DIAMONDS

ANTWERP

The diamond buying capital of the world.

Over 60% of the world’s diamonds are traded in Antwerp, Belgium. Trevor regularly travels to Antwerp where he meets with Gabi Tolkowski, the world’s most famous diamond cutter.
On his buying trips, he is able to select the very best diamonds for our customers, and
because of the enormous choice of top quality diamonds available in Antwerp, can easily locate the perfect diamond in the exact size, shape and quality that you wish – at a price that meets your budget.
As a Nationwide Jeweller and Antwerp broker, we can find you the exact diamond you want at a price we think you’ll agree gives you exceptional value and quality in superbly designed and beautifully finished jewellery. We can offer you a quality that gives each piece that special something extra to make it a jewel to give, a jewel to treasure for generations to come.

Diamond Grading Terminology

A diamond's cost is based on the characteristics known as the "4 C's". Clarity, Colour and Cut (proportion) are the quality elements which together with the Carat Weight determine the value of a stone. While clarity is frequently assumed to be the most important factor of all the "C's", in fact, colour and cut (especially cut) have a more profound affect on the visual appearance of a diamond.

CUT
Cut refers to the angles and proportions a skilled craftsman creates in transforming a rough diamond into a polished diamond. A well cut diamond will reflect light internally from one mirror-like facet to another, dispersing it through the top of the stone. Cut is the only one of the 4 C’s that is influenced by man, so that in many ways the cut is the most important element you should ever consider when making your choice.

COLOUR
Every natural diamond possesses its own astonishing beauty and mystique and there are no hard and fast rules for what colour makes a diamond beautiful. While traditionally, colourless and white diamonds have long been considered the ultimate symbol of love and romance, natural coloured diamonds are equally beautiful and the perfect expression of your personal passions. Increasing degrees of body colour are measured on a scale ranging from no colour at all (D) to deeply coloured (Z). Beyond "Z" is the range where the diamond's colour is vivid and rich, called "fancy colours".

CLARITY
Diamonds are nature’s most wonderful gift and their infinite variety results from the fingerprints with which nature has endowed them. Sometimes called inclusions, these minute traces of minerals, gases or often, beautiful internal fractures such as ‘feathers’ are what gives each stone its very own character and personality making every single gem stone unique. Clarity is measured on a scale ranging from pure (flawless) to heavily included (I-3). The clarity of a diamond is graded by using 10X magnification under good lighting by an experienced grader. The final clarity grade is usually determined by how easy the inclusions and blemishes are for the grader to see.

CARAT
Carat is often confused with size even thought it is actually a measure of weight. The term carat comes from the carob seed whose uniform weight was such that early gem traders used it as the most accurate and universally accepted method of weighing their diamonds. One carat is 0.2 grams. A carat can be further divided into 100 ‘points’. A diamond of 25 points therefore is described as quarter of a carat or 0.25 carats.