DIAMONDS AND CERTIFICATION

DIAMOND QUALITY

When understanding the quality of a diamond, whether as part of a diamond engagement ring or a loose diamond, people commonly refer to the 4 Cs. The 4 Cs stand for: Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat Weight. The 4 Cs provide a very good starting point but further analysis is required in order to find a truly beautiful diamond. Even if two diamonds are the same on paper they can look completely different.

The Inspired Collection only uses diamonds of the highest quality. We have very strict assessment criteria to ensure we only select the finest diamonds for our tension set diamond and engagement rings.

Just as you are unique in every way, so are diamonds.  The beauty of a diamond is that no two are the same and thus it is important to work with an experienced diamond buyer when selecting diamonds. In most cases our buyers would only purchase 10% of diamonds actually viewed.

DIAMOND SHAPE

Diamonds can be cut in many different shapes. A fancy cut diamond is the term given to non-round cut diamonds.  A diamond's shape will have different attributes. The individual beauty of the shape will be dependent on the owner’s preference and the diamond ring design that it is incorporated with. Each piece from The Inspired Collection is designed specifically for a particular shaped diamond.

DIAMOND CUT

The ‘Cut’ or ‘Make’ refers to the proportions and finish of a diamond and is an important factor in the diamond's appearance.  A well cut diamond will increase its brilliance, sparkle and appeal to the eye. A poor cut can make a diamond look dull (‘sleepy’), glassy and lack fire.  An experienced diamond cutter will ensure that the diamond is cut to exacting proportions. In many cases this will mean that much of the stone's size (carat weight) will need to be sacrificed to ensure maximum brilliance, dispersion and scintillation (sparkle).  A perfectly cut diamond will ensure that as light enters and exits a diamond it reflects from each mirror like face to another and back up through the top allowing it to sparkle and radiate in all lights.

To ensure you get the ‘wow’ factor we only use diamonds with a Very Good and Excellent cut grade.

DIAMOND CARAT

The weight of the diamond is expressed in carats. 1 carat equals 0.2 grams. This is further broken down into points, one carat equals 100 points. Diamonds are expressed as points or to two decimal places. Therefore a half carat stone will be expressed as 50 points or 0.50ct. It is always important to look at a diamonds cut, colour and clarity when determining whether it is a good stone. No matter what size diamond it is The Inspired Collection only uses diamonds of the highest cut, colour and clarity to ensure the stones maximum brilliance.

DIAMOND COLOUR

The less colour in a diamond the more rare it is. Stones colouring starts from D and descends towards Z, where more colour is present.  The Inspired Collection only uses colours D through H, which are the rarest and the most valuable.

Fancy coloured diamonds are an exception to the rule because they are extremely rare. For example a one carat pink coloured diamond could sell for 5 to 15 times more than a D coloured diamond of the same size and quality.

DIAMOND CLARITY

All diamonds contain imperfections, most of which are too small to be seen by the unaided eye.  The fewer less noticeable flaws a diamond has, the higher the value. Clarity is the extent to which the stone is free from external marks (blemishes) or internal features called inclusions.  Diamonds that have no inclusions are classified as Flawless (FL) or Internally Flawless (IF). Clarity grades are determined through 10x magnification and in general the size and number of inclusions within a diamond will determine the clarity grade.

The Inspired Collection only uses diamonds in the top clarity grades and any inclusions present will only be visible under 10x magnification. We do not go below the SI1 grade.