giving crisp, clean edges.

The symmetry of a diamond refers to the positioning and alignment of the facets on a diamond in relation to each other.

Clarity
It is rare to find a perfectly clear diamond.  Most diamonds contain tiny imperfections, called inclusions, which are created by nature and make every diamond unique.  Inclusions can range from minute dark or light solid fragments, crystals, cleavages, fractures and feathers.  Many inclusions are invisible to the naked eye and can only be assessed by a gemmologist using magnification.  The more inclusions a stone contains and the easier they are to detect will determine the clarity grade.  Diamonds which have inclusions visible to the naked eye are rated lowest on the clarity scale (I1, I2, and I3.)

As with colour, clarity affects value and is graded on a recognised scale from the extremely rare flawless (FL/IF) through to eye visible inclusions (I3).

Carat
Diamond weight is stated in carats, a measurement derived from the more romantic, (but less accurate) original scale of comparison using the seeds of the carob tree which were very uniform and consistent in weight. Precision balances are now used and a carat has been standardized as equivalent to one fifth of a gram. 

One carat is divided into 100 points, so for example, a diamond weighing half a carat can also be described as weighing 50 points or 0.50 carats.

Diamonds over 1 carat are particularly rare.  Less than 5% of gem quality diamonds achieve this magic weight once they are cut and polished, making them more desirable and, inevitably, more expensive.

• Type Ia - most natural diamonds (up to 98%) belong to this group and contain up to 3% nitrogen.
• Type Ib – natural diamonds of this type are rare, (less than 0.1%), but nearly all synthetic industrial diamonds belong to this group. Type II - Diamonds contain either very minute traces of nitrogen or no nitrogen at all
• Type IIa diamonds are very rare in nature.  They are very often completely colourless withan extreme transparency.  Many of the famous historical diamonds such as the Cullinan and Koh-i-Noor are Type IIa.
• Type IIb diamonds are also rare in nature.  They contain even less nitrogen than Type IIa.  When boron is present in these diamonds they conduct electricity and are blue in colour

Caring For Your Diamond
A Diamond is the hardest substance found in nature.  It is resistant to damage by heat or scratching and can be cut or polished only by another diamond.  However, an extremely hard blow to the girdle can cause a diamond to chip.  The Diamond should be set in a relatively protective setting and with due care it can keep your diamond intact for a lifetime.  Exposure during ordinary wear to perspiration and household chemicals such as chlorine and hairspray can cause build up that dulls the surface of a diamond.  Periodic cleaning is suggested to keep the diamond brilliant and refractive.

Cleaning A Diamond
A solution of one part ammonia and six parts water can be used to clean diamond jewellery at home.  If cleaning by hand, gentle scrubbing with a soft brush will loosen most dirt and greatly increase the brilliance of the diamond.  Be careful not to scratch the metal of the setting.  Once a year it may be a good idea to have the diamond cleaned and have the security of the setting checked.

Storing Diamond Jewellery
Diamond Jewellery can be stored individually in soft cloth pouches when not being worn to prevent the diamond or diamonds from scratching or dulling other jewellery.