The hardest natural substance on Earth, and the only one you’d happily wear every day for fifty years without thinking about it.
Lab-grown and natural diamonds are chemically identical - you cannot tell them apart by eye. One took billions of years and a hundred miles of pressure. The other took a few months. Both are real diamonds, and the choice is genuinely yours.
The term WOW factor applies to both natural and lab-grown diamonds. Simply put, achieving this doesn’t require selecting the top grades - the human eye is surprisingly limited in what it can detect. However, because lab-grown diamonds are significantly more affordable, higher grades are often well within reach.
A diamond’s colour refers to how much colour is noticeable, so the whiter, the better. However, the human eye can only detect a certain amount, so a WOW factor diamond doesn’t have to be the highest grade to look stunning. This is easily demonstrated when I show you a WOW factor diamond.
A diamond’s clarity refers to external or internal characteristics/marks there are that were formed naturally when the crystal was created. Many people are over-concerned that to have a WOW factor diamond, you need a high clarity grade. In reality, the human eye can only detect a limited amount of these without magnification.
Once I show you the differences under the microscope, you will immediately understand what is required for a WOW factor diamond that you will be delighted to own.
The graphic represent the number of marks that might be within a particular grade, so their size can make them look worse than when viewing a real diamond. The key shows the inclusions/marks in a natural diamond.
The anatomy of a diamond refers to its proportions, polish and symmetry. All these attributes must be balanced to deliver the fire and scintillation that makes a diamond unique.
For example, how thin or thick is the girdle, is the table size in the right proportion, do all the facets align? Getting these right will give your diamond the WOW factor.
If your diamond has the right proportions, the light will be reflected back through the top of the stone. If too shallow or deep, it will disappear through the back and not sparkle as much. One of the key measurements is the diameter.
There are many shapes or cuts of a diamond. The most popular is the round brilliant. Some of the other cuts will impact the price, so it might be the same weight and quality but can have a higher cost.
A diamond’s weight is referred to as Carat. One Carat weighs one-fifth of a gram. There are 100 points to one Carat. The pictures shows a selection of the mm diameters for particular carat weights.
However, it can be confusing when looking for a particular carat weight and the price differs from one the same weight with the same headline grades. Whatever the carat weight, the proportions of a diamond is crucial, so if you want yours to have WOW factor, they need to be right.
If a diamond has the right proportions, the light will be reflected back through the top of the stone, too shallow or deep, it can disperse through the back and not sparkle as much. One of the key measurements is the diameter.
Diamonds may be treated to improve their apparent clarity or to alter their colour. Some treatments are considered permanent and stable under normal wearing conditions, while others require particular care and may affect the value of the diamond.
Any known treatment should be disclosed when a diamond is sold.
Laser drilling uses a highly focused laser beam to create a microscopic channel from the surface of a diamond to a dark inclusion.
The inclusion may then be removed, dissolved or lightened using chemicals introduced through the channel, making it less visible.
The laser drill hole remains permanently within the diamond and is considered a clarity characteristic.
Internal laser drilling is a more recent variation of laser treatment.
Instead of producing a conventional straight drill channel, a laser is used to create or enlarge a small internal fracture extending from an inclusion to the surface of the diamond. Chemicals can then reach the inclusion and reduce its visibility.
The resulting feature can resemble a naturally occurring feather or fracture and may require examination by a gemmological laboratory to identify.
Fracture filling involves introducing a glass-like material into surface-reaching fractures within a diamond.
Because the filling material has optical properties closer to diamond than air, it makes the fracture considerably less visible and can improve the apparent clarity of the stone.
Fracture filling is not considered a permanent treatment. The filling may be damaged by heat, acids, ultrasonic cleaning or jewellery repair procedures, so additional care is required.
HPHT treatment subjects a diamond to extremely high temperature and pressure.
The process alters defects within the diamond’s crystal structure and can change its colour. It may be used to reduce brown colouration and produce a more colourless appearance or to create colours including yellow, green and blue.
HPHT treatment is considered stable and permanent under normal jewellery-wearing conditions.
Irradiation uses controlled radiation to alter defects within the diamond’s crystal structure and change its colour.
Depending upon the diamond and the treatment, colours including green, blue, yellow, orange, pink and other fancy colours may be produced.
Irradiated diamonds are often subsequently heat-treated, or annealed, to modify the colour further.
Properly treated irradiated diamonds are considered stable under normal wearing conditions.
Annealing involves carefully heating a diamond to alter its colour.
It is frequently used following irradiation to modify the colour created by the irradiation process. Different temperatures and treatment conditions can produce different colour results.
Annealing may also be used in conjunction with HPHT treatment.
Some diamonds undergo a combination of irradiation followed by controlled heating.
Irradiation first creates changes within the diamond’s crystal structure and subsequent annealing modifies those changes to produce the desired colour.
The combination can produce a variety of fancy colours.
A very thin artificial coating can be applied to all or part of a diamond’s surface to alter its apparent colour.
Modern coatings can be extremely thin and difficult to detect without magnification or laboratory examination.
Unlike treatments such as HPHT, coatings are not considered permanent. They may be scratched, damaged or removed by polishing, heat, chemicals or normal wear.
Foiling is an older technique in which coloured or reflective material is placed behind a diamond to alter or intensify its apparent colour and brilliance.
It is now rarely encountered in modern diamond jewellery but may occasionally be found in antique pieces.
Foiling does not alter the diamond itself and should not be confused with permanent colour treatment.
Some diamond treatments can be identified by an experienced gemmologist, but others—particularly HPHT treatment, irradiation and sophisticated coatings—may require advanced laboratory testing.
A recognised independent gemmological laboratory can establish whether a diamond is natural, laboratory-grown or treated and, where possible, identify the nature of the treatment.
Fluorescence occurs in some diamonds, so when grading colour, ultraviolet light is used to expose any fluorescence. A stone with strong or excessive fluorescence will have a milky appearance in natural lighting, changing the overall attractiveness. A WOW factor diamond would have no fluorescence. Fluorescence impacts the value of a diamond, so you would expect it to cost less.
The graphic depicts how a diamond fluoresces under ultraviolet light. For example, if you were in a nightclub and your diamond had no fluorescence, it would look dark. With strong fluorescence, it would glow.
Diamond grading certificates or reports are now commonplace. You’ll see GIA, IGI, HRD, to name a few. Certification is a positive thing for consumers and the trade alike, it is like a passport describing a diamonds quality.
Certification is a positive thing for consumers and the trade, as it is like a passport or logbook describing a diamond. However, it’s easy to be confused. You would think that every laboratory would grade a particular diamond the same, given they use the same measurements? Sadly, this is not the case and is one of the reasons when using certified grades to search and compare, you will see different prices for what appears to be the same grade.
The 4Cs are easy to understand. The interpretation of the measurements that make up the 4Cs is where a good explanation is required, preferably while viewing unmounted diamonds so you can see the effect of each .
The most widely used certificate is from the Gemmological Institute of America [GIA]. They created certification in 1934 and have continued to refine and perfect the grading for diamonds. All laboratories use these measurements when grading.
All certificates should display the information shown below, and it is these measurements that I look at when selecting a WOW factor diamond.
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