Engagement ring terminology - online help guide UK

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Blemish - Defect (nick, scratch or abrasion) on the diamond's surface

Bow tie effect - Dark area in a diamond created when light leaks out through the bottom of the stone

Brilliance - White light that reflects up through the top of the diamond

Carat - Weight of a diamond

Clarity - The diamond's 'fingerprint'

Cloud - Cluster of small inclusions in a diamond

Colour - Amount of yellow within the stone, the scale ranges from D (fully colourless) to Z

Crown - Upper portion of a cut stone, above the girdle

Culet - Tiny facet on the pointed bottom of the pavilion, a diamond with no culet has a pointed tip

Cut - Proportions and shape of a diamond

Depth - Height of a tone, from the culet to the table

Diameter - Width of the diamond as measured through the girdle

Eye clean - A diamond with no inclusions visible to the naked eye

Facet - Flat polished surfaces on a diamond - a round brilliant diamond has 58 facets

Feathers - Small fractures in a diamond usually caused by stress while it was growing underground

Fire - Coloured light that reflects up through the top of the diamond

Fluorescence - Bluish glow that comes from a stone exposed to ultraviolet light, making it look less yellow

Girdle - Narrow belt around a diamond that separates the crown from the pavilion

Ideal cut - A perfectly proportioned round diamond (its depth percentages and table percentages maximise fire and brilliance)

Inclusion - A 'speck' found within a diamond, usually created when the gem first formed in the earth

Karat - Purity of the gold

Patina - Sheen produced by everyday wear, unique to platinum

Pavilion - Lower portion of the diamond, below the girdle

Point - Unit of measurement used to describe a diamond's weight, one point is equivalent to one-hundredth of a carat

Polish - External finish of the facets

Symmetry - Graded according to how precisely the top and bottom facets are aligned - a facet without symmetrical sides will negatively influence how light reflects from the stone

Table - Large, flat top surface of a diamond

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Engagement Ring Terminology

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