First, a geology lesson: diamonds are 99.95% pure crystallised carbon and can be extremely old - one to three billion years old, in fact.

They are the hardest naturally occurring substance known and are formed some 100 miles beneath the Earth's surface when crystals of diamond occur in volcano feed-pipes.

When volcanoes erode down, they release diamonds from their feed-pipes into layers of gravel which are later mined. However, due to the relative rarity of this natural process, diamond mines are found in just a handful of sites around the world.

In rough form, diamonds are shipped to the world's cutting centres to be shaped and polished before being set as jewellery. It is the hardness, brilliance and sparkle that emerges during this process that transforms them into a girl's best friend.

The 4 Cs – Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat provide a way of grading & certifying diamonds. It is these characteristics that determine the value, rarity and beauty of every diamond. Understanding the 4 Cs is a key part of choosing the right diamond for your taste and budget.

Once you've familiarised yourself with each of the 4 Cs, you will be able to decide which ones are the most important to you when making your choice.

Until the middle of the twentieth century, there was no agreed-upon standard by which diamonds could be judged. The Gemological Institute of America created the first globally accepted standard for describing diamonds: Colour, Clarity, Cut, and Carat Weight. Today, the 4Cs of Diamond Quality is the universal method for assessing the quality of any diamond, anywhere in the world.

The creation of the Diamond 4Cs meant two very important things: diamond quality could be communicated in a universal language and diamond customers could now know exactly what they were about to purchase.

We would however suggest you consider a 5th C - Certification, further ensuring that your diamond is exactly the stone you want, offering additional confidence in the purchase and accuracy regarding valuation.

At first glance, engagement rings seem like such simple things. A diamond, some shiny metal, a nice box, maybe an engraved message and that’s it.

When you begin the process of buying an engagement ring however, you learn that it’s anything but simple! As well as the big decisions like which metal, stone, shape, cut, and setting you want, there’s several other things to think about: the metal finish, your budget, the rings style.

Take a deep breath, put the kettle on and take some time to read our guides to the perfect ring.

If its all a bit too much right now, don't worry, our qualified Diamond grader will be more than happy to talk you through them, you can always refer back to the guide at a later time.

The key here is take your time, if your not sure, don't hesitate to ask and remember, what we want is for you to have not only the most beautiful ring for your partner but something that won't break your budget.

There is a 5th C, its Confidence, all of the stones we use are certified or graded by internationally accredited bodies such as GIA and IIDGR.