Diamond Knowledge As a jeweller with unparalleled service and customer guarantees, Bramley's Jewellers know the value of knowledge. We understand the significance and sentiment entailed in a gift of fine jewellery-both to the giver and the recipient. Years of serving our customers and training our employees have proven that customers are more confident and satisfied with their purchase when they know the quality and value of what they are buying. The following is information about the classic "Four C's" every buyer should consider before that all important diamond purchase. 1. CUT Many people confuse cut with the shape of a diamond. The shape you select is a matter of individual taste, and today your choice is only limited by the skill and imagination of the craftsman. The cut is the most critical component of the 4 C's, since the value of two diamonds with exactly the same carat weight could vary by up to 50% depending on the quality of cut. Just as fine cloth needs an expert tailor to create a quality garment, the diamond cutter controls the fire and brilliance of a diamond.The cutting grade is determined by the diamond cutter's effort to maximize the refraction of light during every stage of the fashioning process. Most brilliant-cut or fancy-shaped diamonds possess fifty-eight carefully angled flat surfaces, called facets, whose placement will affect the fire, brilliance and ultimate beauty of your diamond. Bramley's Jewellers offers a broad selection of cuts, including most of the standard cuts including: round brilliant, princess, marquise, emerald (square), oval, pear and heart-shaped diamonds. We can also special order cuts such as asscher or custom cuts. If you do not find the exact cut you are looking for on our site, you can fill out and email us the Special Request Form with the specifics of what you need and we will do our best to accommodate you. 2. COLOUR The most prized diamonds are colourless. Their beauty depends entirely upon their remarkable optical properties. All the colours of the rainbow are reflected back to your eye. Though most diamonds appear to be icy-white, the fact is that most diamonds have slight traces of colour, usually yellow or brown. The most valuable is no colour, or colourless, due to its rarity. With each subtle departure from colourless, there is a decrease in rarity and value. The colour grades range from D (colourless) all the way to Z (yellow-brownish). At Bramley's Jewellers, our standard collection includes only the most desirable colourless or near colourless diamonds to our customers, ensuring a bright, lasting beauty in every diamond purchase. We can also special order fancy colour diamonds such as yellow and pink. If you would like to order a fancy colour diamond, you can fill out and email us the Special Request Form with the specifics of what you need and we will do our best to accommodate you. 3. CLARITY Clarity in a diamond is defined by the presence of natural characteristics. A diamond is graded using a microscope at 10 power (10x) magnification. The most rare and valuable diamonds have no natural characteristics at 10 power, and diamonds with more and larger characteristics are less rare and less valuable. As with colour, differences in clarity can be very subtle, yet have a decided impact on value.To better serve our customers, Reeds carries diamonds in a full range of clarity, providing multiple price points and value from which to choose. 4. CARAT WEIGHT Carat weight is the standard unit of weight for diamonds. One carat equals 1/5 of a gram, or .007 of an ounce. Carat weight is further divided into decimals. For example, exactly 1/2 carat is .50 carat and expressed as 50 points. Because diamonds are weighed to hundredths of a carat, they must be weighed on extremely precise and sensitive scales. All other factors being equal, as weight increases, so does rarity and value. In solitaires, Bramley's regularly carry from 1/10 carat up to 2.0 carat total weight (ctw) single stones. We also carry large total carat weight diamond jewellery items from diamond tennis bracelets up to 6.0 ctw for women and men, diamond fashion rings and anniversary rings in many sizes. If you need something larger or a combination that you do not find on our site or in our stores, you can fill out and email us the Special Request Form with the specifics of what carat weight stone or combination you need and we will do our best to accommodate your specific requirement.