All About Diamonds

Diamonds. Girl’s best friend, man’s biggest bugbear.

It’s hard to justify thousands of pounds on a piece of jewellery there purely to let everyone know you intend to spend thousands more pounds on a wedding. Diamonds are forever, and so are the loan repayments, apparently.

"The problem with platinum is that it will run out eventually. If you were to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with platinum, it would only come up to your ankles. Gold would fill three pools."

Despite all this, most women, and some men, wish for a bit of bling from their loved one. If you’re one of these people, it’s worth doing your research on what makes a good quality diamond ring.

We spoke to Neil Smith - a store manager at Philip Stoner, the family jeweller with two shops in Leeds and their latest on the Avenue in Spinningfields, Manchester - to learn about this precious stone and find out why one day you may not be able to buy platinum jewellery at all....

What makes a good diamond?

Gemological Institute ChartThe four Cs. Cut, carat weight, clarity and colour. All our rings are coloured from a scale of D (colourless) to Z (the most coloured). Diamonds are valued by how closely they approach colourlessness – the less colour, the higher their value. They should be very clear. You don’t want a yellow tinge. We only go down to a level G, but we can get lower colours if a customer asks. The scale was invented by GIA (Gemological Institute of America) in the 1930s and now there’s a consumer guide on how it all works too. 

What’s the best way to see the colour of a diamond?

You can tell the colour better in direct sunlight. Light travelling into the diamond is reflected because there are individual little facets cut into the diamond which reflect the light back to the eye. The light is called the ‘fire’. If it wasn’t a good a diamond it would look dull.

You wouldn’t notice the weight of a diamond if you were wearing it. They weight it before they sell it to give it a point value. Most people couldn’t tell the difference in carats either.

People with a lower budget should only really just concentrate on colour then?

Yes, colour definitely above everything. All the four Cs are important, but colour is the first thing you see.

If the diamond was colour D (flawless) but everything else was low on the four Cs chart, what differences would you see?

 You’d see amazing colour, but if the stone wasn’t cut very well it would also have an effect on the amount of ‘fire’ being delivered from the back of the stone and therefore wouldn’t reflect as much light as it could do. Also, if it’s full of inclusions (clarity) that’ll make the diamond look dull too.

Diamonds can exist for billions of years before they’re mined. Impurities can get into the diamond in its solidified state, leaving little marks and inclusions. When you’re looking at buying a diamond you need to have as few inclusions as possible. There are all different clarity grades. The very best is of course flawless.

Have you got flawless diamonds in the shop?

The best I’ve got in the shop at the moment are VVS1, which means they are very, very slightly included. I’ve actually got an enquiry in at the moment for a flawless diamond. We’re talking mega money - that’s the difference between all these grades.

Can you actually see any imperfections on VVS1 diamonds though?

No, not with the naked eye. You’ve got to look through an eyeglass or a jeweller’s loupe to see many of these inclusions.

Why do people bother paying all the extra money for a flawless diamond then?

Lila CollectionBecause, they’ve got the money for the very best.

How exactly do the prices vary on diamonds?

Usually by thousands. Prices of diamonds are going through the roof at the moment. A one carat, colour D (colourless), VS2 (very slightly included) would be about £10,000. If someone wanted to compromise, you could say have a colour D, not so sharp on the inclusions, SI1 (slightly included) which would come in about £7,000.

How much for a flawless one?

Oh my God. We’ve got an enquiry in at the moment actually. £40,000 depending on the actual size and weight. We can do anything, whatever your budget. If someone’s got £500,000 pounds or £500 we treat them exactly the same as that is the best they can afford. We won’t turn anything away.

Is it possible to make a ring that looks like it’s worth £30,000 but only costs say £1,000?

It depends what diamonds are available on the market, but you’d probably have a big diamond that looked a dirty yellow colour.

What would you suggest instead for £1,000 then?

We could suggest a style and cut you’d like and price it for you. It would be much smaller and 20-30 points, which is way below half a carat. People are always keen to make sure their diamond is bigger than their friends’, but bigger isn’t always better with diamonds.

We could also make a diamond ring from white gold to bring the price down. It looks the same. Most of all, it’s a psychological thing.

There must be some differences between the way platinum and white gold?

When you mine gold it’s all yellow. White gold doesn’t exist. It’s manmade. You get yellow gold and mix it with the white metals - silver and palladium - to turn it from yellow to white. Then they plate it with rhodium to make it shiny. You don’t need to do any of that for platinum.

Philip Stoner ManchesterThe problem with platinum is that it will run out eventually. If you were to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with platinum, it would only come up to your ankles. Gold would fill three pools.

Rose gold is yellow gold with a lot of copper added. People think it’s like platinum but it’s not.

Sex And The City 2 made black diamond engagement rings popular. In the movie, Mr Big gave Carrie the ring and said: “Because you’re not like anyone else.” Are black diamonds really that unique?

Black diamonds are really nice, very fashionable, but lower down in terms of quality because of the inclusions.

There are fashions when it comes to rings but we tend not to follow fashions. For example, there isn’t a market for Kate Middleton’s ring for us at the moment. People don’t want to pay that much for a replica. QVC do it cheaper. It’s costume jewellery. We do classic pieces mainly.

What type of customers shop with you?

Career people who have disposable incomes so they can treat themselves. A lot of young professionals also come in to buy engagement rings then come back months or years later to get their wedding bands.

We get scared-looking guys coming in on their own. One guy phoned me up last week, all panicky. I told him to come in, have a cup of tea or a beer with us and talk through the options. We like to make you feel at home here. Some jewellers come across as stuffy because of their door policy.

Do all jewellers have to lock their doors?

Not all, but the high end ones do. Some have security guards which unfortunately make you instantly feel like you’ve done something wrong. It can be intimidating. People might think they’ve got the crown jewels in there or something.

What’s your most popular item of jewellery?

Wedding and engagement rings, then pendants and necklaces. We have payment plans too which are good for young people. It’s not something we’d shout about but it’s there for people if they want it.

Can people draw their own designs and bring them to you or come in with their ideas?

Bespoke jewelleryAnything’s possible. We can draw them for you and the finished image will look like the real thing. They feel like you can pick them out of the picture.

What other services do you offer?

We do watch repairs even though we don’t sell them or if you’ve inherited something you don’t like we can remake it. We can turn an heirloom into something modern.

How do you do that?

We can turn diamonds from a ring into pendant for example, but it depends what we’re working with. If the diamonds are all different sizes we’d advise something else. It’s not cheaper than buying a new piece of jewellery though, as we have to source materials and make it.

Will the prices of diamonds ever go down?

 Prices have gone up because of the economy and conflict and confusion in the Middle East. There will be a good time to buy eventually though.

Where do you sit on the blood diamond debate?

Our diamonds are conflict free. No blood diamonds. We get ours from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and we’re very proud of that. We have a guaranteed buying process from sustainable sources. Some people think it’s better to go to South Africa themselves and cut out the middle man, but I guarantee they will be buying blood diamonds.

For more information, please visit www.phillipstoner.com

Phillip Stoner

The Avenue

Manchester

0161 833 1751

Victoria Quarter

Leeds

0113 242 7888

The Light

Leeds

0113 234 3003

Southgate

Halifax

01422 353070