We specialise in diamonds and diamond jewellery but our website offers only a hint of what we have to sell. We also understand that you may have an exact item in mind when it comes to your wedding or engagement ring so consult with one of our advisors to create your own unique piece.
We cater for all tastes and price ranges and buying a diamond from Nightfall Diamonds is a guarantee that you have the highest quality at an unbeatable price. If you know what you want, click the button bellow.
If not, click on the links below to firstly read about the shape and the four ‘Cs’ of diamonds.
The cut of a diamond refers to the shape, angles and proportion a skilled craftsman creates when transforming a “rough” diamond into the polished diamond we are more accustomed to seeing. The cut of the diamond is the only one of the 4C’s that is determined by the human hand. The other three are a natural aspect and are created as the diamond forms in the earth. A diamond that has been cut well will reflect light internally from one mirror-like facet to another, dispersing it through the top of the stone. This adds to the diamond’s sparkle and brilliance.
Most diamonds appear icy white, however many have hints of colour. Therefore a colour scale is used in order to grade each diamond and ranges from D to Z, with D representing a colourless diamond.
Colourless diamonds (D) are incredibly rare and, as a result, are extremely valuable. They appear whiter than any other grade of diamonds. However this grading system indicates only the colour of the diamond, the more colourless a diamond is does not necessarily make it more beautiful. The colour does not represent beauty, but rather the beauty of a diamond is in the eye of the beholder.
Popular before the princess shape was around, the radiant has more facets than a princess, but has the corners trimmed like the emerald shape. This shape is not widely popular.
The round brilliant is the modern version of the round which has been refined for maximum shine. The round brilliant is by far the most popular and has the best angles for which to shine maximum brilliance.
Not as popular for solitaires, but very popular for three stone anniversary rings, with two matching diamonds on the sides.
A square cut diamond that has refractive properties almost near round brilliant. The princess is the preferred square cut shape over radiant.
A more traditional shape, the emerald is not as popular as it used as it once was, but has an old world elegance to it.
Hard to find due to low demand, but some people prefer a heart shape diamond for sentimental purposes.
Like the emerald, the marquise is a traditional shape. This is probably the fourth most popular shape behind the round, princess and oval.
Mostly used in pendants, the pear shape diamond is shaped in a tear drop shape and has fairly good proportions to refract light well.
The clarity of a diamond depends on how many faults or inclusions it has. These faults are formed by minerals or fractures during the formation of the diamond in the earth and are therefore like a birthmark of a diamond.
These birthmarks disrupt the flow of light within a diamond causing a proportion of the light reflected to be lost. Some inclusions can be hidden by a mounting; thus having little effect on the beauty of the diamond. However, an inclusion in the middle or top could impact on the reflection of light and sometimes make it less brilliant.
Thus the position of inclusions can affect the value of a diamond but most however are not visible to the naked eye. To view inclusions a trained gemologist must use a magnifying loupe.
This magnifies the diamond to 10 times its actual size. However even with a loupe the blemishes in a VVS (Very Very Slightly Included) to VS (Very Slightly Included) range can be very hard to find. Only when a diamond is graded ‘I’ is it possible to see the flaws with the naked eye.
Many people confuse carat with the size of a diamond. Carat actually refers to the weight of a diamond. The cut and setting of a diamond can make it appear larger or smaller than it’s actual weight. One carat is the equivalent of 200 milligrams and is not to be confused with karat – the measure of purity of gold. One Carat can also be divided into 100 points and therefore a .50 carat diamond is the equivalent of a ½ carat diamond etc.
The term carat is derived from the word carob, a seed that is surprisingly uniform in weight, and was therefore used as a reference for diamond weight in ancient times. A carob seed was said to equal 1 carat.
Another common misconception about diamonds is that a 1 carat is twice the price of a ½ carat. This is not the case. Despite the fact that colour, cut and clarity all effect the price, larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature and 1 carat diamond will cost more than twice as much as a _ carat (with cut, colour and clarity remaining constant). Therefore the larger the diamond the rarer it is and therefore the higher the value.