The “Four C’s”

The Four C’s - cut, colour, clarity, carat - are a universal method for assessing the quality of a diamond, anywhere in the world.

Cut

Cut of a diamond represents the facets on the stone that reflect light, and give a diamond its sparkle. The cut is the most important factor when purchasing a stone in terms of quality and value. True recommends only very good and excellent cuts, as this is the easiest way to go up in quality without spending significantly more money.

Cut Grades: Excellent > Very Good > Good > Fair > Poor

Colour

The colour of a diamond is based on the hue, or absence of colour. In many cases, a perfectly pure diamond is not necessary, as the naked eye can’t see the colour in a diamond, or the metal of the setting impacts the colour appearance of the diamond. True will guide you to the right colour of diamond to achieve the look that you want within your budget.

Colour Grades: D - to - Z, alphabetically, with increasing presence of colour to the letter Z

Clarity

Clarity is the grading of ‘inclusions’, or internal characteristics in the diamond. Inclusions only cause problems when they block the reflection of light through the diamond, causing it to sparkle less. To the naked eye, many inclusions cannot be seen - we call this ‘eye clean’. This is a great way to get good value from a diamond. In many instances, inclusions can add charm and uniqueness - especially when they can’t be seen with the naked eye.

Clarity Grades: FL > IF > VVS1 > VVS2 > VS1 > VS2 > SI1 > SI2 > I2 > I3

Carat weight

Carat weight is the size of a diamond, defined as 200 mg. This is not to be confused with karat, or the grading of gold. Two diamonds of equal carat weight may have very different values given the cut, colour and clarity of each. True can help you work with size differences that can achieve the look you want within your budget.