As our name suggests, we are all too aware of the importance of the “4Cs”. Selecting the perfect ring involves a precise understanding of a diamond’s Cut, Carat, Colour and Clarity, and their combined effect on the finished piece.

We run a unique series of tutorials designed to ensure each client receives an essential grounding in the techniques and methods used to grade diamonds. With this information at your disposal, you’ll be able to see for yourself why our engagement rings and other jewellery are of the highest quality.

The proportions and symmetry are written on the certificate and can range from poor to excellent. Here at 4Cs we highly recommend that you purchase your gemstone with a certificate issued by a reputable gemmological laboratory.

The cut is the only one of the 4Cs to be influenced by man. The other “3Cs” namely the clarity, carat, and colour are determined by nature! The cut is what gives the diamond its brilliance fire and sparkle, and is an extremely important feature to consider when making a purchase.

Clarity describes the purity or the inclusions and imperfections that can be found within a gem. All clarity grading is done under 10 times magnification, using a special magnifying glass called a “loupe”. Stones are graded according to the size and location of the internal features. The fewer inclusions that can be seen, the more expensive the diamond.

Diamonds come in an array of different colours, such as pink, blue, and yellow, all of which have an effect on price. The rarer the colour the higher the price. Most gem quality stones are in the white to yellow spectrum ranging from colourless (the absence of colour) to slightly tinted yellow. They are graded using the alphabet starting with the letter D for colourless, and then E, F, G…etc as the stone becomes more tinted with yellow. This scale is only used for the spectrum of white to yellow. All other coloured or “fancy” diamonds have their own descriptions such as “Fancy Intense Purplish Pink”!

This is the easiest of the 4Cs to explain! Carat is a unit of weight. One carat is equal to 0.20gramme, so one gramme is equal to 5 carats. There are also 100 points in a carat, so 50 points, for example, is half a carat.