How Well Do You Know Diamonds?

Educate yourself on the 4 C's of a diamond before you purchase.

Diamond Education

Diamonds are not all equal. In fact, there are significant differences in quality and price. To understand a diamond's value, you must evaluate the diamond under internationally recognised standards — Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat Weight. Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat Weight are a very important part of every diamond and known throughout the world as the 4Cs.

However we like to add 2 extra Cs — Communication and Confidence.

Cut

Cut doesn't refer to the overall shape of a diamond, but rather the quality of the cut. It is the single most important aspect of any diamond. The proportion, finish and symmetry of the external facets of the diamond are what creates the beauty, brightness, fire and scintillation of a diamond.

The more perfect the cut, the more sparkle you will see. A diamond maybe colourless and flawless but if it's not cut well, it will appear dull and lifeless. Cut

Carat

A diamonds weight is measured in carats, abbreviated ct and represents its overall size. One carat is divided into 100 points. Therefore, a diamond weighing one quarter of a carat can also be referred to as being 25 points. The larger the diamond, the more rare it is, and therefore more expensive, that's why a diamond with a full carat (1 ct) will cost more than twice the price of two half (0.50ct) carat diamonds of the same quality. 

Colour

A diamonds colour is determined on a colour scale from "D" (colourless) to "Z" (yellow / brown). Completely colourless diamonds are graded "D" and are treasured for their rarity. As such they are extremely valuable and highly sought after. Whilst most diamonds appear to have no colour by the human eye, in actual fact they have hints of colours as shown on the colour scale. Colour

Clarity

Clarity represents how many invisible birthmarks your diamond has. These birthmarks are often uncrystallised carbon created when the diamond was born 3 billion years ago. In all cases we use a 10x magnification loupe to find these inclusions. Diamonds can be blemish free and are considered Flawless (FL). Very Very Slight (WS), Very Slight (VS), or Slight or obvious blemishes easily seen with the naked eye (II -13).

Communication

It's the most important C of all. It starts with you — What do you like? How can we help? There are countless beautiful rings to choose from, but deciding which fits best needs healthy communication. A one on one discreet consultation about quality, cost and appearance is a critical step to a wonderful ring, a wonderful proposal and a wonderful life. Every store has a diamond expert ready to answer any of your questions, so you can be confident of receiving the best service and the correct information. Communication is the most important C of all, and it's free!

Confidence

When it comes to diamond rings, we pride ourselves on our exclusive 6th C, Confidence. It's a wonderful feeling to have and we work hard to make sure you have it. We're family owned and operated, and in many cases, we've lived in this town as long as you have. Our extensively trained and experienced sales professionals and designers can help you select or design a ring to withstand the test of time. We back every diamond we sell with unique diamond guarantee's, commitment and extensive after sales service. We want you to be confident that this is the best diamond you can buy, for the best price and we are the best people to buy it from.

The 6Cs is important to The French Door's Team.