The more carats... the better the ring?

If a ring weighs more... does that mean it is better? Is a 0.50 ring better than a 0.30 ring, for example?

When you come to Blasco Jewellers looking for solitaire engagement rings, we show you diamonds of different weights. But be careful... having more carats is not necessarily an indicator of a "better ring".

When choosing a good diamond ring, you need to take into account the 4 C's or qualities that make it a gem of exceptional quality. In English:

• CUT (cut or size)
• CLARITY (purity)
• CSMELL (colour)
• CARAT (weight)

Weight is a very important value, yes... but so are size, colour and purity. These four qualities together make up, let's say, its "DNI" or fingerprint. Let's take them one by one:

1. The most important of the four is the SIZE. That is to say, the way in which the various facets or faces of the gem interact or play with light. It is defined on the basis of three key variables: its symmetry, proportion and polish.

Why is cut so important? Because if a diamond is poorly cut, it will look undesirably dull (even if it has a high colour and clarity). In the opposite case, the stone will refract the light with a greater brilliance and sparkle, making it much more attractive and striking, generating what is known as a wide dispersion.

And here we release the pumpCut: it is the cut that determines the true quality and brilliance of a diamond. If we compare two gems with the same colour, weight and clarity... only the cut can make it a unique jewel and set it apart from the rest. As mentioned before, there are three determining factors:

• The accuracy of the cut: angle-size relationship between the different parts of the gemstone.
• The symmetryThe precision with which the various facets of the diamond align and intersect.
• PolishingThe external finish, the details and position of the shapes of these facets.

When at Blasco Joyero you read in the characteristics of our diamonds "...".Triple Excellent"This means that it has passed with flying colours in each of these premises. There are multiple types of sizes: brilliant, princess, tiered, mixed... We will tell you all about it in more detail in the following pages.size in the next post!

2. Secondly, the CLARITY which measures the purity and uniqueness of the stone. A diamond is said to be clean or flawless if, under 10x magnification, no inclusions or blemishes can be distinguished on the inside or any blemishes on the outside of the diamond.

How to recognise whether they are "clean" or not? If they have these acronyms as surnames, it means the following:

FL: free from imperfections.

IFfree of imperfections internal.

VVS: have very large inclusions, very subtle.

VShave very subtle inclusions.

YES: subtle inclusions.

I: are imperfect.

So how important is the clarity of a diamond? If the gemstone has a low clarity grade, this means that it has multiple inclusions or imperfections, directly affecting and damaging the brilliance. Why? Because these inclusions hinder the refraction and return of light, the famous dispersion. Therefore, the conclusion: the lower the clarity, the darker or more opaque the diamond will appear.

3. The second most important quality is COLOUR, as it directly affects the appearance of the stone. By nature, most tend towards a yellowish tone. Therefore, the more "colourless", the more exceptional. The colour grading standards assign a letter (from D to Z) to the diamond, meaning the following:

• D-E: White Exceptional.

• F-G: White Extra.

• H: White.

• I-J: White light coloured.

• K-L: Slightly coloured.

• M-2: Colour.

(* CIBJO - IDC)

4. WEIGHT in carats. First of all: what is a carat? This is a unit of measurement used in jewellery to denote the weight of the diamond. But, BEWARE! not its size.

Depending on the cut of the diamond (round brilliant, princess, pear, oval... etcetera), its carat weight can vary considerably. As we made clear at the beginning of the post: the carat weight - in isolation – does not determine the value of a diamond. Moreover, the price of two diamonds of the same weight may vary more depending on other more defining characteristics or features such as the colour and the size.

We hope we have solved all your doubts, but if you still have any more questions for us, please do not hesitate to send them to our email address comunicacion@blascojoyero.com or through our Instagram @blascojoyero. You can also pay us a visit at C/Barítono Marcos Redondo, 3 (Murcia)... We will be happy to advise you on anything you need!