What is a Diamond?

• Mineral: Diamond

• Chemistry: C

• Colour: Colourless

• Mohs Scale of Hardness: 10

Diamonds are the hardest material on earth, 58 times harder than anything else in nature. Diamonds are typically 99.95 % carbon and the only gem made from a single element.

Diamonds form under high temperature and pressure conditions which only exist a specific depth (about 100 miles) beneath the earth's surface.

The Gemmological Institute of America (GIA)

‘Established in 1931, GIA is the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, coloured stones, and pearls. A public benefit, nonprofit institute, GIA is the leading source of knowledge, standards, and education in gems and jewellery’

Each diamond that is over a 0.30ct will come with its own GIA Grading Report this means that the stone has been independently graded by the GIA which gives our customers peace of mind.

Why aren't all diamonds graded?

Many jewellers will sell diamonds which are ‘self-certified’, unsurprisingly these are often wildly inaccurate and misleading to the customer. There are also a range of other grading labs which will grade diamond and gemstones but none are as accurate as the GIA. We want our customers to have complete confidence in us and their purchase which is why all of our diamonds that are over a 0.30ct are GIA graded.

The 4 Cs of Diamonds

A diamond's colour, clarity, cut and carat weight are collectively known as the ‘4Cs’. These are factors that, when combined, define a diamonds quality and ultimately determine its value.

Which C is the most important?

From experience we find that many of our customers select carat, colour and clarity based on their personal preferences. There is no right or wrong choice; it is dependent on the customer's individual inclination and specification that they believe will best suit their partner. The cut grade is very significant to the beauty of the stone as it controls the brilliance, sparkle and fire of the diamond.

Off Report Factors

There are a number of factors that can impact the beauty of the diamond but will not appear on the stones GIA report, these are known as off report factors.

Here at Mill & Way we are dedicated to only providing the highest quality stones and our diamond buyer checks each stone for qualities that will not appear on the GIA report.

Fluorescence

Fluorescence is the emission of visible light by a material when it is under ultraviolet (UV) rays. Fluorescence can vary in both intensity and colour, the terms used for describing the intensity of fluorescence are None, Faint, Medium, Strong and Very Strong.

Fluorescence can sometimes impact the beauty of the diamond, because of this we choose to only use diamonds in the Faint or None categories.

Some customers prefer the playfulness of a diamond with high fluorescence, please get in touch if you would prefer a stone that stands out in fluorescent lighting!

How can I be sure a diamond is conflict-free?

In 2002, a coalition of governments, non-governmental organizations and the diamond industry established the Kimberley Process to control the export and import of rough diamonds to eliminate the trade in conflict diamonds. Today 99% of diamonds in the marketplace are conflict-free.

For more information please follow the link below.

https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/

Ethics

All of our designs have the environment in mind, by creating our products with Recycled Metal, Fair Trade Gold and Conflict Free, Ethical Gemstones.

Conflict-free refers to diamonds and gemstones which have not financed civil wars. Ethical diamonds go further, ensuring fair pay, safe working conditions, environmentally sound practices, and no human rights abuses.