Welcome to our diamond guide. Rare, precious, and everlasting, diamonds are fascinating gemological curiosities with a rich history.
Here, you will find information about the celebrated stone and its four key characteristics, carat weight, color, clarity, and cut, that all signify value. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to select the diamond that suits you best with confidence and ease.
The two most important elements of selecting your diamond are choosing the quality of the stone and the shape it's cut in so that the result truly feels like you. Below, to help guide your process, you can learn about diamond grading and certification, the 4 C's, diamond shapes, and more.
GIA DIAMOND CERTIFICATION
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute dedicated to research and education in the fields of gemology and jewelry design. Their laboratory carefully examines diamonds 0.15 carats and up, issuing each one a unique number, which is inscribed on the part of a diamond known as the girdle. These identification numbers are listed on diamonds’ certificates as well, including the most important information about the specific stone, such as its characteristics, otherwise known as the 4 C’s, which includes carat weight, color, clarity, and cut.
Throughout history, diamond merchants considered the 4 C’s, but used broad, inconsistent terms. GIA standardized the grading of diamonds for these factors in the early 1940s. Since then, it has become a well-known system the diamond industry uses on a global scale. Each factor strongly affects a diamond’s price, therefore familiarity with them is beneficial while considering different options.
All diamonds set in SHW wedding rings are certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Our GIA certified gemologist is available to answer any questions you might have about the certificate accompanying your ring. Every diamond used in our SHW wedding collection is sourced from Ekati and Diavik mines in Canada, which are well respected for their strict environmental and socio-economic policies. They also provide their own certificate known as Canadamark. Additionally, we also offer antique diamonds from the 1870s to 1940s to be considered for our settings.
If you’re interested in customizing a ring from our SHW wedding collection, our GIA certified gemologist will gladly prepare a list of diamonds for you to choose from following your specifications and requests.
Our settings can be customized for heirloom or pre-owned diamonds. Depending on the cut of your gemstone, some setting styles might work better than others. Please schedule a time to chat with us here or reach out via email at hello@shwjewelry.com with information about your stone and which setting designs you’re considering so our jewelry designer can advise you and answer any questions you might have.
DIAMOND CARAT
Diamond carat (ct) refers to a diamond’s weight. The most common and popular diamonds in the jewelry industry range up to 1 carat. Larger diamond crystals over 1 carat are harder to find, that’s why diamond prices increase exponentially as the weight increases.
Diamond cutters today use advanced technology, which ensures each diamond is cut following similar ratios for the best proportions. This allows them to estimate the diamond's diameter based on its carat weight. Though this is still an approximation, it does help figure out what carat weight might be the best size for you.
Need a millimeter ruler? We’ll send you one.
DIAMOND COLOR
Gemological institutes grade white diamonds based on the absence of color. Though diamonds are primarily carbon, they often include trace elements that can affect their color. The most common trace element is nitrogen, which gives off a subtle shade of yellow. The richer the yellow hue, the more commonly found diamond crystal, which makes them less valuable.
To grade white diamond color, gemological institutes use letters starting from D (colorless) going down the alphabet all the way to Z (light yellow). Truly colorless diamonds are quite rare, therefore are the most expensive. But note that subtle hints of color are difficult to spot outside of a laboratory environment. The most common color ranges are D through F and G through J.
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D
E
F
Colorless -
G
H
I
J
Near Colorless -
K
L
M
N
Faint Yellow -
O
P
Q
R
Very Light Yellow -
S
T
U
V
Light Yellow -
W
X
Y
Z
Light Yellow
Grading standards set by The Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
We’ll help you select a diamond color and setting metal that highlights your personal style.
DIAMOND CLARITY
From formation of the crystal to cutting and polishing, diamonds undergo a long journey, which leaves an individual mark on each stone. The diamond’s internal markings are called inclusions and surface irregularities are called blemishes. Together, they’re called clarity characteristics. When examining diamond’s clarity, gemologists grade them on the absence of inclusions and blemishes and prescribe a rating from flawless (no inclusions or blemishes) to included (some clarity characteristics will be visible even with the naked eye).
The fewer inclusions and blemishes the diamond has, the more valuable it is considered to be. In contrast, diamond’s clarity characteristics are like a natural diamond’s ‘birth marks’ and are curious gemological manifestations of how they form.
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FL
IF
FlawlessInternally Flawless -
VVS1, VVS2
VS1, VS2
Very very slightly includedVery slightly included -
SI1
SI2, SI3
I1, I2
I3
Slightly includedIncluded
Grading standards set by The Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
DIAMOND CUT
Gemological laboratories study a modern diamond’s cut based on how its facets interact with light, prescribing an excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor grade. Excellent and very good sparkle the most. Since this C determines the overall appearance of the modern day brilliant cut diamond, we consider it to be one of the most important ones and recommend only selecting diamonds with an ‘excellent’ grading.
The modern round brilliant cut diamond has 57 facets or sometimes 58 if the cutter included a culet, an additional facet at the bottom of the pavilion. Today, diamonds are cut with a precision up to 1/100th of a millimeter, which allows the perfect balance of proportions to reveal a diamond’s beauty.
The Crown
1.Table 2.Star Facet 3.Bezel Facet 4.Upper Girdle FacetThe Girdle
5.GIRDLEThe Pavillion
6.Lower Girdle Facet 7.Pavillion Facet 8.CuletHave any questions about diamond cut grading? We can help.
DIAMOND SHAPE
Though round diamonds are the most popular shape, accounting for more than half sold today, there are quite a few others to consider.
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Princess
Emerald
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Round
Pear
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Cushion
Heart
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Square Emerald
Oval
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Radiant
Marquise
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Baguette
Trillion
Have any questions or interested in creating a custom piece with one of our settings? Let's talk.
Though our SHW wedding jewelry designs are made to enjoy forever, it’s realistic to admit that sometimes unpleasant surprises happen. With this in mind, it’s best to be prepared and insured. We recommend Jewelers Mutual for jewelry insurance, as many of our customers in the past have had great experiences working with them.
Have any questions or interested in starting a conversation? Reach out.