Engagement: Choosing your Diamond

Diamonds are the most traditional center stone chosen for an engagement ring. Whether you decide to add sparkle to your ring with a natural, mined diamond or a lab-grown diamond, there are a few details to consider.

Have you heard of the four C's? Developed by the Gemological Institute of America, the four C's of diamond quality help you understand the characteristics that determine a diamond's value. This internationally accepted evaluation is objective and will help you determine the qualities most important to you while hand-selecting your diamond. Most of our diamonds are accompanied by a GIA laboratory report (or equivalent) - this third-party evaluation is yours to keep and will serve as an identifier for your stone.


The combination of the four C's in GIA's grading system helps us determine the rarity and value of a diamond. Our staff is trained to understand the subtle differences in these scales to assist in finding and evaluating your perfect stone.
CUT
(Photo by GIA)
Cut refers to the make of the diamond - the quality of the workmanship (proportions and facet arrangements) of round brilliant diamonds. The quality of a diamond's cut will determine the level of brightness, sparkle and fire a diamond shows. The cut grading system ranges from "Excellent" to "Poor."
COLOR
(Photo by GIA)
Color measures a diamond's absence of color. Most "white" or "colorless" diamonds contain trace amounts of yellow, brown or gray. The "white" diamond scale ranges from D (complete lack of color) to Z (light color). Diamonds with more measurable amounts of color beyond a Z color grade are fancy color diamonds, and are graded on a different scale.
CARAT WEIGHT
(Photo by GIA)
Carat is a metric measurement referring to a diamond's physical weight. Generally speaking, the higher the carat weight, the larger the diamond appears.
CLARITY
(Photo by GIA)
Clarity refers to the internal inclusions and external blemishes of a stone. The number, size, placement, and color of these characteristics determine the clarity grade. The clarity scale ranges from Flawless (F), Internally Flawless (IF), Very Very Slightly Included (VVS1/VVS2), Very Slightly Included (VS1/VS2), and Slightly Included (SI1/SI2), to Included (I1, I2, I3).