Cut, clarity, carat and colour; what makes a perfect diamond

Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but they’re also a skilled jeweller’s pride and joy. Inspired design and legendary legacy are hallmarks of Caitlin Worth’s exclusive Jewellers Workshop creations. Her collections are wonderfully fluid, moving with grace, and reflective of Worth’s flair for refined details and luxury designs. 

You will find classic fine jewellery here, but you’ll also find some unusual stone colours and cuts, that capture elements and maximise each piece's beauty. The result? Visually striking jewels that set a new benchmark for stylish sophistication. 

We sat down with Caitlin Worth, Design Director of High St icon Jewellers Workshop, to talk all things that sparkle and discovered there’s much more to a good diamond than just size and colour.

What is the history of Jewellers Workshop?

My dad started Jewellers Workshop in 1987. My parents had come back from travelling Europe when they observed the jewellery trends there. When he came back he found it difficult to find work that was selling a product he really felt passionate about, specifically bold contemporary pieces he’d seen in Europe. He teamed up with a jeweller and started selling a few bespoke pieces. It all grew from there.  He put a jeweller’s bench in the window of the shop so people walking past could see the jeweller working at his bench and after a few years demand grew so he moved to High St and we have been there since the early ’90s now. 

You’ve continued with this ‘open plan workshop’, tell us how that works...

The workshop is set up with an open plan layout, from the consultation area at the front through to manufacturing workshop, so like the original shop you can still see the jewellers working! This means that we have a great flow of communication between client to designer and jeweller, and our clients can actually see their piece of jewellery being made. It’s creates a really great organic process.

What do you love most about this industry/your job?

There’s a lot of things that I like, but I love working with our clients! We get some amazing people coming in to the workshop, and we’re often working with people at really happy times in their lives. Jewellery is often gifted to commemorate a special occasion whether that’s an engagement, wedding or the birth of a new child. There’s something really special about creating timeless jewellery to commemorate those occasions.

Tell us about the FOUR C’s?

So the four C’s stand for Diamond Carat, Colour, Clarity and Cut. It’s a set of perimeters that people use to grade the quality and aesthetic of the diamond. That has a flow on effect to how the stone looks and its value as well. 

Why is the cut so important?

A cut translates to sparkle, in layman’s terms. That’s how well a diamond has been faceted and proportioned - how well it throws light back at you. It’s so important because that’s the first thing that you see when you look at a diamond, even if you don’t have the knowledge to articulate why it looks so impressive. A really beautiful well-cut diamond, you’ll be able to see from across the room. Cut is the most important element.

As the Design Director, where does the inspiration for designs come from? 

Because we’re working on bespoke pieces a lot of the design inspiration comes from my clients. We create based on what they want the piece to look like, what their personal aesthetic is, what elements they want to incorporate and what we think will suit them. When I’m designing stock pieces I’m all about colour and a lot of the time you’ll find a stone that really speaks to you so you can create a design that extends from that. 

How collaborative is the design process with a client?

Our business motto is ‘Made For You’, so that’s exactly how we approach our bespoke designs. It’s incredibly important to us to keep our clients really involved during the process of designing and making the ring. Just to make sure everything we are doing is one hundred per cent perfect and that the end result is exactly what they want. 

How do you source flawless diamonds?

A flawless diamond is a diamond that has no visible imperfections. When coupled with a ‘D’ (or colourless) colour grading, these are some of the rarest and most coveted diamonds, with less than 1% of all diamonds attaining this grade. We have a group of suppliers that we work with and we search through their inventory to find exactly what we need, making sure it doesn’t have anything unattractive in the stone. When choosing these diamonds we refind our parameters further by only selecting diamonds that meet our specific cut criteria to ensure it’s a truly perfect diamond. 

What do you believe is the most classic engagement ring?

For decades the diamond solitaire has been a popular choice and for good reason; it’s a true classic! 

What upcoming jewellery trends can we expect?

Looking into my crystal ball I think we’ll see a lot more people choosing alternative shapes of diamonds like ovals, pears, cushions, and kites. I also think gold is having a resurgence at the moment which is exciting!

Jewellersworkshop.co.nz

CREDITS

Photography Karen Ishiguro

Styling Amber Baker

Model Sakura from 62 Management

Makeup CARLA SAYERS for MAC Cosmetics

Hair INCO STUDIO