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| Innovation, Quality and Value for Money |
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18ct Gold Flower
Pendant |
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RRP : £525 |
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Our Price: £340
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18ct Gold Tanzanite and Diamond Ring
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RRP : £269 |
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Our Price: £200
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18ct Gold Stick
Pendant
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RRP : £399 |
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Our Price: £259
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All Saul Anthony jewellery is presented with a
complimentary polished wooden presentation box and diamond certificate. |
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 More About Diamonds
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Made
of pure carbon, Diamonds are the hardest
substance known to man - the only thing capable of scratching or cutting a
diamond is another diamond. Diamonds take thousands of years to form naturally in
the earth and each diamond is unique.
The value of diamonds is not only judged by size or
weight - and the criteria to be considered when buying a piece of diamond
jewellery are all the four C's - Cut, Clarity, Colour and
Carat.
The cut of
the diamond refers to the angles and proportions that diamond cutters create in
the stone to polish it and maximise its brilliance. The round and brilliant cut
has now become a classic, but diamonds can also be cut to
marquise, heart, emerald, princess, pear and oval shapes.
The
clarity of a diamond is judged by the quantity, size, position, colour,
release and shape of its inclusions which are tiny flaws - think of them
as the diamond's birthmarks. The fewer the inclusions, the greater the
quality and corresponding value of a diamond.
Diamonds are available in various colours
- yellow, blue, pink, green and red diamonds, these are very
rare and hence very expensive.
Traditionally diamond
engagement and wedding rings use clear diamonds. However, the closer a diamond is to
being completely colourless, the more valuable and very expensive pieces become. This is
why we recommend the H/Si grade - very good quality that can be offered at sensible prices.
A diamond's weight is measured in carats, and one
carat equals 200 milligrams. Carats can be broken into 100 points, so a
0.5 carat diamond can also be referred to as a 50 point diamond, or half
a carat. Not all diamonds of the same carat will cost the same - the grade
of the other three c's, the cut, clarity and colour, all play a part in
pricing.
Once you have chosen the diamond you
desire, you must also then also consider the setting
you would like for your diamond. This is almost as important
as the choice of diamond itself - Richmere offers the excellent Saul Anthony designs
in both yellow and white gold settings and a stunning range in
platinum. If you have any questions you would
like to ask us before you purchase a piece of jewellery please contact us our team of experts will be more than happy to help
you.
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A little
bit more detail about Diamond
classification and about buying Diamond Jewellery |
| As highlighted there are a number of criteria you
need to consider when buying a piece of diamond jewellery. These qualities
are the four C's - the cut, the clarity, the colour and the carat. |
The cut of the diamond refers to
the angles and proportions that diamond cutters create in the stone to
polish it and maximise its brilliance and is the only one of the diamond's
defining qualities that is not created by nature.
Diamonds can be cut into round, marquise, heart,
emerald, princess, pear and oval shapes.
A brilliant-cut
diamond, means that it reflects as much as possible, the light from within
the stone. A classic round cut diamond is a diamond cut into
a sphere with 58 facets. Marquise cut is boat-shaped, long and
thin with gently curved sides that come to a point on either end.
A Heart cut diamond is as it sounds, as is a Pear shaped and Oval diamond
- all are brilliant cut. The Emerald cut is a rectangular or Square-shaped cut
and cornered diamond and princess cut is a square or
sometimes rectangular-shaped modified brilliant-cut diamond.
A
poorly cut diamond, is one that is either cut too deeply
or too shallowly, this allows the light to escape and it does not
sparkle as effectively as a diamond that is cut correctly. |
Diamond is a natural substance, and each diamond
is different, so naturally the majority of diamonds contain tiny flaws
or inclusions; these can be thought of as the diamond's birthmarks. These inclusions
can be clouds, feather shapes and crystals that occur when the diamond is
forming in the earth. Inclusions stop light being refracted out of
the diamond effectively , thus affecting its brilliance.
The clarity of
a diamond is judged by the quantity, size, position, colour, release and
shape of its inclusions. The fewer the inclusions, the greater the quality
and corresponding value of a diamond.
The range of clarity is
divided into grades. IF (Internally Flawless) means the diamond has no
visible characteristics under magnification, or that no flaws are visible.
VVS means that the diamond is Very, Very Slightly Included, VS1/2 means
that minor characteristics are visible under magnification, SI1/SI2 means
that the diamond is slightly included, or that characteristics are visible
under magnification, and I1, I2 and I3 mean that characteristics are
visible with the naked eye. The numbers mean that the diamonds can be
graded more precisely, as each number represents levels within each grade.
The 1s will have fewer or smaller inclusions than the 2s.
Diamonds with no
inclusions are referred to
as flawless and these are extremely rare and hence very very
expensive. |
Beautiful stunning yellow, blue, pink, green and red diamonds also exist, however these are also very
rare and hence very expensive. Traditionally diamond engagement and wedding rings use clear
diamonds. The closer a diamond is to being completely colourless, the more
valuable it becomes.
Even diamonds
that appear colourless and seem simply to refract other colours than to
have their own intrinsic colour have a slight yellow, brown and grey tinge
that experts can identify. Colour can add character to a diamond - some
of the world's most beautiful diamonds have some colour in
them.
Diamond colour is judged
on a scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and
ranges from D (colourless and therefore extremely valuable), through
Near Colourless, Slightly Tinted, Very Light Yellow, Light Yellow, Yellow,
to Light Fancy, which is graded at around Z. |
A diamond's value is also judged by its weight. A diamond's weight is measured in carats,
and one carat equals one fifth of a gram, or 200 milligrams. The word
comes from the carob plant - in ancient civilisations carob seeds were
used to compare weight with diamonds.
Carats can be broken into 100
points, so a 0.5 carat diamond can also be referred to as a 50 point
diamond, or half a carat. Carats go from 0.05 to 4 carats. Not all
diamonds of the same carat will cost the same - the quality of the other
three c's, the cut, clarity and colour, all have to be the same
also.
The fact that a diamond is large should only
be considered in terms of the other c's - a large stone of poor cut,
clarity and colour will not be worth more because of its size. A smaller stone with
an excellent cut, clarity and colour though will be worth more than the poor
quality larger diamond. |
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| Caring for your Diamond |
Never store your diamond jewellery together, as the diamonds may
scratch each other and the chains or settings may become tangled.
To clean
your diamond jewellery, make a weak solution of warm water and
mild detergent (e.g a mild washing up liquid).
Gently brush the setting and stone with a soft toothbrush,
and rinse under clean running water to remove the detergent,
then tap/shake gently to remove excess water and dry with
a soft clean cloth that is not prone to shedding fibres.
Of course you can use
dedicated jewellery cleaning solutions which are available from jewellery retailers - just be careful
to follow the instructions given. |
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| Diamond Certification |
A diamond certificate or
grading report verifies that a diamond is genuine
and details the 'grade' which indicates the physical properties -
the cut, clarity, colour and carat of the diamond. A certificate is a
document, which retains its worth over a long period of time, assuming the diamond
is not chipped or otherwise altered.
Do not confuse certification
with an appraisal, which is an indication of the financial value of the
piece under consideration. The financial value of a diamond can easily
change over time and appraisals are most commonly used for insurance
purposes.
A certificate enables you to buy your diamond with
confidence.
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| Do
I need a certificate from an independent laboratory? |
Generally the answer is no,
unless you are buying a expensive piece of jewellery. However, buying a
certified diamond from a reliable manufacture and retailer allows you to make an informed choice about your
selections and to enable you to do a comparison shop.
You can
compare one diamond with a particular weight and quality with other
diamonds if they are of a similar weight and quality to determine which is
the better value.
A last thought :
If
a jewellery shop offers to sell you a diamond without a certificate or guarantee, bare
in mind that you are buying the diamond based on the sales persons claims
about the quality, and that a trained gemologist may disagree with the
salesperson's assessment. |
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