Jewellery Knowledge

The most important characteristics to understand when making a diamond purchase are the 4Cs of diamonds - cut, colour, clarity and carat. 

• Cut is the most important of the 4Cs as it has the greatest influence on a diamond's sparkle.
• The grade scale for cuts includes Poor/Fair cut, Good cut, Very Good cut and Ideal cut. 
• To maximize your budget, choose the highest diamond cut grade your budget allows. We suggest a cut grade of Very Good or better.
• When diamond cuts are made with the proper proportions, light is returned out of the top of the diamond. If the cuts are too shallow, light leaks out of the bottom; too deep and it escapes out of the side (see photo gallery below).

Shape: Diamonds come in many shapes, see the photo to the left for examples. Unique characteristics determine quality for each shape. If you have any questions, contact us and we can help you find your perfect shape. 

• When choosing a diamond, colour is the second most important characteristic to consider. 
• The highest quality white diamonds are colourless, while those of lower quality have noticeable colour. This colour manifests as pale yellow in diamonds.
• The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grades diamond colour on a scale of D (colourless) to Z (light yellow or brown). 
• The more you move down the colour chart, the lower the colour grade is, and the more noticeable the light yellow hue becomes.   

Colourless Diamonds
 D-F Colour Diamonds (Highest Quality)

Near Colourless Diamonds
 G-H Diamonds (Best Value)
 I-J Diamonds (Great with Yellow Gold)

Colour is a good thing when referring to the rainbow spectrum of colours (red, purple, orange, etc.). Coloured diamonds are graded on a separate colour scale and can be even more valuable than white diamonds.

• Diamond clarity is the assessment of small imperfections on the surface and internally. 
• "Blemishes" refer to surface flaws and "inclusions" refer to internal defects. 
• Clarity is the least important factor when choosing to buy a diamond because most diamonds have blemishes and small inclusions that are microscopic.

Flawless Diamonds

FL & IF Diamonds (Rare Finds)

Slightly Included Diamonds

VVS Diamonds (Excellent Quality)

VS & SI Diamonds (Best Value & Most Popular)

• Carat is the most misunderstood of the 4Cs. It actually refers to a diamond's weight, not the diamond’s size.
• If a large carat weight is important to you, yet you're working within a strict budget, consider a diamond with a good cut, SI1-SI2 clarity, and an I or J colour grade.
• It is important to take a diamond's cut into consideration as well. For example, a high-carat diamond with a poor cut grade may look smaller, often cut deeper, than a diamond with smaller carat weight and a better cut.

The quality of a diamond is a combinaton of the cut, colour and clarity. 999 Jewellery Design offers diamonds of exceptional quality.

Although there are many metals available, we will be focusing our education on Gold, Silver and Platinum which are the most commonly used. 

Gold is the most popular metal for jewellery, known for its denseness and glistening shine. It is resistant to rust, tarnish and corrosion. Gold is very strong, however it is the most malleable of the precious metals. 

To increase strength and durability, gold is alloyed with a mixture of metals like silver, copper, nickel and zinc. Karatage indicates purity or how much of the metal in a piece of jewellery is gold. Karatage is denoted by a number followed by a "K" and is expressed in 24ths. Therefore 24K gold is 100% gold which is too soft for fine jewellery. We can help you decide if 14K or 18K would be the best option to maximize your durability. 

Yellow Gold

Yellow gold jewellery gets its rich shine from natural gold and colour-saturated alloys such as copper and silver. 

White Gold

White gold is made by combining metal alloys that are white in nature and plated with an extremely hard element called Rhodium. Black Rhodium can also be used to create a rich, black appearance that is extremely strong and hard. Both white and black rhodium may wear over time but can be simply restored by replating. 

Rose Gold

The addition of copper alloy to gold creates the beautiful pink hue of rose gold. 

Pure sterling silver is a soft metal with a white, lustrous hue. Because it is so soft and malleable, it is commonly combined with other metals such as copper to increase durability. Typically the added metal only makes up 7.5% of the product. This is why you will see sterling silver stamped with a ".925" meaning that it is 92.5% pure silver. 

Silver was once considered more precious than gold. Today silver is used to craft many fine jewellery pieces. 

Platinum accentuates the sparkle and brilliance of a diamond. Its naturally white sheen will never change colour or fade - it lasts forever. Platinum can incur scratches causing the development of a Patina (a satin sheen on the surface from normal daily wear and tiny scratches). Many people prefer this unique luster, however if you prefer, it can easily be buffed away with a soft cloth to revive the shine. Platinum is hypoallergenic and makes the most secure setting for your diamond or precious gemstone. 

Similar to diamonds, gemstone quality is defined by 5 essential characteristics that include Colour, Clarity, Cut, Size and Enhancements.

Colour is the most defining characteristic of a gemstone. Hue, tone and saturation are examined when deciding upon gemstone colour. For your best value, it is best to go with a gem that has a lot of saturated colour, "slight" traces of other colours and are not too light or dark. 

HUE: Hue describes the other colours present in addition to the primary colour. The most valuable gemstones have only slight hues of other colours. For example a sapphire can range from "slightly purplish-blue" to "slightly greenish-blue".

TONE: Tone represents the depth of the gemstones colour. It ranges from colourless to black and is described as "light", "medium-light", "medium", "medium-dark" and "dark".

SATURATION: Also known as colour purity, saturation refers to the degree to which the gem is free from brown or grey hues. Typically the most desirable gemstones are described as "vivid" or "strong" in colour saturation. These gems are those that show little grey or brown. 

All gemstones contain inclusions. Flawless gemstones are very rare and very expensive! Gemstones that are lightly to moderately included will be the best value. Clarity is important in comparing quality of coloured gems. Inclusions will not necessarily diminish beauty or desirability of a coloured gemestone. It is important to measure your expectations against the standard for the variety of gemstone you are looking at. For example, some varieties such as a blue topaz will naturally have fewer inclusions while an emerald or ruby tends to have a higher number of acceptable inclusions.  

There is not an "ideal" cut for maximum brilliance like there is with diamonds. Instead, a high quality gemstone cut presents the most even colour, displays most of the gems weight and exposes the fewest inclusions when set in jewellery. Typically a shallow cut will provide greater colour saturation than a deeper cut. So if you have a less saturated gem, the colour may benefit from a deeper cut. A well-cut gemstone is symmetrical, reflects light evenly across the surface, the polish is smooth and there are no nicks or scratches.

Gems vary in density (mass per unit volume), so the carat weight will not necessarily allow you to accurately envision its size. Always request the dimensions of the diameter (for round) or length and width (for other shapes) to ensure the majority of the gems weight will be visible in the setting. 

Nearly all coloured gemstones sold at fine jewellers are enhanced using various techniques. To find one without is very rare and will come with an extravagant price tag. Some treatments are almost universal, are permanent, and require no special care of the gemstone. Some of the methods for enhancements include:

• Heat treatment - to enhance colour and/or clarity
• Infusion - filling the gem material with oil, wax or resin to improve clarity 
• Coating - similar to infusion but exterior treatment only for protection 
• Bleaching - to lighten or enhance colour consistency
• Dyeing - addition of colour agents to enhance/alter colour and
• Irradiation - use of radiation to enhance colour