World renowned diamond expert Roderick Harris of WHY Jewellers has put together six handy hints and tips to help you on your way to finding a ring with the perfect diamond to make an impact whatever the style.
The Cut: It’s the skill of the diamond cutter to polish a raw diamond to precisely the correct angles to ensure the light refracts perfectly. Only then will its full brilliance be revealed. The most fabulous are graded – Excellent cut, Excellent polish, Excellent symmetry, by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
The Colour: The very finest white diamonds should have little or no trace of other colour tints. Always insist on a diamond in the D to H colour grade range.
The Clarity: Clarity is the measure of how free a diamond is from inclusions and blemishes. The finest stone is one which is almost totally free from these imperfections. Aim for VS, VVS or flawless grades.
The Carat weight: A one carat top grade gem will outshine a larger low grade stone, it’s the quality that’s most important. As diamonds increase in size their value goes up disproportionately, double the size and you roughly triple the price. Quality first, then size!
The Certification: Any diamond over .40ct should only be purchased with an independent laboratory certificate, as the grade can affect the value of the stone by up to ten times. The most renowned are GIA and HRD certificates.
The Credence: A certificate only tells you about 85% of the story. We search diamond markets across the world for the rarest stones, applying additional quality criteria, and all the gems are Kimberley process certified to assure that they have been sourced from non-conflict regions.
Roderick has built one of the rarest collections of natural coloured diamonds in Europe.
His skilled designers and craftsmen create bespoke engagement rings and exquisite jewellery to suit any occasion.