You want to choose an engagement ring. You want it to be just perfect. You want to buy a diamond. Where do you start ? I'm going to share with you some of the insights I have learnt from my GIA training and from making bespoke engagement rings ! You can look at the full content of this article on our guest blog feature on The Ultimate Lifestylist.
A good place to start is with the 4Cs. Diamonds are graded according to the internationally recognized GIA system in Colour, Clarity, Cut and Carat.
For Colour the grades are from D to Z. It may surprise you that there is no grade A, B or C. This is because previous grading systems used A, B, C and GIA did not want any confusion with the previous system. Stones DEF are regarded as colourless and have a premium in terms of price. The next band is G, H, I, J which are near colourless. The uninitiated will start to see some colour to the naked eye at around K grade.
For Clarity, the grades are FL (flawless), VVS1 (very, very, slightly included level 1) VVS2 (very, very slightly included 2), VS1 and VS2 (very slightly included), SI1 and SI2 (slightly included) and I1,12, and I3 (included). At Augustine Jewels we use only VS1 and VS2 diamonds and above because after that you start to lose the sparkle.
Here is an image of a virtually flawless emerald cut diamond which we recently showed at our pop up shop – it will set you back £50,000 ! Then here is another emerald cut stone for £1000. Can you see the difference ?
For Cut, it is the ability of the diamond facets to interact with light which is graded not the type of cut which can be for example, pear shaped or emerald or round brilliant cut. The grades are excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. A poor cut would lack symmetry and beauty.
For Carat, this is referring to the weight of the diamond. A carat is defined as 200mg. You will pay a premium for a diamond which is just over a whole number in carat size. So for example a 1.1 carat stone will be much more expensive than a 0.9 carat stone – if all the other Cs are equal.
Because of this diamonds are often cut to just over the size of a whole number but be careful as the quality of that other C (Cut) may have been sacrificed to achieve this !
When you are choosing a stone for an engagement ring with Augustine Jewels, we will provide you with a choice of stones at different price points. Don’t find out the prices before you look ! Gemstones are emotional and when you look at the stones you will find that you are attracted to one of them. It is an exciting decision just like when you first met the person you are buying the ring for. Some people like to do this as a couple and for others it is a surprise.
Our full new bridal collection launches in 2015 and is inspired by Venice and the recent romantic wedding of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin.
Augustine Jewels specialises in bespoke engagement rings and can be contacted at www.augustinejewels.com or at info@augustine-studios.com or on 02076030814