Choosing a diamond:
The purchase of a diamond is
a serious decision.
In order to give you complete
confidence in buying from H.L.Brown, we provide
an independent diamond report from internationally
respected gemmological laboratories to accompany
your purchase. This we supply with all new diamonds
weighing 0.50 carats and over. Our expert staff
will be happy to guide you through the report
and answer any queries.
Cut
Cut is the most important of all the quality
criteria. A good cut will unlock the potential
of a diamond to sparkle to its full effect.
There are different types of cut such as pear
shape, heart shape, princess cut, emerald cut
and many more. However, what we are concerned
with here is the quality of cut, not the type.
The quality of cut varies considerably and is
often poor for commercial considerations, usually
to avoid loss of weight. We at H.L.Brown have
the expertise to assess cut and take care to
buy only well-proportioned, or as we say in the
trade ‘well-made’ diamonds.
Colour
The best colour in diamond is no colour at
all or, as we say in the trade, white. However,
almost all diamonds are slightly off-white.
The internationally recognised system of
grading rates diamonds from letter D to letter
Z, the former being the whitest and the latter
the most tinted.
When we talk about colour in diamonds, it
is the body colour that is being assessed,
free from the rainbow colours associated with
the sparkle and fire. In order to grade colour,
the loose diamond must be viewed upside-down
in north-facing daylight (as opposed to direct
light) and graded against a set of ‘master
stones’.
Clarity
A diamond's clarity is determined by the degree
to which it is free from naturally occurring
inclusions, often called ' nature's fingerprints'.
Large or numerous inclusions are not only
unsightly but will also interfere with light
entering the diamond and light attempting to
return to the viewer, resulting in diminished
sparkle.
Below is the international clarity grading
chart, illustrating the clarity as viewed under
10 x magnification by an experienced diamond
grader.
Carat-weight
The carat weight relates more correctly to the size rather than the quality of a diamond. The metric carat is equal to 0.200 grams.
Taking care of your diamond
Because they are so durable diamonds need
very little looking after. However, you will
need to make sure that they are clean and
that the settings holding them are secure.
Diamond grading
As specialists, we have the in-house expertise
to explain how diamond grading is carried
out. We have four gemmologists on our staff.
In addition, two members of staff at each
branch have attended diamond grading courses.
A visit to one of our stores will be sure
to give you the confidence to purchase your
diamond jewellery at H L Brown.
A Brief History of Diamond Cutting
We cannot know just when our ancestors first
picked a shiny diamond crystals from the
sands of a river. But their extraordinary
hardness would have thwarted any attempts
to cut and shape them. Indeed our word diamond
derives from the Greek "Adamas",
meaning unconquerable.
