The 4Cs, and which matter most
Cut, colour, clarity and carat: what each means and where to spend.
Diamonds are graded on four qualities. Knowing what each one does to the look of a stone helps you spend where it shows.
Cut
How well the stone is proportioned and polished. Cut decides how much light comes back to your eye, so it matters most. We only use stones with an excellent cut grade.
Colour
How white the stone is, from D (colourless) down the alphabet. Our grades: Classic F, Premium E, Exceptional D. In yellow or rose gold, the difference between them is very hard to see.
Clarity
How free the stone is of tiny internal features. VS1 and better look perfectly clean to the eye; VVS stones are cleaner still under magnification.
Carat
Weight, not size, though the two go together. Shapes such as oval, pear and marquise look larger than a round stone of the same weight.
Where to spend
Put cut first, then size. If you love a crisp white look in platinum or white gold, go up in colour; in yellow gold, a Classic grade looks beautiful.