Quality Control

Quality control is not a department at the end of the line. It is four checks, each of which can stop a piece from moving forward.

Incoming stones

Every parcel of stones is sampled on arrival: colour against the master set, clarity under a loupe, and millimetre measurement with a gauge. Moissanite is graded in-house in D colour and VVS clarity. Lab-grown diamonds are checked against their IGI report number and weight. Stones that do not match the order are returned to the supplier the same week.

In-process checks

• Before casting: the model is measured against the stone; seat depth and girdle clearance are confirmed.
• After casting: porosity, sprue marks and shank thickness are inspected before the piece reaches a setter.
• During setting: stones are checked for height and tightness under magnification; pavé lines are checked with a straight edge.
• After polishing: surface finish under raking light, prong tips dressed, no polishing compound left in the settings.

Final inspection

Every piece is weighed and measured, the size is verified on a mandrel, and every stone is probed for movement. If a certificate is included, the report number is checked against the stone and photographed with the piece before boxing.

What gets rejected

The most common failures are a stone sitting 0.1 mm proud of its neighbours in a pavé line, a prong that catches on cloth, and plating thin enough to show the base metal at the edge. None of these are visible in a listing photo, which is exactly why they are checked by hand.

Records

Each order keeps its stone certificates, inspection notes and photographs on file. If a piece comes back for repair, we can see what it looked like when it left.

Third-party documents — SGS and CTT test reports, the SMETA audit — are on the certificates page.