At Steven Collins Fine Jewelry Designs, we hold over 35 years of expertise in diamonds and other precious gems. We have access to the very best and that is exactly what you will get when you work with us.
Are you getting engaged, celebrating a special occasion, or an anniversary? We want to help you make it even more special by educating and guiding you to making the best purchase possible and, best of all, we do it within your budget.
We encourage our clients to only consider stones that are better in Color , Clarity, Cut and Carat – the Higher Range of the “4C’s”
The 4C’s, everyone has heard of the 4C’s, but what do you really know about these parameters. Steven Collins understands what other jewelers do not or will not share with their customers. There is much more to choosing the best diamond than simply Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat.
Let’s dive in:
When choosing the best diamond within your budget it is important to understand the 4C’s and the priority in which they should be considered in relation to their importance of the quality of the stone.
Cut should always be first on your list. When referring to cut, we are not referring to the shape of the stone, but the quality of the stone’s structure. The better a stone is cut, the more light will be returned to the eye, and the more brilliant a stone will be. For example, if a stone is cut too shallow it will appear larger, but there will be significant light leakage and the stone will appear dull; similarly, if a stone is cut too deep it will appear smaller and also suffer from light leakage and appear dull or less brilliant. Second, within the realm of cut, symmetry refers to how well the facets of the stone align and also affects the amount of light that will return to the eye. Third, polish is a factor within the cut of the stone that refers to quality of the surface of the stone and is not often an issue, but should be considered as well. When helping our clients choose a diamond, our aim is for a Triple-Excellent stone with Excellent Cut, Excellent Symmetry, and Excellent Polish.
Color refers to the color or warmth of the diamond, but not fancy colors, i.e. pink or yellow. Diamonds are color graded on an alphabetical scale from D-Z. D being the highest grade, colorless and getting progressively warmer in color as you work your way through the alphabet. We recommend H or better, while H is considered near colorless and can show warmth, a beautifully cut H stone can appear to be of a much higher color grade. It is important to keep in mind that increasing the color grade significantly increases the cost of the stone and is often a preference not a necessity.
Clarity is one of the 4C’s referring to the inclusions within a stone and are important to a point and also where many consumers are duped by other jewelers as this is an area in which they can skimp on quality to increase their profit margins and most people are none the wiser. While there are many variables within this parameter, we ensure that you are receiving an eye-clean stone, meaning inclusions will not be visible to the naked eye. Moreover, we recommend our clients choose VS2 or better; this clarity range starts at engagement quality stones, through collectors-grade, all the way up to flawless.
Carat refers to the carat weight or size of the stone. Many people think that they would never be able to afford a larger stone, but that is simply not true. If, for example you are looking for a 2ct. diamond, but you have a limited budget you may be able to compromise slightly in other areas such as clarity to achieve the desired size without compromising the beauty of the stone.
We only work with stones certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
GIA is the strictest lab and their certifications ensure that you will receive a stone that is exactly as graded. View a sample GIA certificate below.
