CARAT
The carat is the unit of measurement for diamonds and always weighs 0.2 g. The term carat comes from carob, the fruit of an Indian shrub, whose seeds weigh exactly 0.2 g when dried. Messika offers solitaire diamonds with a wide range of carats.
COLOR
The whiter the diamond, the rarer and more precious it is. The color of a diamond is determined by placing it against very white paper and examining it under a special daylight lamp. Messika uses diamonds with color grades D to G. Colored diamonds (whether they are yellow, pink or blue, etc.) are very rare. There is thought to be one colored diamond for every 10,000 white colorless diamonds.
CLARITY
The clarity of a diamond is defined by the number, size and position of its inclusions. These minuscule crystals occur naturally and appear during the formation of the stone. Up to SI1, the inclusions do not alter the play of light or the brilliance of the stones. Most of them are not visible or difficult to see without a loupe magnifier (x10). Messika uses center stones ranging from FL to VS2.
CUT
Cutting is the operation that transforms a rough diamond into a cut diamond. The operation is carried out by hand and determines the brilliance, shape and proportions of a diamond. Maison Messika only uses diamonds that have been graded as having an «excellent» or «good» cut for both center stones and pavé settings. The brilliant-cut is the most common but there are also others known as «Fancy Shapes», including the oval, emerald, pear, marquise, cushion, heart, etc.
