Looking at the 4Cs when browsing engagement rings in London
15/05/2015Looking at the 4Cs when browsing engagement rings in London
If you are planning to take a look at engagement rings in London, you may have heard of the 4Cs. First devised by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the framework was constructed to enhance the transparency of diamond quality between supplier and customer. Many years on and now universally used, the 4Cs provide a useful reference when searching for a new piece of diamond jewellery. Let’s now look at the colour, clarity, cut and carat in more detail.
First up is colour. When confronted with a wide variety of engagement rings in London, the colour of the stone is a very important aspect. In this instance, the colour actually refers to the absence of colour – the whiteness of the stone. The grading system starts from D (colourless) and ends at Z, with the stones possessing a more yellow tinge the further down the scale you go. At Rennie & Co, all of our diamonds range from D-G in colour. We only select the higher colours which reflects our constant pursuit of perfection.
The clarity of a stone refers to the absence of inclusions and blemishes. When diamonds are naturally formed, the process can result in internal (inclusions) and external (blemishes) characteristics that vary in number, size and position. Extending from Flawless to Included, it is sensible to determine the grade that you are happy with before setting out.
Although Hatton Garden jewellers do truly offer the best engagement rings in London, it is most definitely worth also viewing the cut of the stone. By cut, we are not referring to the shape of the stone but the fire and scintillation that the stone possesses. Factors here are polish, symmetry and cut. These factors vary from Excellent to Poor, which ultimately determines how effectively a diamond’s facets interact with light. The difference between an excellently cut diamond and a poorly cut diamond are rather noticeable and so it’s an important consideration to bear in mind.
Lastly, the carat refers to the weight of the diamond. A metric carat equates to 0.20 of a gram. The expression of a stone’s weight in carats dates back to ancient times when gems were measured using the weight of the carob tree seed. The size, or to be more precise weight of carat is truly up to you, but do be aware that you will see exponential growth in price for heavier stones.
If you are working within a budget, it is often beneficial to prioritise the factors that are most important to you and work from that basis. If you are still hungry for further information, you can read more about the 4Cs on our website here. We hope that this guide has better prepared you for when looking at engagement rings in London.
