How to Choose a Diamond

Choosing the cut and shape of Diamond

When people talk about the cut of a diamond, they tend to refer on how a diamond is shaped and polished, the way its sides or facets are designed and how shallowly or deeply it has been cut.

A diamond's shape, on the other hand, is predetermined in large part by its molecular structure. Diamonds whose molecular crystals are macle, can be cut to be oval or marquise shaped, while those that have an octahedron structure must be cut to be a round brilliant.

Though there are several diamond shapes, the Round Brilliant cut diamond still proves to be the most popular shape and we carry a large selection of these stones in all sizes, colours and clarities.

Fancy cut Diamonds including Princess, Oval, Marquise, Pear, Emerald, and Heart are also available. Should we not have your preference in stock, we will source the diamond on your behalf.

Choosing a diamond is a very personal decision, which reflects upon an individuals taste and personality. When choosing a diamond it is important to understand what makes a quality diamond to make sure that you get value for your money. Here at Forever Diamonds, we strive to provide prompt, professional and friendly service. When you shop with Forever Diamonds, you can rest assured that you will be assisted by educated jewelers who will help you select the best gemstone for you or your loved one.

Forever Diamond aims to provide the best diamond within the 4 C's, at the most competitive price. We import diamonds and supply direct to the public with service, quality and value that is second to none.

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How to Take Care of Jewellery

If you have purchased any stunning pieces, you will be interested in knowing how to treat it so that it has a prolonged life. Hand lotions, hair products, everyday grime can leave your diamond looking dull and lifeless. That is why it is important to regularly clean your diamond, so that materials do not accumulate underneath the diamond and to block it from looking its best. At Forever Diamonds, we can provide the service of cleaning and polishing your diamonds.

Caring for Diamond Jewellery

Your diamond jewellery is one of your most valuable possessions and with a little care and attention you can maintain the sparkle or brilliance of your diamond jewellery.

Powders, soaps, lotions and even the oil from your skin will create a film on diamonds. Keeping your jewellery looking brilliant requires only simple maintenance.

Simple maintenance will be rewarded with beautiful, long-lasting jewellery.

A clean diamond not only reflects light better, but looks bigger than one that's been dulled by skin oils, cosmetics, dust and dirt. Diamonds have an affinity for grease and should be cleaned regularly to keep them looking their brightest.

Don't let your jewellery come into direct contact with perfumes or bleach, It won't hurt your diamonds, but it can discolour gold settings and residue can build up on the diamonds

Cleaning Diamond Jewellery

Here are four ways we suggest you clean your diamonds:

1. Detergent bath: 
   Prepare a small bowl of warm suds with any kind of mild liquid detergent. Brush the item of jewellery with a small soft brush creating lather. Place the piece on a wire strainer and rinse with warm water. Pat dry with a soft lint free cloth.
2. Cold Water Soak: 
   Mix a small bowl of solution with 6 parts water to 1 part household ammonia. Soak the piece for several minutes, lift the piece out of the solution and tap gently around the piece with a small soft brush. Rinse the piece in the solution again and drain on a piece of tissue paper.
3. Quick-Dip Method: 
   Purchase a brand name liquid jewellery cleaner, be careful to choose the cleaner which is best for your stones. Read the label carefully and follow the instructions. Be careful not to touch your clean diamonds with your fingers, handle the piece by its edges.
4. The Ultrasonic Cleaner: 
   There are several types of these small machines available in the market. They will clean any piece of jewellery that can be soaked in a liquid within minutes. They are comprised of a metal cup, which you fill with water and detergent. When the machine is turned on, a high-frequency turbulence is created. Please read the machines instructions prior to use.

Storing Diamond Jewellery

Diamonds are the hardest substance known to man. With appropriate care, they can last forever. However, like anything else they can be scratched, chipped, smudged and soiled. When storing your diamond jewellery, place them in separate compartments of a jewellery box or wrap in tissues, as diamonds can scratch each other as well as your other jewellery.

​The Prince Cut Diamond

The Prince Cut Diamond design, invented and patented by the Avi Paz Group after three years of research, takes the traditional Emerald Cut Diamond to the next level, incorporating stepped sides and twice as many facets - which results in a straight edged diamond of unparalleled fire and brilliance.

The Prince Cut Diamond is available only through The Group and authorised  Prince Cut jewellery manufacturers and retailers. 

​ Not only does the Avi Paz Prince Cut offer more brilliance and fire than the Emerald Cut, it also provides more and better light capture and play than other traditional straight-edged cuts.  In addition the Prince Cut also hides inclusions, making the design an ideal solution for straight-edged stones of lower clarity.

​ In 2004, the Avi Paz Group began marketing the Prince Cut diamond in the United States, where the group has its now distrubition network.  The Prince Cut is now marketed internationally through a network of authorised dealers. Forever Diamonds is the only Jeweller in Australia that is authorised to market and sell the Prince Cut diamond.

​What makes the Prince Cut so special?

​ The shape of the Prince Cut is distinguished by cropped corners and elongated, stepped sides, and many facets, which provide a number of advantages in terms of light play and brilliance. 

​Avi Paz's Prince Cut features 111 facets, compared to the 46 facets of the traditional Emerald Cut. 41 facets are on the crown, with another 70 on the diamonds pavilion. The many facets allow the light 'wasted' by the Emerald Cut to come into full play in the Prince Cut, giving the stones unparalleled brilliance and fire. 

The scintillation and sparkle brought out by the Prince Cut ​not only shows off a diamonds true potential for light play and sparkle, but also hides inclusions in lower-quality stones that would be exposed by the classic Emerald Cut.  

The ​Avi Paz Prince Cut is available in all colours and clarities and in sizes ranging from 0.10 carat and upwards. 

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Diamond Grading & Quality

There are four main factors which are used to describe and classify diamonds, often described as the 4 Cs (see below) . The 4Cs is the universal grading standard used to determine the value of diamonds. The Cut, Clarity, Colour & Carat of a diamond is determined by a certifying body to grade the diamond.

Cut

Of all the 4 Cs, cut has the greatest effect on a diamond's beauty. The cut of a diamond determines how it reflects light. A diamond's reflective properties are referred to as "fire" or "brilliance". A quality cut diamond will have facets angled to reflect the greatest amount of light. This ability to efficiently reflect light requires cutting and polishing the diamond to an extremely high level of accuracy.

The Cut Grading System considers not only the proportions of a diamond, but also the craftsmanship of its overall symmetry and polish. It is unique in that it uses the latest in technology to analyse the cut’s impact on the diamond’s light performance.

Too shallow a cut will let light escape through the sides of the diamond before it has a chance to reflect, making it appear watery or dull, while too deep a cut will allow light to be lost through the bottom of the diamond, making it appear dark, especially in the centre.

Diamonds are cut in many shapes. Some of the more common are; round, oval, pear or teardrop shaped, heart, princess (square shaped), Emerald (rectangular shaped), marquise (oval shaped) and brilliant (round).

Of all the shapes available, brilliant diamonds are the shape most capable of being cut to exude the greatest brilliance, hence the name.

Beware of diamonds cut to maintain a higher carat weight while sacrificing the cutting of a good angle as this will dramatically reduce the brilliance.

Colour

A truly colourless diamond is extremely rare. Most diamonds possess varying degrees of yellow or brown and small, subtle differences in colour can make a substantial difference in value. Although increasing shades of yellow can reduce the value of a diamond this does not necessarily reduce its beauty. If a diamond is well cut, the diamond's refraction and dispersion often will disguise certain degrees of colouration. Unless a diamond is a fancy colour (or any colour other than colourless to light yellow or brown), the Diamonds are graded on a 0 to 10 scale, 0 being colourless.

The colour of a diamond is rated on an alphabetical scale from D to Z. A typical 'white' diamond should be as colourless as possible - a rating of 'D' being the rarest and most desirable. When choosing a colourless diamond it is best to stay within the D-J range or the diamond will have a yellow cast which lessens the value. The less natural colour the diamond has the more colours will appear in the flashes reflected in the prism.

'Fancy' diamonds (diamonds with a rating over Z) come in a variety of shades and include some famous diamonds such as the Blue Hope diamond.

Fancy coloured diamonds are diamonds that are naturally coloured when mined such as pink, yellow, brown and black.

Carat

The standard used to measure diamond weight is the carat (ct). A carat equals 1/5th of a gram. Each carat is further divided into points, each point representing 1/100th of a carat.

The weight of a diamond is the easiest of the 4Cs to gauge accurately and is the most objective. All that is required is a delicately balanced scale capable of weighting extremely small weights. Yet, despite the ease of measurement and the relative unimportance of diamond weight, there are some facts you should understand about weight and price.

The larger a diamond is the more costly it becomes. Since the larger diamonds are much rarer the cost will go up significantly with each increase in size. A one carat diamond will be more than just double the cost of a half carat, however, a ring with multiple diamonds that have a combined weight of one carat will be cheaper than a single stone of that weight.

First, as diamonds increase in size, their cost tends to increase geometrically rather than arithmetically. Thus, a one-carat diamond may cost more than twice as much as a one-half carat stone of equal quality. Also, as previously stated, weight does not always enhance the value of a diamond. In fact, when a stone is improperly cut, added weight may serve only to reduce its brilliance.

Smalls refers to smaller diamonds, sizing from 0.01ct to 0.30ct and are often used around your main stone as a pavé or channel setting or in our range of men’s / ladies wedding bands and eternity rings.

Clarity

The clarity of a diamond is the degree to which the diamond contains internal inclusion and external blemishes. The fewer inclusions or blemishes, the more desirable the diamond.

Inclusions are found within the diamond. Two of the most common inclusions are crystals and feathers. Crystals are merely minerals trapped inside the diamond; feathers are breaks in the diamond. Blemishes are usually very small and are only on the surface of diamonds.

The clarity grade of a polished diamond is achieved by inspecting the diamond using 10 x magnifications. This inspection takes into account the size, shape, colour, type and location of the inclusions present in the diamond.

Diamond Certification

Certification Protects Diamond Buyers

Diamond certifiers grade and check diamonds to ensure they have not been treated and are of natural origin. They then issue Certificates with each diamond to assure the owner that the diamond is free of all known treatments and enhancements. It also confirms the diamond is natural and not a synthetic diamond. Some labs even cold laser inscription links in the diamond to the certificate providing added confidence.

Accurate assessment of a diamond is only possible prior to being set. Once the stone is set even a qualified diamond grader cannot precisely determine colour, size and purity. The Diamond Certificate is only reliable if it is from an independent and qualified laboratory. Besides the international standards to which these laboratories grade, qualified laboratories have the necessary equipment to check for Synthetics, Simulants and treatments.

Synthetic and treated diamonds have a significantly lower value, and this information should be disclosed.

It is crucial when choosing a diamond to review the diamond certificate, also known as a Diamond Grading Report, especially larger diamonds greater than 0.5 carat. This report documents the internationally-recognised characteristics of a diamond, its carat weight, colour, clarity, cut.

Some of the better known Diamond Certifiers are:

• Gemmological Institute of America (GIA)  (official website)
• HRD Antwerp (official website)
• International Gemmological Institute (IGI)​  (official website)

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