The 4C's of Diamonds

The word carat derives from carob, a Mediterranean seed with a remarkably consistent weight that early traders used for measuring gems. Five metric carats weigh exactly one gram — and the greater the carat weight, the rarer and more valuable the diamond.

If size is your priority, we can help you balance cut, color, and clarity to fit your budget economically and your jewelry beautifully. Many of our engagement rings fit diamonds up to 5.00 carats, though every setting has its own constraints: prong settings can be adapted to virtually any size, while tension and bezel settings are more limited.

Cut is the quality of a diamond's proportions and symmetry — and it makes a vast difference in how brightly your diamond shines. An ideal cut allows the maximum amount of light to return through the top of the stone, taking into account depth, table size, crown height and angle, girdle thickness, and more.

Cut is often confused with shape (like round brilliant or princess). After a rough diamond is mined, it's evaluated to determine its best possible cut while preserving maximum clarity, color, and carat weight.

Color is one of the most noticeable attributes of a diamond and has a heavy impact on price. Diamonds range from colorless to yellow or light brown — and the less color, the rarer the stone. Beyond Z on the scale, diamonds become fancy colors — yellow, blue, even red — which command higher prices for their rarity.

Diamonds are composed almost entirely of carbon. As they form under intense heat and pressure, traces of other elements become trapped inside — giving each diamond its own unique fingerprint. These inclusions determine your diamond's clarity grade, assessed by graders under 10x magnification.