Diamonds were formed deep below the Earth's crust, under immense forces of heat and pressure, over millions of years. The history of diamonds is surrounded by myth, legend and romance. The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were splinters of stars fallen to earth, while it was the ancient Egyptians who began the tradition of wearing a diamond on the third finger of the left hand in the belief that the vena amoris (the 'vein of love') ran directly from this finger to the heart.

A unique crystalline carbon structure makes diamonds the hardest and one of the purest substances known to man. But not all diamonds are equal, therefore buying a diamond should always be a considered decision. At Pravins, we believe in taking the time to explain why each of our diamonds is so special. By telling you the facts in an uncomplicated manner, we can make your decision about which diamond to buy that much simpler. Cut, colour, clarity, carat-weight and certification are just some of the subjects our staff are fluent in.

Of course, the best way to know just how brilliant our diamonds are is to take a good look for yourself. After all, the perfect diamond will speak more to you than we ever could.

Grading a Diamond - an explanation of the 4 'C's

Carat
A diamond's weight is measured in units called carats, each equivalent to approximately one fifth of a gram. The word derives from the name for the tiny seeds of the carob tree, which were traditionally used to weigh diamonds in the ancient Middle East. A carat is often expressed in points (1/100ths of a carat) so that a half-carat diamond measures 50 points. The carat weight of a diamond plays a major part in determining its surface dimensions. As you would expect, larger diamonds are rare and are therefore far more expensive than the equivalent weight in smaller diamonds.

Colour
A colourless diamond is very rare and therefore highly cherished, since the majority of diamonds contain slight traces of yellow, brown or grey. Colour is typically measured on the alphabetical scale prepared by the Gemmological Institute of America, with the most colourless diamonds graded as D and colour becoming more easily visible at each step down the scale.

Clarity
Most diamonds possess natural internal marks called inclusions that take the form of feathers, crystals or clouds. They can appear in any combination of location, formation and grouping, which is why they have become known as 'nature's fingerprints'. The presence of inclusions can impede the passage of light through a diamond, reducing its brilliance, and therefore a stone with no inclusions is highly prized. Clarity is usually graded on a scale prepared by the Gemmological Institute of America, and ranges from Flawless to Included (also known as Pique).

Cut
Nature might be responsible for diamond's hardness and purity, but only once a diamond is properly cut and polished by an expert is its true beauty revealed. The cut of a diamond defines its shape and pattern - the most commonly found cuts are shown in the diagram below. It is important to note that a diamond must be cut well and have optimal proportions in to order to sparkle brilliantly, therefore the expertise of the diamond cutter plays a large part in determining the quality and brilliance of a diamond. Poorly cut diamonds allow light to leak from the sides or bottom of the stone, drastically reducing brilliance. It can be argued that Cut is the most important of the four 'C's.