What Do the Gradings of Diamond Jewellery Mean?

When you shop for a high-quality piece of diamond jewellery you encounter all sorts of letter and number codes describing the quality of the diamond or diamonds in any given piece of jewellery. When purchasing diamonds in a shop you can see the colour of the stones and you can tell whether a stone has visible flaws. You can even ask to look more closely at a diamond or see any documents or certificates attesting to the quality and value. When buying jewellery over the internet, however, you need to understand what the ratings mean in order to be certain that you are getting the quality for which you are paying.

The quality of a diamond is rated based on what are commonly called the ‘four C’s’ – cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. Each diamond is graded independently on each ‘C’ so it is possible to have an Ideal cut but poor clarity or colour. Each aspect of a diamond’s quality affects its overall value.

Two 0.50 carat diamonds of the same colour and clarity as a single 1.0 carat diamond will have less value, however. When buying a piece of diamond jewellery with many small stones, the clarity may have less importance, whereas the quality of the setting and the overall design of the piece will impact on the value as well, much more so than in a simple solitaire diamond ring where the stone is the focus of the piece, for example.

Steven Stone Diamond Jewellers sell an exclusive range of hand-designed diamond jewellery crafted to project style and elegance. We offer a wide selection of diamond jewellery from multi-jewelled tennis bracelets to exquisite diamond-cluster hoop earrings to diamond solitaire engagement rings. We give average quality ratings for each piece of jewellery that we sell in our online store so that you, as a buyer, know exactly what to expect in terms of the quality and value of the diamonds when you purchase jewellery from us.

How to interpret the gradings given in the descriptions for the jewellery:

• Carat weight – diamonds are valued based on their weight, not their size. A carat is equivalent to 0.2g. Read more about carat weight.
• Cut – Read more about cut.
• Clarity – the clarity is graded based on the size and number of blemishes and inclusions and how visible these are to 10x magnification. Read more about diamond clarity here..
• Colour – the less visible colour a white diamond has, the greater its value. Read more about colour.

Browse our online shop for diamond jewellery. If you have any questions about any of our diamond jewellery or you need advice about choosing the right piece, please phone us on0161 929 5164 or visit us in our Manchester showroom.