The buyer’s guide
Everything a wholesaler normally tells you on the phone: conversions, sizes, tolerances, workshop tips and vocabulary. Keep it open while you prepare an order.
The 4Cs, without the marketing
Four criteria set the price of a stone. On melee, only two really matter.
Carat — weight
A carat is 0.20 gram. Since prices are per carat, your cost per stone is always: average weight × price per carat. Two stones of the same diameter can differ by 10 % in weight depending on proportions.
Colour
D, E and F are the extra white range. Above G the tint becomes noticeable on a white gold mount. On a pavé, consistency matters more than the letter.
Clarity
From FL to I3. We stop at VS2, melee included: below that, inclusions show under the loupe and the pavé loses its brilliance.
Cut
The only criterion that depends entirely on people. Proportions, polish and symmetry create the fire. A mediocre cut on fine rough always gives a dull stone.
From millimetre to carat
The table every workshop keeps at hand: diameter, average weight per stone, stones per carat, and typical use.
Which size for which setting
The sizes we ship most often by setting type, with the calibration tolerance to insist on.
Ten things a wholesaler would tell you on the phone
Nothing theoretical: these are the mistakes we see most often, and what they cost.
Always order 5 to 10 % extra melee
Setting breaks stones. On a hundred-stone pavé, allow five to ten spares, in the same size and above all from the same parcel.
Buy by the carat, think by the stone
The list is per carat, but your cost — the one you put on the job sheet — is per stone: average weight × price per carat.
One piece, one parcel
Never mix two parcels on the same piece. Half a shade of difference does not show in the tweezers; it shows in the window, under LED.
Never go below VS on melee
A single visible inclusion on a 1.5 mm stone dulls the whole pavé. That is why we list nothing below VS2.
Check the girdle inscription
On a certified centre stone, the inscribed number must match the report. A 10x loupe or an inscription reader, thirty seconds, and the doubt is gone.
Watch fluorescence in a pavé
A single fluorescent stone in a pavé turns bluish under window lighting. Insist on a parcel that is consistent in fluorescence.
Plan ahead for special cuts
A cut to drawing takes three to five weeks. Launch the prototype before the client signs off, not after.
Invoice the wording correctly
‘Laboratory-grown diamond’ must appear on the client invoice. It is a legal duty — and above all a sales argument worth owning.
Negotiate a commitment, not an order
A one-off discount is worth less than an annual commitment on a given size. We reserve production, you secure the price.
Keep a parcel record
Number, size, colour, clarity, date, supplier. Two years later, on an after-sales job, you find the exact stone — and replace it like for like.
How we work together
What to send us, what we send back, and in what time frame.
Minimum 1 carat per reference
Stones are sold by the carat, not by the piece. Automatic discounts from 2 ct total.
Guaranteed calibration
± 0.02 mm tolerance on melee, ± 0.01 mm on channel-setting sizes. Every parcel is measured before shipping.
Matching on request
Colour, clarity and proportions matched for earring pairs, halos and fancy cuts sold in twos.
Stated lead times
Production and delivery times are confirmed in the quote before acceptance, depending on references, options and destination.
Photos and videos before you buy
Every proposal comes with macros of the actual parcel, not catalogue images. You approve before the stone leaves.
Documents ready for your client
Parcel record, certificate where applicable, and ready-to-use legal wording for your own invoice.
Workshop glossary
The terms you will hear on the phone or read on our quotations, in French and English.
All the small calibrated stones, generally under 0.18 ct, used for pavé and halo work.
Sorting stones by diameter within a given tolerance. It is what makes a channel even and a pavé clean.
The belt of the stone, at its widest point. This is where the claw sits and the certificate number is inscribed.
The flat top facet. Its width, as a percentage of the diameter, drives brilliance and fire.
The lower part of the stone, below the girdle. Too deep a pavilion creates a dark window in the centre.
Selecting two or more stones identical in colour, clarity and proportions. Essential for earring pairs.
The standardised size system behind the familiar ‘-0’ and ‘+11’: each number covers a diameter range.
Stones aligned between two metal rails, with no claws. The most demanding setting for calibration.
A surface fully covered with small stones held by metal grains.
Any cut other than the round brilliant: oval, pear, marquise, emerald, cushion and so on.
Light emission, often bluish, under ultraviolet. Strong fluorescence can make a stone look milky.
The dispersion of white light into spectral colours. This is what makes a stone come alive in the window.
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