The 4C: where to save and where not to
Cut is the only one of the four made by a human, and it drives the light performance. Do not save on it: an excellent-cut SI diamond looks brighter than a VVS stone with a mediocre cut.
Clarity and colour are where compromise pays. SI1 inclusions are invisible without a loupe, and the gap between G and D colour is unreadable by eye — especially in yellow or rose gold.
Natural, lab-grown or moissanite
A lab-grown diamond is the same carbon with the same hardness; only origin and price differ — it costs several times less than a natural stone. Moissanite is a different mineral, cheaper still, with a sharper rainbow dispersion.
None of these can be told apart by eye, so we test every diamond here for thermal and electrical conductivity and examine inclusions under the microscope.