Handcrafted Ethical Fine Jewellery | Lucano

Choosing a diamond is a significant milestone, and we believe that confidence begins with transparency.

At Lucano, we provide GIA diamond grading reports to ensure you have an objective, scientific blueprint of your stone’s quality.

As the global benchmark for gemstone evaluation, a GIA report is more than just a certificate it is a guarantee of authenticity and value trusted by the world’s leading museums, auction houses, and master jewellers

No two diamonds are identical. Each stone is forged under intense heat and staggering pressure deep within the earth a violent process that often leaves behind "nature’s fingerprints." In the jewellery world, we call these birthmarks Clarity Characteristics.

These features occur when microscopic crystals become trapped inside the diamond as it grows, or when the immense stress of the earth creates tiny internal fractures. These are categorized into two types:

• Inclusions: Internal characteristics or those that reach the surface from within.
• Blemishes: External features found only on the diamond's surface.

At Lucano, we evaluate a diamond’s clarity by examining the size, location, number, and visibility of these traits. While many are invisible to the naked eye, they serve as a secret map of the diamond's creation.

Precise clarity grading is the only way to truly understand a stone's quality and light performance, making an expert GIA assessment an essential part of your purchase journey.

When picturing a diamond, most of us envision a stone of pure, icy clarity. In the world of gemology, the highest praise we can give a diamond’s color is actually the total absence of it.

Even a hint of hue, often invisible to the untrained eye, can fundamentally shift a diamond’s character and its market value.

While diamonds occur naturally in a spectacular spectrum from subtle greys and browns to vivid 'fancy' rainbows, the standard white diamond is prized for its neutrality.

At Lucano, we understand that color isn’t subjective; it’s a science.

To ensure absolute accuracy, diamonds must be graded under highly specific conditions: neutralized lighting and a controlled environment. Here, each stone is measured against a set of 'masterstones'—the physical blueprints for the GIA D-to-Z Color Scale. This rigorous process moves the diamond from 'D' (perfectly colorless) through to 'Z' (light tint), giving you a definitive, expert-verified grade for your investment.

While nature determines a diamond’s color and clarity, its Cut is a testament to human craftsmanship. It is the single most important factor in a diamond's beauty, as it dictates how the stone dances with light.

When we talk about a diamond’s 'fire' or 'brilliance,' we are actually praising the precision of the artisan who shaped it. A masterfully cut diamond is designed to act like a hall of mirrors, reflecting light back to your eye with maximum impact through three key effects:

• Brightness: The total amount of white light reflected from the surface and interior.
• Fire: The spectacular flashes of rainbow colors.
• Scintillation: The pattern of light and dark areas that create 'sparkle' when the diamond moves.

It is important to distinguish between Shape and Cut. While 'Oval' or 'Pear' describes the diamond's outline, the Cut Grade evaluates how the facets are arranged and proportioned.

Standard vs. Fancy Shapes
Official GIA Cut Grades are reserved exclusively for Round Brilliant diamonds because their facet patterns are standardised globally. All other silhouettes such as Marquise, Emerald, Hearts, and Pears, are known as Fancy Shapes.

Because light interaction is so complex, there are nearly endless ways to proportion a diamond. This is where your personal preference comes in; at Lucano, we help you navigate these proportions to find a grade that perfectly balances face-up allure with incredible light performance.

"A common misconception in the world of diamonds is that carat refers to the size of a stone. In reality, Carat is a precise measure of weight. One metric carat is exactly 200 milligrams. To ensure absolute accuracy, each carat is divided into 100 'points.' For example, a jeweller might refer to a 0.50-carat diamond as a '50-pointer.'

The history of the term is as fascinating as the stones themselves. Since the 1500s, gem traders used carob seeds as counterweights on their scales because the seeds are remarkably uniform in weight. While we’ve traded seeds for highly calibrated digital scales, the name remained, and today it serves as the global standard for diamond measurement.

The 'Magic Sizes' and Your Investment

In the diamond industry, we refer to certain weights such as 1.00ct, 1.50ct, and 2.00ct as 'Magic Sizes.' These milestones are highly desirable, which often leads to a significant jump in price.

When you hear words like Brightness, Scintillation and Fire, they describe how masterfully a diamond is cut.  

A diamond’s cut refers to how it interacts with light.

While a term like oval would refer to the shape, or outline of a diamond, cut also describes the overall design of a diamond, including the arrangement and proportions of the diamond’s facets. 

Assessing the major components of a diamond, as well as its ability to interact with light, the Diamond Cut Grading System provides a standard system for consistently evaluating and documenting the cut quality of a standard round brilliant diamond from Excellent to Poor. This allows both gem and jewelry professionals and customers to make informed decisions when purchasing or selling a standard round brilliant diamond.  

The major components of a standard round brilliant, from top to bottom, are crown, girdle and pavilion. Every round brilliant cut diamond has 57 or 58 facets, the 58th being a tiny flat facet at the bottom of the pavilion that’s known as the culet. The large, flat facet on the top is the table. 

Standard round brilliant cut diamonds in the D-to-Z color range are assessed by their face-up appearance, design and craftsmanship.

Diamond cut grades are only given to round brilliant cut diamonds because they are the only cut that have standardized facets. 

All other shapes are referred to as fancy shapes, which includes marquise, emerald, pear, oval, hearts and even triangles.  

Proportions impact the face-up appearance, allure and attractiveness of diamonds. There are many components to consider when assessing the overall cut quality of a round brilliant diamond, one of which is the individual’s preference. Each grade range represents a range of proportion sets, so there is plenty of room for personal preference within a preferred grade range. 

There is a nearly unlimited combination of proportions possible, and all of them impact the interaction with light, and ultimately how attractive the diamond appears.