When you’re buying a new Engagement Ring, aside from the size of your ring, it’s important to remember the 4 characters of any diamond that make it unique. The Clarity, Cut, Colour and Carat (or the 4 C’s) are the measurements to gauge and diamond by and are essential to help you distinguish the ideal diamond for your ring. Here we explain what they all mean.

CUT
The ‘Cut’ is perhaps the most important aspect of a diamond quality that impacts a diamond’s beauty. Diamond Cut specifically refers to the quality of a diamond’s angles, proportions, symmetrical facets, brilliance, fire, scintillation and finishing details. These factors directly impact a diamond’s ability to sparkle, along with its overall aesthetic appeal.

COLOUR
Diamond Colour is graded in terms of how white or colorless a diamond is. The GIA grades diamonds from D to Z, with D being the most colourless, and Z containing noticeable brown or yellow tint. The pricing of diamonds usually reflects these grades—sometimes significantly.

CLARITY
A Diamond’s Clarity grade evaluates how clean a diamond is from both inclusions and blemishes. Clarity is graded from Flawless at the top of the scale through to  Inclusions (2) at the bottom end of the scale.

CARAT WEIGHT
Often when people hear the term “Carat Weight,” they think it refers to the size of the diamond. In actuality, Carat refers to the weight of the diamond, not how large the stone is. A 1 Carat Diamond equals 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams.