A diamond’s clarity rating is the key measure of its overall quality. Alas, nature guarantees that almost all diamonds have inherent natural blemishes called “inclusions.” Often, these clarity shortcomings are invisible to the untrained eye. However, these same imperfections are immediately apparent to our professional gemologists. A stone is said to be flawless if, under magnification, no inclusions like “clouds,” “pinpoints,” or internal crystals; no internal flaws, sometimes referred to as “feathers;” and no external imperfections, such as scratches, burns or abrasions, are visible.

In nature, the absence of any color is very rare as most diamonds contain tiny amounts of nitrogen. The untrained eye may not be able to detect these minute variations of color, but these distinctions affect the rarity and ultimately the value of your diamond. Color is then rated according to a precise scale, running from “D” (colorless) to “Z” (saturated). If a stone has a borderline color classification, we assign it the lower rating. Past “Z” a diamond’s color is considered “fancy.” Fancy colored diamonds are very valuable and, correspondingly, are graded by very different parameters.

The term cut refers to the facets, and their proportions, on the surface of a diamond. Carat weight is wrongly thought by many to be the most important factor in deciding the value of a diamond. Unfortunately, this misconception has led some diamond cutters to take advantage of the first-time buyer. For example, some diamond cutters will leave an excessively thick girdle around the stone, increasing the diamond’s carat weight. This practice harms the stone, considerably impairing the diamond’s beauty and brilliance. Our exceptionally gifted craftsmen always prioritize the aesthetic above the raw weight of a rough diamond. They continuously go to immeasurable lengths to create precise, intricate angles that generate incomparable beauty.