School is in session! Here at the House of Bluestone Goldsmithing, we like to ease some of your fears and uncertainty while making such an important lifetime purchase.

Here’s your quick guide to the fundamental basics of jewelry, including the anatomy of a diamond and metal options. It is our hope that this serves as a guide to enlighten and encourage you to choose the best jewelry for you and the person you love.

All About Diamonds

A diamond is composed of eight components:

  1. Diameter: The width of a polished stone, measured from edge to edge.

  2. Table: The largest polished facet located on the top of the diamond.

  3. Crown: The top part of a diamond extending from the table to the girdle. The crown is made up of bezel facets (crown mains), star facets, upper girdle facets (upper halves), and a table facet.

  4. Girdle: The very edge (widest edge) of the diamond where the crown and pavilion meet.

  5. Pavilion: The bottom part of a diamond extending from the girdle down to the culet.

  6. Depth: The total height of a diamond measured from the table to the culet.

  7. Culet: The small or pointed facet at the very bottom of the diamond.

 

The 4 C's: A Guide to Diamond Grading 

They are characterized by the 4 Cs: Clarity, Cut, Color, and Carat.

Clarity

Clarity refers to the amount of naturally occurring inclusions in the diamond which occurred when the diamond was formed.

The GIA clarity scale includes 11 clarity grades, ranging from Flawless to Included (I3). Flawless indicates that there are no inclusions or blemishes visible at ten times magnification. While a grade of I3 (Included) is assigned to diamonds with inclusions that are obvious to the naked eye.

When selecting a diamond, it is ideal to select a clarity grade in which the inclusions are not visible to the naked eye (clarity grade of Slightly Included -SI and above).

In order to maintain the top most standard and quality, we only work with FL to S1 diamonds.

Cut

The cut of the diamond refers to the way that light reflects through the facets in the stone. In essence, the cut determines the amount of shine that the diamond will have, regardless of its shape (princess, round, cushion, etc.), The cut of a diamond refers to the diamond’s shape, as well as how effectively the diamond returns light back to the viewer’s eye. A well-cut diamond will appear very brilliant and fiery, while a poorly cut diamond can appear cloudy and lifeless. Not only do well-cut diamonds appear more brilliant, they also tend to appear larger than other diamonds of the same carat weight.

Color

While most diamonds may appear colorless, many have slight tones of yellow or brown that affect their value. The more colorless the diamond = the rarer and more valuable they become. The GIA color scale which is a universally-accepted and standardized grading system classifies diamonds from D (colorless) to Z (light yellow or brown) - The less color the higher the grade.

Carat

The carat refers to the unit of weight used for gemstones. 1 carat = 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams. A carat is divided into 100 points. For example, half a carat will weigh 0.50 carat (CT); a quarter carat will weigh 0.25 CT; and so on.

The bigger the diamond, the bigger its carat, and the rarer and more valuable it is.

Diamonds that are one carat and bigger are rarely found in nature. Therefore, they are more valuable than smaller diamonds. What this means is that the price of a diamond will significantly increase as the carat of the diamond increases.

While a diamond’s carat will have the biggest influence on the price, the color, cut and clarity will have the biggest impact on the its beauty and sparkle. As well, the way in which the diamond is set has a significant effect on the appearance of its size.

*It is important to note that the color and density of certain diamonds can make them appear smaller than their clear diamond counterparts, as there is no light reflecting through certain color diamonds and they are often heavier and denser that white diamonds.