Buying diamonds from Lyppens jewellers

Buying a loose diamond is probably not something you do every day and it may even feel quite overwhelming. Lyppens jewellers make the process simple, transparent, easy and even fun. Whether you are visiting the store for an engagement ring, diamond ear studs or a custom design the sales staff is ready to fulfil your every wish. The team at Lyppens will take you through the process of buying a diamond step by step, they will explain what the 4 C’s are, how diamonds are priced and how to find the perfect diamond that matches your wishes and desired budget. After you have selected the diamond that is perfect for you, one of the diamond setters in the in-house workshop is ready to create your engagement ring, earrings or other jewel that you wish to be made.

Lyppens jewellers do not sell synthetic (lab-grown) diamonds.

The 4 C’s

The term the 4 C’s refers to the 4 grading points that establish the value of the diamond. It is a universal grading language, first established by the Gemological institute of America in the 1950’s, in order to simplify the buying and selling of diamonds. The grading method revolutionised the diamond market. The 4 C’s stand for carat, colour, clarity and cut.

Carat

The term carat originates from the Ceratonia siliqua commonly known as the carob tree. The seeds from this tree, when dried, always weigh a consistent 0.20 grams. In ancient times before we had measuring scales or even universal units of mass, diamond traders would weigh their diamonds in a balance scale with these seeds, as they were very common and consistent in weight. This is how the unit of measurement the carat came to be. 1 carat is equivalent to 0.20 grams. Today we need a more accurate way of weighing diamonds so we have split the 1 carat into 100 constituent parts. From 0.01 to 0.99 carat.

Colour

The colour of a diamond actually refers to the lack of colour in a diamond. The highest quality diamonds are white and have no tint of colour. The tinted yellow diamonds are more common, less desirable and thus less expensive.The colour is caused by trace amounts of nitrogen in the diamond. The purer the diamond the whiter the colour.

Colour is graded on an alphabetical scale. This scale begins with the letter D, representing perfect white / colourless and goes all the way down to the letter Z representing a light-yellow tone. There is nothing higher than a D grade.

The grades can be simplified as follows:

D - F: colourless diamonds.

G - J: near colourless diamonds.

K - M: faint yellow.

N - R: very light yellow.

S - Z:light yellow.

The most common diamond colour grade for engagement rings are diamonds in the category D-F and G-H as these diamonds all appear white in a ring. The above colour grading chart counts for about 95% of all diamonds worldwide.

Clarity

The clarity refers to how internally pure or inclusion free the diamond is. Nearly all diamonds have impurities known as inclusions inside them to a certain degree. This occurs during the diamond’s formation as the stone crystalizes and a tiny amount of foreign material gets caught up in its growing process.

The clarity of a diamond gets graded using 10x magnification and is graded on the following scale:

Flawless (FL): no inclusions or blemishes seen under 10x magnification.

Internally Flawless (IF): no inclusions seen under 10x magnification.

Very Very Slightly Included 1 and 2 (VVS1 and VVS2): inclusions so small that they are difficult to see for a skilled diamond grader under 10 x magnification.

Very Slightly Included 1 and 2 (VS1 and VS2): inclusions that are visible with a bit of effort by a trained diamond grader under 10x magnification.

Slightly Included 1 and 2 (SI1 and SI2): inclusions that are visible under 10x magnification.

Included 1, 2 and 3 (I1, I2 and I3): inclusions that are instantly visible under 10x magnification and visible by the naked eye for a trained diamond grader. This grade may affect the transparency or brilliance of the diamond. This grade is also commonly known as Pique (P1, P2 and P3).

Cut

The cut of the diamond is a crucial factor that is commonly overlooked when shopping diamonds. The true art of cutting is getting the facets to maximise their interaction with light. Precise craftsmanship is needed to achieve the optimal return of light in a diamond.

The cut grade is graded using the following grades:

• Excellent
• Very Good
• Good
• Fair
• Poor

The experienced sales team at Lyppens will be happy to help you select the diamond with the right specifications to suit your needs.