The tip tells of a diamond’s purity, says the guy who’s grown up with it

Gemologists Biren Jhaveri and Sangeeta Dhawan share secrets of picking pure jewellery

The tip tells of a diamond's purity, says the guy who's grown up with it

Gemologists Biren Jhaveri and Sangeeta Dhawan share secrets of picking pure jewellery

Blessed were the times when our dadis did the diamond shopping. They seemed to know just about everything that gave away the spurious from the spotless, and we still dared to call them illiterate.

Gemologist Biren Jhaveri, manager, stone sourcing department at Tanishq, elaborated on the four Cs, a must for everyone who's setting out for the smith. We were all ears for you.

Colour: One of the ways to judge a diamond is by the colour. There are colour scale grades, from D to Z. The letter D identifies a diamond that is colourless and most valuable. As the scale goes down to Z, there's a hint of light yellow to brown. The whiter the diamond, the more value it carries. The diamonds that have a natural tint, however, are far dearer and rarer.

Cut: In case of diamonds, we often get confused with the shape and the cut. Cut refers to the light that reflects off the diamond, and not the outer form. It is classified as ideal, premium, very good, good or fair and poor.

Clarity: Studying this tip is important, as clarity refers to flaws outside and inside a diamond. The internal flaws are known as inclusions, such as cracks or air bubbles. The outward flaws are known as blemishes that appear as scratches or chips. Clarity is identified as flawless, internally flawless, VVS 1 & 2 (very very slightly included), VS 1 & 2 (very slightly included), SI 1 & 2 (slightly included) and I1, I2, I3 (imperfect). All of these identify the degree of blemishes or inclusions within the diamond.

Carat: The carat is a measurement of the weight of the diamond. The first question everyone asks is, 'what is the size of your diamond'. In other words, they want to know how many carats the weighs. Authenticity, however, isn't about that.

Sangeeta Dewan, Head of Design, Tanishq, has some tips on choosing polki and kundan better
>>If there is not enough gold outside the polki, either the polki will turn black, or the gold will chip off.
>>In trying to differentiate between an old and a new minakari piece, remember that the older the piece, the more intricate the design and more brilliant the colour.
>>Genuine kundan-set crystal has a mellow, opaque appearance. Artificial kundan-set crystal is transparent, and it glitters. This is because glass has been used instead of crystal and coloured tinfoil under the stones create the illusion of colour.
>>For good care, always wear your perfume first, and then your jewellery. While storing, place it on a cotton pad.

FYI's fast guide to solitaire searching
>>See how clean a diamond is
>>The more the diamond sparkles, the better it is
>>When passing UV rays through it, the less fluorescent, the purer
>>Pick a diamond piece with a certificate that shows the quality, or buy them from a branded or a reputed jeweller
>>American diamonds loose their lustre after a while
>>Pricing depends on the rarity, mining, labour for cutting and positioning, and often has little to do with purityu00a0

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