Jo Culture ep #5: the quality of diamonds ✨

0.4 carat recycled diamond, minimum H Si quality certified by GIA/HRD.

So, did you understand? It's hard to make sense of it all... so this week, we're turning you into a quality expert 💎🔍

There are 4 quality criteria for diamonds, the "4Cs", used worldwide: Carat, Color, Clarity, Cut.

✨ Weight (Carat)

The diamond has its own unit of weight: it is measured in Carats.

This was set by convention in 1907 at 200 milligrams, meaning that a 1 carat stone is equivalent to 0.20 grams, or 5 carats for 1 gram. 🤓

✨ Color (Color)

The color of a diamond is measured on a color scale comprising 23 shades, classified from D (perfectly white diamonds) to Z for the yellowest diamonds.

The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) classifies diamonds into 5 color families ranging from perfect white to light yellow.

✨ Clarity (Clarity)

A diamond's clarity is measured under special light with a magnifying glass. 🕵🏼‍♀️🔍

All diamonds have imperfections (inclusions within the diamond's structure that appeared during its formation), very small and invisible to the naked eye.

The stone's clarity is determined by their position (internal, external) and size.

✨ Cut (Cut)

Pause! If you haven't read our episode #3, we invite you to go and read it to learn everything about diamond cuts.

There are several cuts (round, princess, oval, baguette, pear...), which best exploit the brilliance of the rough diamond extracted from the mine.

The quality of a diamond's cut, whatever the chosen shape, greatly affects its brilliance and is therefore of the utmost importance: we love diamonds because they sparkle ✨

It is therefore the only criterion for evaluating a diamond's quality that depends on human workmanship: a cut that is too shallow or too deep can lead to too much loss of rough diamond or not exploit its brilliance to the fullest.

Cut quality is measured on a 5-level scale, from excellent to poor.

✨ From a certain weight (0.3 carat, a common average on the market), a diamond quality guarantee certificate is provided with the purchase (also at H&A!).

Two independent organizations (GIA and HRD) issue certificates according to the 4Cs rule for the diamond in question.

They determine its carat weight as well as all measurable elements: its depth, the dimensions of its different parts (table, crown, pavilion), its angles,...

They meticulously examine the diamond's color under specific light, comparing it to reference stones to place it on the scale.

At H&A, most of our collection models are made from recycled diamonds of G/H quality, Vs clarity.

Of equal color and clarity to classic diamonds of the same quality, they remain of exceptional quality.

So, do diamonds no longer hold any secrets for you? 💎✨

See you next week!