Consumers are growing increasingly educated about the authenticity of precious stones and metals in jewellery. Here, ANU MANCHANDA takes us through the Birmingham Assay Office’s certification process. Diamond certification is a hot topic. Demand is being driven by internet sales and research and the consumer’s perceived increase in knowledge as they try to assess one potential purchase against another based on ‘quality’ as opposed to the straightforward visual appeal of the stone. The ‘4 Cs’, Clarity, Colour Carat and Cut, are widely understood at a basic level. Recently there has been much discussion with regard to varying standards of grading for colour and clarity and also concerns about the pollution of the natural diamond market with synthetic stones and artificially enhanced natural diamonds. The quality of the cut is assessed by the diamond grader. Anu Manchanda, senior gemmologist for the AnchorCert Gemmological Laboratory at the Birmingham Assay Office, explains the features that can impact the quality of the cut and therefore the appearance of the polished diamond. “Cut is categorised by three things: shape... READ MORE... to find out how else cut is categorised and to read all of this article please click on the READ MORE link to visit our meet the experts page.

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