About Diamonds
Diamonds are classified according to four criteria: cut, color, clarity and carat.
CUT
The only direct influence humans have on the diamond, the cut will influence its fire and sparkle. Longines diamonds are cut in the traditional brilliant style.
COLOR
Diamonds are also classified by color. The most popular color is... none whatsoever: a transparent, colorless diamond. The scale of color ranges from colorless to pale yellow with an infinite variety of subtle intermediate hues going from "River" to "Yellow": River → Top Wesselton → Wesselton → Top Crystal → Top Cape → Yellow Longines uses "Top Wesselton" diamonds for its bezels and dials.
CLARITY
This depends on how many inclusions there are in the stone. These “inclusions” are nature's fingerprints and are graded as follows:
- FL: Loupe Clean
- VVS: Very Very Small inclusions
- VS: Very Small inclusions
- SI: Small inclusions
- I: Inclusions visible
Longines uses stones of VVS quality (very very small inclusions) for its stone-set bezels and VS-SI quality (very small inclusions, small inclusions) for its dials.
CARAT
The weight of a precious stone is measured in carats. A carat is equal to 0.2 gram. Diamonds are also measured in points, one point being one hundredth of a carat.
NO "BLOOD DIAMONDS"
Like all companies in the Swatch Group, Longines only ever uses diamonds procured in accordance with the Kimberley process: this is an international rough diamond certification scheme whose objective is to prevent negotiations for the purchase of diamonds sold by rebel movements to fi nance their military activities.
USE
Dial, case.