History

img aboutFor twenty-six years, Todd Drake has found the purest of joy in making Dallas Fort Worth sparkle with his superbly crafted jewelry. For many North Texans, Todd Drake Diamonds means the world’s finest loose-cut diamonds and highest-quality custom diamond jewelry and timepieces.

Through his highly customized service and personal commitment to diamond education and trustworthy advice, Todd Drake strives to ensure each customer finds the diamond engagement ring, bridal jewelry set, custom heirloom piece or timeless timepiece he or she has always dreamed of.

Todd combines his expertise and professionalism with a unique position that allows him to deliver the highest-quality diamonds North Texas. Enjoying relationships established by his family over decades in the diamond business, Todd Drake personally-selects diamonds from all over the world for use in his jewelry. Each GIA or EGL certified diamond is sourced utilizing the Kimberley Process (KP) and abiding by all U.N. sanctions, so customers can enjoy their priceless diamond settings knowing they are responsibly sourced and conflict-free.

With a history of delivering award-winning custom designs, Todd Drake Diamonds continues to meet the needs of North Texans’ with discerning tastes. Todd relies on top designer lines, such as Crown Ring, Jeff Cooper, A. Link Diamonds and Robert Benatar Los Angeles. Employing the latest advances of the latest in CAD and custom 3D diamond jewelry design and laser diamond cutting, Todd Drake Diamonds remains on the forefront of custom design-your-own jewelry. With a master bench jeweler on staff, Todd Drake Diamonds offers superb craftsmanship alongside award-winning designs.

For Todd Drake, what matters the most is the satisfaction of knowing each customer finds the perfect diamond jewelry piece, deserving of being passed down from generation to generation. Todd’s customers return again and again seeking out his expertise, professionalism and trustworthy advice. At Todd Drake Diamonds, customer trust is continually earned through quality and honesty.

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Is your love in the air – or is it set in stone?

A diamond is a forever investment. Understanding the four C’s – carat, color, clarity and cut – will ensure that you make a smart selection. While some of these differences are not visible to the naked eye, they do directly impact a diamond’s overall quality and price. When selecting your perfect diamond, keep the following in mind:

Cut

A diamond’s “cut” grading measures whether a stone has maximum brilliance and sparkle– it’s what brings fire to the ice and catches your eye. Cut is different from the shape of the diamond (e.g., princess cut, emerald cut, etc.). The cut evaluation rates the diamond’s angles and brilliance, evaluating the diamond’s proportion, facet arrangement and overall workmanship quality. Diamond cut grades range from “excellent” to “poor” with the excellent rating resembling the ideal cut illustrated below.

Diamond Cuts

Clarity

Virtually all diamonds for sale today include minor irregularities or imperfections, although these imperfections are rarely visible to the naked eye. The minor imperfections in a diamond are caused by the liquid volcanic rock in which a diamond is created. While diamonds are primarily pure carbon, during the crystallization process, other nearby minerals may become trapped within the cooling mass, which in turn affects the diamond’s clarity.

Clarity is measured on a scale with grades running from “flawless” (virtually no imperfections) to “included” (imperfections heavily included). “Pure” diamonds are flawless or internally flawless; these diamonds are exceedingly rare and expensive. VVS-1 and VVS-2 grade diamonds have very, very small inclusions; VS-1 and VS-2 diamond have very small inclusions; SI-1 and SI-2 diamonds have small inclusions; and I-1, I-2 and I-3 diamonds are heavily included. Diamonds are graded under a 10X magnifying glass in good lighting by an experienced grader. The final grade is determined by how easily the grader can see the inclusions and blemishes.

Color

The “color” rating actually refers to the absence of color in a diamond. Like a drop of pure spring water, when it comes to diamonds, the less color, the better. The jewelry industry recognizes the highest quality gemstones by purity of hue. In order to demine the absence or presence of different hues, an experienced diamond grader will compare the diamond to “master stones” using artificial or natural northern daylight. Colorless diamonds are graded either D, E or F. Near colorless diamonds are graded G, H, I or J. Slightly tinted diamonds receive a K, L, M or N rating. Very light yellow diamonds are graded O, P, or Q; light yellow diamonds are graded R, S, or T; yellow diamonds receive a U, V or W grading and light fancy diamonds are graded X, Y or Z.

Diamond Color

Carat

The most well-known of the four C’s, “carat” is the unit of measurement for ta diamond’s weight. A carat is subdivided into 100 “points”; for example, a 50-point diamond is “half a carat” or “0.5 ct”. Today, many individuals also equate carat with size. Generally speaking, the higher the carat weight, the larger (and more expensive) the stone. However, color, clarity and cut also affect a diamond’s price; two diamonds of equal carat weight may have very different prices due to these three ratings.