Diamond jewellery, and loose diamonds on sale can be seen as falling into two categories: designer diamonds and the so-called ‘ordinary’ diamonds. To be sure, this distinction between designer diamonds and ‘ordinary’ diamonds does not come out very clearly in loose diamonds, but rather in the diamond jewellery. This is where we end up with ‘designer’ diamond rings, bracelets, earrings and so on – as opposed to ‘commonplace/ordinary’ diamond rings, bracelets, earrings and so on.

A number of features qualify an item to be either considered as belonging to the ‘designer diamonds’ category or the ‘ordinary’ diamonds category.

One is the ‘brand’ name behind the diamond item we are looking at. Just as a clothing item may qualify to be considered a ‘designer’ item by virtue of coming from such and such a fashion house, there are certain diamond vendor/maker brands that have made a ‘name’ for themselves, so that anything coming from them is considered a ‘designer’ item by default.

Yet the brand alone – while substantial – may not in most cases be enough to make a given item to be considered a ‘designer’ diamond.

Careful choice of diamonds, is therefore another important factor that goes into the making of items that end up being considered ‘designer diamonds.’ Designer diamonds are made from choice diamonds – the very best quality diamonds, because as it turns out, diamond comes in a variety of quality ratings. Of the 4 Cs of diamond, 3 come into consideration here: clarity, colour and carat weight in the sorting of ‘choice diamonds’ from ordinary/lacklustre diamonds.

The craftsmanship employed in making the items in question is yet another factor that goes into their qualification to be termed as designed diamonds. The fourth of the Cs associated with diamond, the ‘cut,’ is considered here. Designer diamonds are carefully crafted, typically by the hand, so that their makers can boast of their hand (rather than machine) crafting as another of their strong selling points.