Diamonds

At Rawson Brothers we work in both lab grown and natural diamonds depending on our clients wishes.

Natural diamonds are mined from the earth, whereas lab grown are made in laboratories. Both have pros and cons.

Natural Diamonds

Natural diamonds appeal to people who value rarity, tradition, and long‑term resale strength. They’re formed over billions of years, which gives them a sense of history and uniqueness, and they generally retain value better because the market for them is well‑established. On the downside, they’re significantly more expensive, and mining can raise environmental or ethical concerns depending on the source.

Lab Grown Diamonds

Lab‑grown diamonds offer the same physical and chemical properties at a much lower price, often allowing buyers to choose a larger or higher‑quality stone within the same budget. Their production is more controlled and traceable, which many see as an ethical advantage. However, they typically have weaker resale value, and some people feel they lack the natural rarity or symbolic “story” that makes traditional diamonds appealing. At Rawson Brothers we have seen a steady uptick in clients requesting lab grown diamonds. We have been able to make some stunning designs with a modest budget, and are one of the few local Jewellers who offer a full bespoke service for lab grown diamonds with our goldsmith rather than a sales person.

Cut

A diamond’s cut is essential to display the natural sparkle and fire of a good quality diamond. Cut isn’t the shape that the stone is cut into, but how well the finished stone is proportioned to reflect the most light and fire back to the viewer. 

A diamond’s cut is the most important of the 4 C’s to consider. A poorly cut diamond lacks sparkle and life and has no place being worn by a loved one.

At Rawson brothers we only ever use EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD cut diamonds. These stones are more expensive as they are rarer than poorly cut stones, and have a much higher demand.

Cut is the hardest of the 4 C’s to grade, the Gemological instate of America lists dozens of measurements against which a diamond must fit into to be graded as an Excellent or Very Good Cut. Essentially it comes down to two parts; design and craftsmanship. Design is determined during the fashioning stage. It’s a diamond’s physical shape, including its proportions and durability. Craftsmanship is the care that goes into the diamond’s finishing details. These factors gives a well-crafted diamond the recognition it deserves and properly identifies why it is more beautiful than other diamonds.

Colour

When it comes to colourless diamonds, less is best (except fancy colours). Most diamonds display a light tinge of yellow or brown. The diamond colour range starts at D and goes all the way down to Z. The less colour a diamond has the more rare it is, so a Colour D diamond is far rarer and commands a higher price than a Colour H diamond.

Normal high street retailers will use diamonds in the H-J range in white gold and J-k in yellow gold as the stones colour will be less noticeable. Most online stones available are J or bellow.

At Rawson Brothers we use diamonds between E-G described as colourless. This colour range along with an excellent cut makes our stones look much brighter and more lively when compared any other stone sold on the high street. Even if the item you choose has small side diamonds they still fit into this range. We don't put a lower quality stones into yellow gold settings, they are all of a good colour

Clarity

Diamonds usually have inclusions, little characteristics that affect the clarity grade. Basically these are carbon spots, tiny crystals or natural characteristics of a stone from when it was formed under tremendous pressure and heat within the earth. It is not necessarily bad to have inclusions in a diamond, as they are natural and make your diamond unique - like a fingerprint! They can even tell you whether your stone is a natural diamond (all the diamonds on display in our store are natural diamonds).

The less internal inclusions in a diamond, the rarer the stone is. It’s difficult to say what a good diamond is or what a good clarity grade is. Effectively from grade Si2 (slightly included) and below, the naked eye can’t see inclusions. But what about a larger stone has a large inclusion to one side? This inclusion can be hidden under a claw or may only be seen from below, so it won’t affect the look of the stone. This is where it gets tricky so we chose a stone firstly based on cut, then colour, and we look for an attractive stone with minimal inclusions that doesn’t effect the overall look of the diamond.

Clarity is measured with a 10X loupe under controlled conditions. A lower grade can look good depending on where the inclusions are, how many there are and what colour they are. However, when there are too many inclusions or the wrong sort of inclusions, these stop even looking like diamonds. This is the area you need an expert eye to choose a stone that gives you the best value.

Carat Weight

A Carat refers to the standard measurement of weight for a diamond. A Carat is 0.2g grams. Diamonds are very light compared to other stones due to a very low density of Carbon, a diamond is made entirely of Carbon.

Diamonds come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all weighed in Carats or parts of carats. Larger diamonds are more scarce and desired so the prices for larger diamonds is a lot higher than smaller stones for example a 4X 0.25ct (four quarter carat) together would weigh 1ct but a single stone that weighs 1ct would be far more expensive.

We recommend looking for a stone of better quality rather than a larger stone. Naturally stones that fit nicely onto a sales sign are things like 1ct or 0.5ct or 1.5carats because that's what customers want that's what retailers want, so if that's what retailers want that's what diamond cutters aim for. these are what are called Magic Numbers, so few people want to buy a 0.99ct diamond so close to being a 1 carat stone. These are called "light Carats" and they can prove to be a real bargain, naturally we only ever tell the truth when it comes to diamond weight, but the difference in weight cannot be noticed by anyone including a diamond grader once the stone is in a ring, so may be worth considering.