...what you don t see is what you get!...

...what you don t see is what you get!... Diamonds will not meet Birks standards if they have: -open feathers breaking the surface (felt with a probe) -dark or black pique (inclusions) for weights over a half carat -dark or black center pique for weights under a half carat -reflecting crystal(s) in which multiple images are seen -any fracture filling or laser drilling -any open marks (cavities, pits, open feathers) on the surface of the diamond -chipped culets, pits, cavities -facets which are not symmetrical and do not align and point properly -large extra facets and naturals, or indented naturals of any kind. -been processed using the GE treatment (High Temperature/High Pressure), or any other treatments to enhance colour or clarity BIRKS IDEAL CUT GIRDLE DIAMETER TABLE SIZE 53% - 57% ALL BIRKS BRIDAL CANADIAN DIAMONDS ARE LASER INSCRIBED WITH A SERIAL NUMBER & OUR LOGO CROWN ANGLE 34.3 34.7 DEGREES CROWN HEIGHT 14.4 16.0% TOTAL DEPTH 60.0 % - 61.5% IN THE NEAR FUTURE, ALL BIRKS BRIDAL DIAMONDS WILL BE LASER ENGRAVED WITH OUR LOGO AND UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. CULET: NONE TO SMALL POLISH: VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT SYMMETRY: VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT FLOURESCENCE: NONE TO MEDIUM 98.5 DEGREES PAVILION DEPTH 43.0% - 43.5% BE AWARE! NOT ALL DIAMONDS SOLD ELSEWHERE AS IDEAL COMPARE TO OUR IDEAL CUT PARAMETERS. MANY OTHER IDEAL CUTS DEVIATE A GREAT DEAL FROM OUR STANDARDS. THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE CONVERSANT ABOUT OUR DIAMOND CRITERIA DURING YOUR PRESENTATIONS. OUR IDEAL-CUT DIAMOND STANDARDS Round Brilliant Cut table size: 53-57% crown height: between 14.4 and 16.0% crown angles: between 34.3 and 34.7 degrees (average) girdle: thin to medium pavilion depth: between 43.0 and 43.5% total depth: between 60.0 and 61.5% culet: none to small polish: very good - excellent symmetry: very good - excellent

BIRKS EXCELLENT CUT GIRDLE DIAMETER COMPARE THE SUBTLE VARIATIONS BETWEEN OUR IDEAL AND EXCELLENT CUT. VERY SLIGHT DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN THE TWO. IN FACT, OUR EXCELLENT CUT COMPARES WELL TO OTHER IDEALS REPRESENTED BY OTHER JEWELLERS! CROWN ANGLE 33.5 35.4 DEGREES TABLE SIZE 53% - 60 % CROWN HEIGHT 13.8 16.0% PAVILION DEPTH 42.5 % - 44.0% TOTAL DEPTH 59.5 % - 62.5% CULET: NONE TO MEDIUM POLISH: GOOD TO EXCELLENT SYMMETRY: GOOD TO EXCELLENT FLOURESCENCE: NONE TO MEDIUM 98.5 DEGREES OUR EXCELLENT-CUT DIAMOND STANDARDS Round Brilliant Cut All round brilliant-cut diamonds must indeed be round, and not out-ofround. Only diamonds meeting the criteria listed will meet Birks Excellent-cut standards table size: 53-60% diamonds greater than or equal to 0.18 ct. (FYI- 98% of vendor-submitted diamonds have tables between 55-57%) crown height: between 13.8 and 16.0% crown angles: between 33.5 and 35.4 degrees girdle: thin to slightly thick. pavilion depth: between 42.5 and 44.0% total depth: between 59.5 and 62.5% culet: none to medium polish: good to excellent (majority are very good and excellent) symmetry: good to excellent (very large majority are very good & excellent)

The fancy princess cut diamonds we offer in our Bridal assortments do not compare to our round brilliant cut criteria. AT LEFT ARE TYPICAL PROPORTIONS OF A SQUARE PRINCESS CUT VS. A VERY WELL CUT PRINCESS AT RIGHT. THERE IS A WIDE VARIANCE OF PROPORTIONS FOR THIS CUTTING STYLE IN THE TRADE TODAY. Every effort is made to ensure our princess cut diamonds are as well cut and to be as visually pleasing as possible. However, this cutting style is notorious for poor proportions (sold elsewhere.) Princess cuts are known to retain 85% of the rough diamond crystal. BIRKS PRINCESS CUT TABLE SIZE 65-70% CROWN ANGLE 36-35 º CROWN HEIGHT 10-16% TOTAL DEPTH 68 75 % DIAMONDS WILL NOT MEET BIRKS STANDARDS IF THEY HAVE: -OPEN FEATHERS BREAKING THE SURFACE (FELT WITH A PROBE) -DARK OR BLACK PIQUE (INCLUSIONS) FOR WEIGHTS OVER A HALF CARAT -DARK OR BLACK CENTER PIQUE FOR WEIGHTS UNDER A HALF CARAT -REFLECTING CRYSTAL(S) IN WHICH MULTIPLE IMAGES ARE SEEN -ANY FRACTURE FILLING OR LASER DRILLING -ANY OPEN MARKS (CAVITIES, PITS, OPEN FEATHERS) ON THE SURFACE OF THE DIAMOND -CHIPPED CULETS, PITS, CAVITIES -FACETS WHICH ARE NOT SYMMETRICAL AND DO NOT ALIGN AND POINT PROPERLY -LARGE EXTRA FACETS AND NATURALS, OR INDENTED NATURALS. (NOTE: VERY SMALL NATURALS MAY BE PRESENT. -BEEN PROCESSED USING THE GE TREATMENT (HIGH TEMPERATURE/HIGH PRESSURE), OR ANY OTHER TREATMENTS TO ENHANCE COLOUR OR CLARITY BIRKS PRINCESS-CUT DIAMOND STANDARDS table size: 65-75% (under 70% preferred) crown angles: between 36 and 45 degrees crown height: between 10 and 16% girdle: v. thin to thick (only at points) total depth: between 68 and 75% (under 70% preferred) culet: very small to medium polish: good to excellent symmetry: good to excellent

Inspired by the Latin word amor (love), the name Amorique evokes elegance and femininity, and embodies the very essence of a precious diamond the ultimate expression of love. THE AMORIQUE DIAMOND IS LIMITED IN QUANTITY AND SIZE BECAUSE THERE IS VERY LITTLE AVAILABLE ROUGH THAT MEETS ELIGIBILITY FOR THIS VERY SPECIAL DIAMOND SHAPE. The Amorique is a modern version of the increasingly popular cushion cut a curvedcornered squarish shape that gives the appearance of a cushion or pillow shape when viewed from the top down hence the term cushion. The Amorique Diamond is a contemporary design, having a starshaped pattern of facets cut into the bottom of the crystal to ensure brilliance and a play of inner fire enhancing the look of a classic cushion. The Amorique Diamond is the union of diamond cutting expertise and design innovation. It exhibits a subtle, refined, and unique elegance, while reflecting a greater amount of white light to maximize brilliance and fire. The Amorique Diamond is among the rarest in the world. Only top few percent of the diamonds in the world meet BIRKS exacting standards, and of these only a few stones can be cut into the Amorique. Particularly interesting is the facet arrangement of what is known as the pavilion, or the lower part of the diamond below the diameter of the stone. The new and innovative facet arrangement around the culet is star-like and adds to the ability of the diamond to maximize light reflection. This is a patent pending design. Every Amorique Diamond must pass rigorous guidelines for colour, clarity and adherence to BIRKS patentpending cut criteria....a star-like pattern of facets around the culet that maximizes light reflection... THE CUT - A BRIEF HISTORY In the diamond world today, there are many versions of the square diamond cutting style. All of these diamond cuts have evolved over hundreds of years and employed developing technology. Diamonds were first ground laboriously by hand against diamond dust, then progressed to mechanization and to present day laser sawing and computer enhanced light tracing sciences that have delivered terrific advances to the diamond cutting craft. All of the current square or rectangular diamond cut styles have met with variable success. Inherent in all fancy cuts are many challenges that naturally hinder the goal to achieve maximum light return without sacrificing brilliance and fire. More than three years in development, and initiated by leading industry diamantaires in North America and Europe, The Amorique Diamond To the unaided eye, The Amorique Diamond is visually exciting and distinctive. Other fancy-cut diamonds have a variable degree of dark shadowing, known as the bowtie effect. The bowtie effect is minimized in The Amorique Diamond....the most advanced version of the popular cushion cut... AMORIQUE DIAMOND GUIDELINES FOR STANDARDS table size: between 55%-62.5% (under 57% preferred) crown angles: between 32 and 36.5 degrees crown height between 13 and 16.5 % girdle: thin to sl. thick: in certain cases, thick girdles are acceptable. pavilion depth: between 43.0 and 46.5 % total depth: between 60 and 67% (under 62.5% preferred) culet: small to slightly large polish: very good to excellent symmetry: very good to excellent

... every important diamond is set in a platinum head (or chaton in French)...... the Amorique diamond is only available at Birks in Canada and Mayors in the U.S.A....... the Birks Gemological Laboratory is staffed by highly skilled and experienced gemologists and is supported by state of the art gemological equipment...... a platinum head will make an I or J colour diamond appear to be slightly better colour...... all our Canadian diamonds are laser inscribed with a maple leaf, registration number and the Birks logo...... fancy shape diamonds such as the emerald, marquise and pear shape first appeared in fine jewellery in the early 1900s...... the adage about how only a diamond will cut or scratch glass is a myth. Any substance that is slightly harder than glass will scratch glass...... only another diamond will scratch a diamond...... 1477 is a significant year in the history of diamonds. The Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy as an expression of his wish to wed. This is the first recorded engagement ring...... a Birks diamond never just happens. There are no diamonds cut by accident or routinely that would pass our standards. Every Birks diamond is planned from the earliest stages, through to the final polishing to meet our demanding quality criteria...... every Birks diamond one carat and over has a GIA Diamond Grading Report...... a 0.20 carat Birks Excellent cut is just as well cut as a 2.00 carat Excellent cut...... Birks acceptable diamond grades are D to I colour range and Internally Flawless to SI1 clarity...... the Amorique diamond has 70 facets...... the Birks diamond has no open imperfections, black inclusions or strong fluorescence...... a one carat Internally Flawless diamond of D colour will cost three times more than an Internally Flawless one carat of I colour...... all diamond grading is accurately performed on loose and not set diamonds...... our diamond parameters focus on cutting as the most important of the 4C s...... natural fancy colour is classed as any diamond with body colour beyond Z on the GIA colour grade scale...... every Birks Bridal diamond ring is accompanied by our Diamond Grading Certificate...

Carat weight is the most obvious factor in determining the value of a diamond. But two diamonds of equal carat weights can have very different prices, depending on their quality. Two terms, carat and karat are often confused. In North America, karat refers to the fineness of gold alloys. Carat refers to gem weights. The weight of a diamonds is represented in carats. The term carat originated in ancient times when gemstones were weighted against the carob seed. Each seed weighed about one carat. In 1913, carat weight was standardized internationally and adapted to the metric system. One carat equals 0.2 grams - a little more than 0.007 ounce. In other words, it takes 142 carats to equal 1 ounce, or 5 carats equal 1 gram. There are standards for reporting a diamond's weight. Legal government guidelines allow a one-half point (1/2) tolerance in the stated weight of a diamond. For example, a diamond weighing.495 carat can be legally sold as a 50 point diamond, while a.494 carat diamond must be sold as a 49 point stone. CARAT The weight of small diamonds is frequently expressed in points, with one point equaling 0.01 carats. For example, five points is a short way of saying 5/100 of a carat and fifty points equates to a half carat. Sometimes in the jewellery trade, the term size is used as a synonym for carat weight. This is because small round diamonds having the same weight also look the same size and similar diameters. As diamonds increase in weight, their size becomes less predictable. Diamonds with a shallow cut can have a greater diameter than a deeper cut diamond with the same weight. However, you don't want the diamond to be too shallow or it will not reflect the light properly and will have less brilliance. It is similar to asking how tall a 200 pound man is. You have no way of knowing because you don't know how the man is proportioned. The same holds true for diamonds. Diamonds that look big for their weight may have reduced brilliance and fire. Proportions over carat weight should hold greater importance. A diamond of less than a carat may be described in several ways, for example: 25 points, 1/4 carat, or 0.25 carat. For a diamond that is more than one carat the points term is dropped. For instance you would properly describe a 1.75 carat stone as a carat seventy five or a one and three quarter carat diamond. Diamonds weighing less than 17 points are usually called melee (rhymes with belly). Melee from 1 to 10 points commonly appear as side or accent diamonds. The price of a diamond is extremely sensitive to the weight of a diamond. The value of the stone is dependant on the precise weight times the price per carat. The price per carat increases as the weight of the stone reaches certain milestones. Such milestones include 0.30 carat, 0.50 carat and 0.70 carat. The most obvious jump occurs at 1.00 carat. Achieving the magic 1.00 carat number are two reasons why so many stones are not well cut and a continual shortage in round brilliant cut diamonds below the 1.00 carat mark, (i.e., cutters try to retain weight for the more profitable carater ). A diamond s size is only significant when considered with cut, clarity and colour to create a beautiful diamond. A large stone is of little relative value if it lacks brilliance, clarity and good colour. Only one polished diamond out of a thousand weighs more than one carat. At Birks, we adhere to international guidelines, and the cut-off point before rounding up to the next carat is.009.