Cut first, then colour, then clarity, then carat. Cut is the only C that is human workmanship rather than geology, and it is what makes a stone read across a room. A superbly cut 0.90ct will out-sparkle a lazily cut 1.10ct almost every time, and cost less doing it.

A report grades a stone; it does not describe it. Two G/VS1 diamonds can differ in where the inclusions sit, how white they face up, how strong the fluorescence is and how precisely the facets meet. We look at every stone before we recommend it, and we will tell you when the cheaper one is the better buy.

Spread matters more than weight. A well-proportioned 1.00ct round faces up around 6.4mm; an elongated oval or marquise of the same weight can read a full size larger. Choose shape and proportion before you chase the number.

Often it is a discount worth taking. Faint to medium fluorescence is usually invisible, and on a slightly warmer stone it can even help it face whiter, while shaving a real amount off the price. Strong grades can cause haze in bright sun. We will show you the difference rather than describe it.

Yes. We can send video of the actual diamond in ordinary light rather than showroom lighting, and we are happy to show you the ones we passed over and explain why.

Yes. Chemically, physically and optically identical carbon, and they test as diamond on any gemmological instrument. The difference is origin and price, not authenticity.

Only a specialised laboratory can, by reading growth patterns invisible to the eye. Every lab-grown stone we sell carries its IGI report number laser-inscribed on the girdle, so it is permanently identifiable and never presented as anything other than what it is.

Be clear-eyed about this one: lab-grown prices have fallen steadily as production has scaled. Buy one for what you get to wear today, not as an investment. Natural diamonds hold value considerably better, though they are not investments either, and we will say so plainly if resale matters to you.

Growth method, post-growth treatment, cut precision and the consistency of the grading lab all move the price. A suspiciously cheap lab-grown stone is nearly always a poorly cut one.

If you want the largest, whitest stone your budget allows, lab-grown wins outright. If it matters to you that the stone took a billion years to form, natural is worth the premium. Both sit in the same trays here and we do not push either one.

That is most of what we do. Bring a photograph, a sketch, a screenshot or simply a description, and we will turn it into a drawing, then a CAD render you approve, then a finished piece.

Yes, inherited pieces included. We examine the stone first and tell you honestly whether it is sound enough to reset and what the work involves, before anything is taken apart.

It depends on the design and on sourcing the stone, so we give you a date before you commit rather than a range afterwards. If you are working towards a proposal or an anniversary, talk to us early.

No. You see renders and approve them before anything is cast.

Use our size guide, or come in and be measured. Fingers change through the day and with the weather, and a size taken at 7am in air conditioning is not the size you wear in a Hong Kong August. If it is a surprise, borrow a ring she already wears on that finger and we will work from it.

Both. We confirm which system a measurement came from before anything is cut, because the two are easy to confuse and expensive to get wrong.

Tell us and we will resize it. Most designs resize comfortably; full eternity bands and certain tension settings cannot be, and we flag that before you order rather than after.

Sixteen inches sits at the collarbone, eighteen just below it, and our pendants come adjustable between the two. A tennis bracelet should be your wrist plus about a finger of room, so it moves without spinning.

Unit 16A2, 16/F, Tower Three, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Above the street rather than on it, by appointment, Monday to Saturday.

Because the stones live in a safe, not a window. Telling us what you are looking for beforehand means the right diamonds are on the table when you arrive, instead of you waiting while we pull them.

You look at loose stones under a loupe and in daylight, try settings on your own hand, and leave without buying anything if nothing is right. Nobody in the room is working a quota.

Yes. We run video consultations, show you stones live, and ship fully insured worldwide. A good number of our clients never set foot in the showroom.

Yes. Every piece travels by FedEx International Priority, domestically and worldwide, with a signature required on delivery.

Fully. One hundred per cent of the value, every parcel, every destination.

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay and PayPal. Prices are shown in HKD and converted to your local currency in the markets we ship to.

Email quentin@mangrovediamonds.com straight away. We open a trace with the carrier immediately and replace the piece if it cannot be recovered.

Duties and taxes are set by the destination country and fall to the recipient. Tell us where the piece is going and we will tell you what to expect before you order.

All sales are final. We would far rather you were certain before you buy, which is why we will send video, arrange a viewing, and talk you out of the wrong stone if that is where the conversation leads.

If there is a manufacturing defect, email quentin@mangrovediamonds.com within three days of delivery and we will replace it. The piece needs to be unworn and in its original packaging.

Complimentary cleaning and inspection for life. We check prongs and clasps under magnification, which is the ten minutes that stops a stone being lost.

Yes, on every piece. Show us the same specification from a reputable seller and we will match it.

Yes, and not simply under home contents. We provide the grading report and purchase documentation your insurer will ask for.

From suppliers we know by name, compliant with the Kimberley Process, and every stone arrives with an independent GIA or IGI report.

That we can trace the chain of custody, and that we turn down parcels where we cannot. It is a supplier relationship, not a sticker on a box.

They avoid mining, which is a real and meaningful difference. But growing diamond is energy-intensive, and the honest answer depends on the grid powering the reactor. We are not going to pretend it is a settled question.