Our Diamonds
The 4Cs and Beyond — Cynthia Britt’s Diamonds
Diamonds Hand Picked, Just For You
You are one of a kind. We at Cynthia Britt believe that each person deserves to have a diamond specifically chosen for their unique persona. Cynthia Britt goes beyond the classic 4 C's to give an experience, and a ring, that is so much more than custom made.
CARAT
You’ve done your research, you know that the carat is a measure of volume. Here at Cynthia Britt, we go deeper than just the carat weight to measure the size of a diamond. When Cynthia sources diamonds for each of her clients, she uses the millimeter measurements of the diamond. This is the most accurate way to understand how large or small a diamond will look to the human eye, since each diamond will have a different cut. This becomes increasingly important in the realm of fancy-cut diamond shapes (every shape besides round) because it is the specific length, width, and height ratios that make these diamonds special.
COLOR
The cut of a diamond is the factor that gives a diamond its brilliance and life. It’s the factor that gives the diamond it’s quintessential fire and sparkle. Here at Cynthia Britt, we believe everyone deserves a perfectly cut diamond, and for this reason Cynthia only sources diamonds with “Ideal” cuts, the highest cut grade given by GIA. The “Ideal” grade is only given to round brilliant cut diamonds, and signifies that the diamond has received an “excellent” grade for its symmetry, polish, and proportion. All other diamonds will receive only symmetry and polish grades.
CUT
Diamonds are graded on a color scale from D through Z, the higher in the alphabet the grade is, the whiter the diamond.
While Cynthia supplies only the highest quality of diamonds, her process for picking diamonds for each of her clients revolves around the client’s skin tone—a true testament to her unique and personalized process. Diamonds with color show off their color much more prominently on skin that has natural yellow or red undertones.
For this reason, a G color diamond on fair skin might look similar to how an F color diamond looks on skin with a yellow undertone. During the diamond consultation, Cynthia will bring in different color graded diamonds, loose, so her clients can compare how each will look on the hand.
CLARITY
Forming deep within the earth with extreme pressure and heat, diamonds often have inclusions or blemishes. And clarity indicates the absence of these unique “birthmarks.” GIA Clarity Scale contains 11 grades from I3 (included) to FL (flawless), however, most diamonds fall between VS (very slightly included) and SI (slightly included.)
Within each clarity grade, there is a range in price depending on the type of inclusion/blemish and where it
is in the diamond. For example, a diamond with a white crystal will have a better price than a diamond with
a black crystal diamond as it is more visible to human eyes. Therefore, Cynthia always say that no two
diamonds are priced the same although they have the same grading.
Cynthia only sources diamonds with minimal to no inclusions, and will never bring diamonds with inclusions
visible without magnification. Cynthia educates all her clients about these aspects and teaches them how to
spot these inclusions using a 20x magnification lens, so that her clients will always be able to identify
their diamond.
FLUORESCENCE
While Fluorescence is not part of the 4Cs, it is undoubtedly of equal importance. Fluorescence is defined as
the emitting property of diamonds when exposed under ultraviolet light, which is an essential component of
daylight. Though many GIA studies show that fluorescence doesn’t have noticeable impacts on the diamonds,
those with strong fluorescence often appear washed/milky even under natural light and they are less desired,
which result in the inexpensive price tag.
On very fair skinned people, “faint” to “medium” fluorescence is acceptable. However, on yellow to red skin,
or any skin with undertones, fluorescence makes it appears darker. Cynthia accepts only diamonds with zero
to faint fluorescence. Therefore, all the diamonds she brings in for her customers always appear clean and
fiery under any source of lightning.
ETHICAL DIAMOND SOURCING
Cynthia Britt is committed to using only ethically and responsibly sourced diamonds. To ensure this, we exclusively work with diamond vendors that are certified by the Responsible Jewelry Council, and who abide by the guidelines set forth by the Kimberly Process to protect basic human rights at mine locations. By hand picking each diamond for every client, Cynthia always knows the origin of each gemstone, and is able to personally ensure that we uphold our promise to help advance responsible diamond sourcing practices around the world.
