THE IMPORTANCE OF THE 4CS OF DIAMOND QUALITY AND WHY YOU SHOULD ONLY BUY GIA GRADED DIAMONDS

Unless you have expertise in this area, buying diamond jewellery can often be a testing and complicated process. Each diamond is unique and its value is determined by a wide range of factors, predominately the '4Cs' - Colour, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight, but fluorescence, polish, symmetry and proportions also influence the value of a diamond.

Understanding the 4Cs can give you a good indication of a diamond's value, allowing you to make a judgement on the retail price you should be paying, but unfortunately the process isn't quite that simple. Retailers are not obliged to offer any independent grading reports when selling a diamond and if they do offer a report, there are a variety of bodies that issue them, all with varying standards.

So what does this mean?

If you buy a diamond without a grading report, you only have the word of the retailer that the diamond is a certain carat weight, colour, cut and clarity grade and the diamond has not been inspected and evaluated by an independent and impartial institution. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous retailers willing to pass a diamond off as one grade warranting a higher retail price, when in actual fact the diamond is a lower grade and therefore not as valuable.

If the diamond does have a grading report then it's important to check which institution it was issued by, as some are less stringent than others. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) created the 4Cs and is widely considered as the most stringent and reputable body. A diamond graded E colour by IGI or EGL can be up to two grades lower when graded by GIA, making it a G and worth hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pounds less.

When you buy from HOUSE OF HUXLEY, you can rest assured that all the stunning diamonds featured in our earrings have always been independently graded by GIA. Diamonds graded by GIA always come with a GIA Diamond Dossier and the corresponding GIA Report Number will be laser inscribed on the diamond's girdle.