Varitsa Jewellers
Know what you are buying
The 4Cs — cut, colour, clarity and carat — decide what a diamond costs and how it looks. Here they are in plain English, shown on real rings from our collection, with honest advice on where your money actually shows.
Carat — weight, not size
A carat is a unit of weight (0.2 grams), not a measurement of how big the stone looks. Two 1-carat diamonds can face up different sizes depending on their shape and proportions. Tap a weight to see it on a real hand, in a real ring from our collection:
0.5 carat
5.2 mm across (round cut)
Real ring: Solitaire Gold Engagement Ring with 0.5ct Diamonds — $1,105 CAD
1.0 carat
6.5 mm across (round cut)
Real ring: 1ct Certified Diamond Gold Engagement Ring — $948 CAD
1.5 carat
7.4 mm across (round cut)
Real ring: 1.49ct Brilliant Cut Diamond Gold Engagement Ring — $2,553 CAD
2.0 carat
8.2 mm across (round cut)
Real ring: 2.0ct Certified Round Diamond Gold Engagement Ring — $1,486 CAD
3.0 carat
9.4 mm across (round cut)
Real ring: 3ct Brilliant Cut Diamond Leaf Engagement Ring — $1,703 CAD
- Prices jump at the round numbers — 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 ct. A 0.9 ct stone looks nearly identical and usually costs noticeably less.
- Elongated shapes face up bigger. An oval, marquise or pear shows more finger coverage per carat than a round.
- “Total carat weight” (tcw) counts the centre stone plus the side stones. Our specifications table on each product page shows the total for that ring.
Cut — the sparkle itself
Cut is the only one of the 4Cs shaped entirely by human hands, and it is the one your eye actually sees: a well-cut diamond throws light back at you as sparkle. A poorly cut one leaks light and looks dull, whatever its colour or clarity. Grades, in plain terms — tap one:
Excellent: maximum sparkle. Light enters the top and returns straight back to your eye. This is the grade to aim for.
Very Good: nearly as bright as Excellent — most people cannot tell them apart, and it can save real money.
Good: decent sparkle at a lower price. A fair compromise if the budget is tight.
Fair: noticeably duller. Light leaks out of the sides instead of returning to your eye.
Poor: flat and lifeless even in good light. We would steer you away from this grade at any price.
Shape is part of cut — the ten classics, on real rings
Round
The classic. Cut for maximum sparkle, and the most popular shape we sell.
From $649 CAD
Oval
An elongated round. Faces up larger than its weight and flatters the finger.
From $1,054 CAD
Cushion
A soft square with rounded corners. Vintage romance with a gentle glow.
From $1,435 CAD
Princess
A sharp, modern square with brilliant sparkle.
From $891 CAD
Emerald
Step-cut facets make a hall of mirrors. Elegant and understated.
From $2,882 CAD
Pear
A teardrop. Distinctive, and it lengthens the look of the finger.
From $1,323 CAD
Radiant
A square outline with brilliant-cut facets. The fire of a round in a squarer shape.
From $1,403 CAD
Asscher
A vintage step-cut square with an Art Deco feel.
From $964 CAD
Marquise
A boat shape that maximises finger coverage per carat.
From $8,379 CAD
Heart
The romantic statement. Symmetry matters most in this shape.
From $25,796 CAD
Colour — how white is white
Diamond colour is graded from D (completely colourless) to Z (visibly warm). The differences are subtle — and so is what you should pay for them. Tap a band:
Colourless (D–F): icy white and the rarest grades. You pay a premium for a difference most people cannot see once the stone is set.
Near colourless (G–J): looks white in a finished ring, in any metal. This is the value sweet spot for most buyers.
Faint warmth (K–M): a hint of warmth, most noticeable against white gold or platinum. In yellow or rose gold it looks right at home — and costs less.
Noticeable tint (N–Z): a visible yellow or brown tone. Usually a deliberate choice for vintage-style pieces.
Metal matters: a warm-toned stone in a yellow gold band looks whiter than the same stone in white gold. Choose them together.
Clarity — what the eye can see
Almost every diamond has tiny natural marks (inclusions) from when it formed. Clarity grades how visible they are under 10× magnification. The only question that matters on a hand: can you see them without a loupe? Tap a band:
Flawless to internally flawless (FL–IF): no inclusions visible at 10×. Collector territory — the premium is for rarity, not for looks.
Very, very slightly included (VVS): inclusions so small that even graders struggle to find them. Indistinguishable from flawless to your eye.
Very slightly included (VS1–VS2): minor inclusions, invisible without magnification. The sweet spot for most engagement rings.
Slightly included (SI1–SI2): visible under magnification, and sometimes to a sharp naked eye. Many are still “eye-clean” — worth checking the individual stone.
Included (I1–I3): inclusions you can see with the naked eye, which can dull the sparkle. We would steer you away for an engagement ring.
Where we would spend
- Cut first. It is the sparkle, and no other grade can rescue a dull cut.
- Colour G–J. White on the hand, without the colourless premium.
- Clarity VS2–SI1, eye-clean. If you cannot see it, do not pay to remove it.
- Carat last — and just under the round numbers. 0.9 ct instead of 1.0 ct is the oldest saving in the trade.
Shopping moissanite? Moissanite is not graded on the diamond 4Cs scale in the same way — it is sold by size, is virtually always eye-clean and near-colourless, and costs a fraction of a diamond. The carat photos above still show you exactly how each size looks on a hand.
