DIAMOND QUALITY

DIAMONDS are truly one of nature's most precious and beautiful creations. They are formed from pure carbon, crystallized under intense heat and pressure, deep below the earth's surface. Diamonds are the hardest substance known to man, but their appeal goes far beyond their durability.

Over the years, diamond professionals have developed universally standardized criteria for assessing a diamond's value. Beauty, rarity, and price depend on the interplay of the 4 C’s: cut, clarity, color, carat. Diamonds with the highest rating in each of these categories are increasingly rare and more expensive. No one characteristic is more important than another in terms of appearance and quality.

CUT

Cut refers to the the make of the diamond - the angles, proportion and symmetry. A well-cut diamond reflects maximum light and thus sparkles the best. Cut can also refer to the shape of the diamond. Shapes include: Round, oval, emerald, asscher, heart, square, pear, marquis, princess, trilliant and radiant. Diamond shapes used in La Collection de Bijoux are: Round-brilliant - the 58-facet round-brilliant cut is the most optically brilliant because of its 360-degree symmetrical shape Heart - the ultimate symbol of love, this is a complex shape that requires skilled cutting to ensure proper brilliance Pear - this fancy-shaped cut is a variation on the round-brilliant cut, with one round end and the other end tapered to a point, like a teardrop.

CLARITY

Clarity refers to the presence of internal inclusions ("blemishes") in a diamond. It indicates a stone's relative position on a "purity" scale.