Below is an outline of the 4C's; cut, colour, carat and clarity. Our staff will be delighted to explain each of these and to help you select your diamond in any of our stores.

The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. One carat equals 0.200 grams. The carat weight alone does not determine a diamond’s value. In fact, two stones of equal weight can vary in price because of differences in quality. For example, a smaller diamond may actually be more beautiful than a larger stone with inferior cut, clarity or colour. When comparing diamonds of equal quality, the larger stone will have considerably more value. For example, a two-carat diamond can be more than twice as valuable as a one-carat stone.

Cut refers to the shape of the diamond. Diamonds are individually selected by John Neville for exceptional beauty. The Round Brilliant cut is the most popular cut followed by the Princess, Emerald, Oval, Pear, Heart amongst many others.

A diamond’s colour grade is a key quality evaluation, but often misleading. This is because the ideal engagement diamond should have a lack of colour. In other words, it is clear to the point of being colourless. Stones are colour graded to a precise scale from “D” (colourless) to “Z” (saturated).

Clarity measures the flawlessness of a diamond or how free from inclusions it is. Like all the 4 C’s, a diamond’s clarity rating has a direct effect on a diamond’s beauty and price. However, virtually all diamonds have imperfections called inclusions and blemishes. A stone is said to be “flawless” if, under 10-power magnification, no external imperfections or internal flaws are visible. Diamonds can receive a clarity rating based on an industry standard scale: FL (flawless) to I3 (heavily included).