Diamonds

Round Brilliant Cut is the most popular because the shape resembles that of a cone and so maximises light return through the top of the diamond. In other words, it’s the most brilliant and sparkly diamond cut. In recent years, new cuts have been introduced called Modified Brilliant Cuts, which include fancy shapes such as the oval, pear, marquise, heart and trillian.

Diamonds are the hardest known naturally-occurring mineral. You can only scratch a diamond with another diamond. Although they are very hard, diamonds can be brittle. Diamonds have a natural grain in them, similar to what you would find in wood, and so it can split along this grain. However, it is extremely rare for a diamond to crack or break under normal everyday circumstances.

All jewellery is a good long-term investment, whether it’s diamonds, precious stones or gold. Diamond prices are fixed on the US dollar and regulated by supply and demand. It may happen that the price of diamond stays steady for a while but, in all my years as a jeweller, I have only seen the price of diamonds increase. As Laurence Graff, chairman and founder of Graff Diamonds, recently said, “In the short term, their prices may fluctuate, but in the long term they retain their quality, unlike other commodities.”