The Four Cs – And why they're important for you

Every diamond is unique. 
To calculate its value, experts refer to what they call the Four Cs--Colour, Clarity, Cut and Carat.
 
All of these factors will influence the eventual value of the diamond.
 

 

Colour Grades used by Royal Diamonds

A diamond can divide light in to a spectrum of colours (like a prism). Colour in a diamond acts like a filter and diminishes the spectrum of colours emitted. The less colour in the diamond, the better the colour grade. 

The scale for grading ranges from D which is totally colourless, to Z which is a pale yellow or brown colour. Diamonds that are ‘colourless’ (graded D, E or F) are very rare and demand premium prices. The untrained eye will find it very difficult to distinguish between D, E or F grades. 

G, H, I and J are ‘near colourless’ and represent excellent value for money. G and H are sometimes called ‘rare white’ and are the most sought after in the ‘near colourless’ group. 

The majority of diamonds we use are colour ‘G’ or above. As you can see, colour G is the 4th highest colour and top of the ‘near colourless’ group. This grade represents great value for money, as ‘colourless’ stones can be very expensive (less than 2% of all diamonds are graded as colour D).

Clarity Information Guide

This tells us whether a diamond is flawless—i.e. without any imperfections—or whether there are what the experts call inclusions, small imperfections which are often not visible to the naked eye. In effect, clarity is a measure of the diamond's purity. All diamonds we use are clarity ‘SI2/SI3’ or above, which means these natural imperfections are completely invisible to the naked eye. You won’t see any marks in your diamond at all.

not visible with the naked eye. Any diamond graded between IF and VS should be sparkly and bright, and within these grades diamonds suffer no noticeable loss of brilliance through reduced clarity.

cannot see these small inclusions with the naked eye. Any diamond in these grades will also be bright and sparkly. Untrained individuals will not see the difference between a VS and an SI graded diamond, either in terms of inclusions or brilliance, without using magnification.

Ideal, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor.

Some diamond certificates do not specifically state the ‘Cut’ grade of the diamond. As we use a variety of independent certificates (mostly GIA and IGI) we cannot guarantee that the cut grade will appear on your certificate. It bears no reflection on the quality of the stone you have purchased if your certificate does not state the grade, as your diamond will always be ‘Very Good’ or better. It requires a trained eye to judge the quality of a diamond cut, and our in-house diamond graders are highly qualified professionals who only select diamonds that they grade as ‘Very Good’ or better. Your diamond will be well-cut, bright and sparkly, we guarantee it!

Carat Weight Information

The carat is a measurement of weight, not size. Diamonds are actually valued in terms of their weight, not in terms of their size. The actual size of a diamond can be described in millimetres, please refer to this diamond size chart for conversion between carat weight and millimetres.

Your budget – some people suggest 1 - 2 months salary, others whatever you can comfortably afford. There are no strict rules, and it really does come down to what you are comfortable with.

• Finger size – slender fingers make smaller diamonds appear larger. A 1-carat diamond will seem proportionately large if worn by someone with very slim fingers.