It's no secret that we love our diamonds, and not just any diamonds but the very best of the best! At the Cassandra Mamone studio we take the "4Cs" very seriously to give our clients only the highest quality diamonds. 

 So what are the 4 Cs?

The Four Cs originated from the 1940s when GIA founder Robert M. Shipley developed a helpful mnemonic for his students to remember the four characteristics of a faceted diamond. 

 Cut

While diamonds come in different shapes, the term “cut” refers to proportion and how well a diamonds facets interact with light. When a diamond is cut perfectly, the refraction of light from the facets of the stone gives a diamond the gorgeous sparkle you see. We are very particular on the cut of the diamonds we select so that your Cassandra Mamone diamond will always sparkle beautifully, catching eyes from every angle.

The desirable visual effects that your diamond cut will have are: 

• Fire: The white light being scattered into an array of rainbow colours and reflections 
• Brightness: the internal and external white light reflected from a diamond
• Scintillation: The amount of sparkle from facet to facet towards the center that a diamond produces when you move the stone

Colour

Diamond colour actually means a LACK of colour! A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond will have no colour, so the whiter the diamond is, the more valuable it is! 

The GIA colour chart ranges from D-Z but at Cassandra Mamone we have a standard of only sourcing D to F colour graded diamonds, which are at the top of the GIA colour chart.

Fancy diamonds are an exception, and are also very much sought after due to their extreme rarity.

Whether fancy or colourless, our diamonds are unmissable on our clients.

 

 Clarity

When a diamond has been sitting beneath immense earth pressures and heat, inclusions and blemishes can be expected. Nearly all diamonds have marks or spots known an inclusions but the fewer of these inclusions, the greater the value of the diamond.

A flawless diamond is categorised as "Flawless" in the GIA clarity scale and is very rare.

Diamond clarity is broken down into 6 categories: 

1. Flawless (FL) 

2. Internally flawless (IF) 

3. Very, Very, Slightly included (VVS1 and VVS2) 

4. Very slightly included (VS1 and VS2) 

5. Slightly included (SI1 and SI2) 

6. Included (I1, I2 and I3) - Obvious under magnification and affects the brilliance of your diamond. 

Cassandra only sources diamonds with a clarity of SI1 or above. They are beautiful and unique.

 Carat Weight

A diamond’s size is measured in carat weight. One carat is equal to 0.20 of a gram or one-fifth. Each carat is divided into 100 points so a diamond of 50 points weighs 0.50 carats.

The higher the carat weight, the more valuable the diamond.

 

For more information please feel free to contact us. Diamonds are Cassandra's specialty, and the one thing we love more than diamonds is seeing our clients love and appreciate their diamonds just like we do.

 If you would like to learn more about the 4Cs, you can find this information at the Geological Institute of America (GIA). The GIA is internationally recognised as the reference for diamond grading. Cassandra is a part of the GIA Alumni and only sources GIA certified diamonds.