Everyone talks about the diamond 4Cs like they are child’s play. No they’re not. It’s an extremely complicated endeavour to choose the right diamond for your engagement ring. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’re going to take you through the diamond 4Cs and help you narrow down your options.

We’ll also take you through the design decisions we made for the rings we offer to you in our store. A lot of thought and consideration was put into what Diamond 4Cs we want to use. We also made a few samples to see how cohesive the stone looks with our design. And on the basis of these samples, we think we’ve found the perfect balance between quality and affordability.

Finding the ideal diamond for your engagement ring can be challenging! We’re here to help.

At the end of this guide, you’ll realise that we’ve done all the hard work for you. The technicalities have all been accounted for. All you need to do is visit our store, and choose the design that you like best. So let’s begin.

We don’t design our rings by the weight of the diamond, but by its size. This is to ensure perfect proportions. Even so, all of our diamond engagement rings come with a minimum diamond weight that we adhere to.

Diamond Engagement Ring 4Cs & Fluorescence

The diamond 4Cs consist of Clarity, Cut, Colour and Carat. Apart from these 4 aspects, we also judge our diamond engagement rings on the basis of cohesiveness, and diamond fluorescence.

Clarity

Diamonds are graded on the basis of inclusions found within them. Grades range from IF to I3. We generally recommend using stones with a clarity of VS2 and above. This is better than industry standard. The inclusions in a VS2 graded stone are so small, they’re invisible to the naked eye.

Diamonds graded below VS2 can exhibit naked eye inclusions, and hence we do not recommend using those qualities. Diamonds graded higher than VS2 may be more clear, but the difference would be imperceptible. Instead of paying more for better clarity, we would recommend using in a bigger stone. If you would still like a better clarity diamond, we do offer an upgrade to VVS1 clarity for some of our discerning customers. This pertains to products in our Made To Order Collection.

We also manually inspect every single stone we use in your jewellery. You can read all about it in our Ultimate Guide to Buying a Diamond Engagement Ring.

Further, all engagement rings with centre stones larger than 0.30 carats come with a certificate of guarantee issued by GIA or IGI.

Cut

The diamond’s cut is extremely important. A well cut stone displays better brilliance and whiter colour tones as compared to a stone that’s been cut poorly. As we do for our other gemstones, we gladly pay extra to our supply chain to procure an excellently cut diamond. We do not accept stones with cut gradings below Very Good. In fact, even in this case, we manually inspect the stone to see how the cut impacts lustre.

Colour

Diamond colours are graded on a scale that starts at D and proceeds until Z. Grades D, E, F are considered to be colourless. Grades G & H are considered to be near colourless. In our experience, grades I and beyond I start exhibiting a perceptible difference in colour. And so, all of our diamonds come with H+ colouring. When you order a diamond engagement ring from us, it will be graded colour H or better.

Carat and Cohesiveness:

Carat is quite literally a measure of weight. 1 carat = 0.2g. What this means is that a 1 carat diamond weighs 0.2 grams. Weight and size tend to be correlated and so, a heavier diamond would also mean a larger diamond. We don’t design our rings by the weight of the diamond, but by its size. This is to ensure perfect proportions. Even so, all of our diamond engagement rings come with a minimum diamond weight that we adhere to. Your diamond will typically be heavier than the minimum weight mentioned on the product page.

Fluorescence:

Fluorescence is the property of a diamond to shine brightly under UV light. It seems to give the diamond a slightly bluish tinge in places where dense UV light is present – clubs, bars, pubs. But the effect of fluorescence is negligible in normal lighting conditions. Fluorescence can be preferable at times, for example when looking at a diamond with a strong yellowish hue. In this case, fluorescence would make the diamond appear one colour grade better. Since it makes very little difference to the look of the diamond, we recommend using diamonds graded Medium or better on the fluorescence scale.

At The Peacock, we have a range of Engagement Rings and Stacking Bands to suit all budgets. You can visit our store and choose something beautiful, no matter what your budget. We’re adding new designs to our collection frequently too, and you can always request a custom, bespoke design if you so wish.

Explore our Collection

View the entire collection in our store. Each design is carefully made, with love and care. All stones are hand picked, and adhere to our high standards of quality and craftsmanship.

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Akshay Sethi

With an eye for detail, Akshay has been designing exquisite pieces of jewellery for years now. He's also our resident gemologist, and the founder at The Peacock.

All Posts By Akshay