CLARITY

Natural diamonds are the result of carbon exposed to tremendous heat and pressure deep in the earth. They are brought closer to the Earth’s surface through volcanic activity. This process can result in a variety of internal features within the diamond, called inclusions, and surface irregularities, called blemishes. Clarity refers to the absence of these characteristics. A diamond is graded by the number, size, nature, position, colour or relief of any inclusions and blemishes. 

There are 11 clarity grades in the GIA grading system. They range from Flawless to three categories of Included. At Cassandra Mamone, we only source diamonds with a minimum clarity grade of Slightly Included level 1 (SI1).

CUT

The cut of a diamond refers to its proportions, symmetry and polish, and is a measure of how a diamond’s facets interact with light. A well cut diamond will make better use of the light and will have intense sparkle because of three optical effects: white light reflections called brightness, flashes of colour called fire, and areas of light and dark called scintillation. The quality of cut is crucial to the diamond’s final beauty and value. As a general rule, the higher the cut grade, the brighter the diamond. We only source diamonds from the top two cut grades: Excellent and Very Good.

CARAT WEIGHT

 Diamond carat weight is the measurement of how much a diamond weighs. A metric carat (ct) is defined as 200 milligrams. Diamonds are weighed with great precision, and a metric carat is divided into 100 points (pt). A point is one-hundredth of a carat. Diamonds that weigh under a carat are usually stated in points. For example, a diamond that weighs 0.75ct is described as weighing “seventy-five points” or called a “seventy-five pointer”.

All else being equal, diamond value increases with carat weight, because larger diamonds are more rare and more desirable. For example, a 2ct diamond will weigh the same as four 50-point diamonds. However, even with all other quilty factors being equal, the larger diamond will be much more valuable than the sum of all four smaller diamonds.