Colour

Diamond value is greatly associated with its colour grading whereby the lower the colour the greater the value. The diamond colour scale begins with D which resembles colourless and ends at Z which represents a tinted colour of brown or yellow.  When choosing a diamond try to choose as close to colourless as possible, unless choosing a fancy coloured diamond such as yellow, pink or blue. At Gold River Jewellers we recommend F or G colour as your best value.

Clarity

Diamond clarity is an extremely important element to consider and greatly affects the value of a diamond. The diamond clarity scale has 11 grades beginning at Flawless and ending at Included. At Gold River Jewellers we recommend selecting diamonds of the Slightly Included or Very Slightly Included clarity range for best value without compromise on quality.

To understand the clarity terms as defined by GIA our preferred diamond grader see below:

• Flawless (FL)– No inclusions or blemishes are visible to a skilled grader using 10× magnification
• Internally Flawless (IF)– No inclusions and only blemishes are visible to a skilled grader using 10× magnification
• Very, Very Slightly Included (VVS₁and VVS₂) – Inclusions are difficult for a skilled grader to see under 10× magnification
• Very Slightly Included (VS₁and VS₂) – Inclusions are minor and range from difficult to somewhat easy for a skilled grader to see under 10x magnification
• Slightly Included (SI₁ and SI₂) – Inclusions are noticeable to a skilled grader under 10x magnification
• Included (I₁, I₂, and I₃)– Inclusions are obvious under 10× magnification and may affect transparency and brilliance

Cut

Diamond cut is an important element to consider, as it greatly affects the brilliance, refraction and sparkle of a diamond. Cut affects the quality of the appearance of a diamond in particular the brightness, fire, pattern of light, the cut is also greatly judged of its polish, symmetry, proportions and durability. The diamond cut scale begins at excellent and ends at poor. We recommend staying around the very good or excellent scale to ensure your diamonds cut is of great quality and brilliance.

Carat

A diamonds weight is measured in Carat (ct), and one carat is divided into 100 points; for example .50ct is also called a 50-point diamond. Diamond carat is important to consider as the value in the carat depends on the other elements of clarity, colour and cut. Two diamonds that weigh the same but have two different grades in clarity, colour and cut will have different values.