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As the name suggests, shape (round, princess, radiant, etc.) describes a diamond's form, primarily as viewed from above. All diamond shapes have different attributes, but overall the beauty of the individual shapes is a matter of personal taste.

Cut is a diamond's most important characteristic. It has the greatest overall influence on a diamond's beauty. It determines what we generally think of as sparkle. A diamond's cut grade is an objective measure of a diamond's light performance, or, what we generally think of as sparkle. When a diamond is cut with the proper proportions, light is returned out of the top of the diamond If it is cut too shallow, light leaks out of the bottom; too deep and it escapes out of the side.

Colour refers to a diamond's lack of color, grading the whiteness of a diamond. A colour grade of D is the highest possible, while Z is the lowest. Colour manifests itself in a diamond as a pale yellow. This is why a diamond's colour grade is based on its lack of colour. The less colour a diamond has, the higher its colour grade. After cut, colour is generally considered the second most important characteristic when selecting a diamond. This is because the human eye tends to detect a diamond's sparkle first, and colour second.

Clarity simply refers to the tiny, natural imperfections that occur in all but the finest diamonds. Gemologists refer to these imperfections by a variety of technical names, including blemishes and inclusions, among others. Diamonds with the least and smallest imperfections receive the highest clarity grades. Because these imperfections tend to be microscopic, they do not generally affect a diamond's beauty in any discernible way.

The weight of a diamond is expressed in carats. One carat is divided into 100 points. A diamond one quarter of a carat can also be described as weighing 25 points or 0.25 carats

Unbiased diamond grading reports are offered with every Orra diamond