Melee and calibrated diamonds, wholesale.

What melee is

Melee are small diamonds, usually defined as stones under about 0.18–0.20 ct each. They are sold by the parcel and priced per carat, not stone by stone, and they are graded as a group rather than with individual laboratory reports — sending each stone to a lab would cost more than the stone.

Sizes and sieves

Melee is sorted by passing it through a stack of perforated sieve plates, so each parcel contains stones within a narrow diameter range. Diameter is what matters to a setter, so buyers usually order by millimetre size. As a guide for round brilliants:

Diameter	Approx. weight per stone
1.0 mm	0.005 ct
1.5 mm	0.015 ct
2.0 mm	0.03 ct
2.5 mm	0.06 ct
3.0 mm	0.11 ct
3.5 mm	0.16 ct
3.8 mm	0.20 ct

Weights are approximate — depth and girdle thickness move them slightly — which is why specifying the millimetre size is more reliable than specifying the weight.

Full cut or single cut

Full cut melee has the complete 57 or 58 facets of a round brilliant and gives the most sparkle. Single cut melee has around 17 facets; it is used in the smallest sizes and in vintage-style work, where its simpler, broader flashes suit the design. Decide which you need before comparing prices — they are different products.

Calibrated stones

Calibrated diamonds are cut to an exact size — a precise diameter for rounds, or exact length and width for baguettes, princesses and other shapes — so they drop straight into pre-made settings, channels and rails without reworking. That precision costs some extra weight from the rough, but it saves labour and gives a cleaner finished line in eternity bands, channel settings and watch work.

How parcels are graded

Parcels are graded by colour range (for example F–G or G–H) and clarity range (for example VS–SI), sometimes with a note on make and fluorescence. What separates a good supplier is consistency: every stone in the parcel should sit within the stated range, and the next parcel should match the last one, so your production looks the same from batch to batch. Because we cut our own goods, we can hold a specification across repeat orders.

What to specify when you order

• Shape and millimetre size (or size range), plus tolerance if the stones are calibrated.
• Colour range and clarity range.
• Full cut or single cut.
• Fluorescence preference, if any.
• Total carat weight or stone count, and whether you will need repeat parcels to match.

Send your specification to the desk and we will propose a matched parcel from our own production.