From an early age, my parents instilled in me an entrepreneurial spirit that lives in me to this day. They worked long days and nights at their art business in Seattle, putting everything they had into their work and their family. They always preached the importance of making a career out of the things you love and inspired me to find a career I was passionate about. 

My parents lived a nomadic, international life and my dad traveled the world for work. He always brought back captivating jewelry and fascinating jewels for my mom. I was always intrigued and mesmerized by them and over time my appreciation for jewelry grew, but I never considered a career in jewelry.

Shortly after, in August of 2004, Trey and I were both living in New Orleans working at Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry. We loved working with clients and learning all we could about the jewelry business, but Bailey’s Fine Jewelry brought us back to North Carolina sooner than we planned. Bailey’s, my husband’s family business, means the world to us. His grandparents started it in Rocky Mount, NC in 1948 and ever since then, every generation in his family has given it all the hard work, dedication, and passion they had. Our Bailey’s adventure began in Greenville, North Carolina. 

We packed everything we owned and drove to North Carolina. When we finally arrived, we were exhausted, but we went to visit the Bailey’s Greenville store anyway. We were anxious to familiarize ourselves with the store that we would be calling home and get acquainted with our new coworkers. That night, a security camera was stolen from the store and instead of shaking hands and settling in, we did a full-store inventory check until 2 am. It was clear we had our work cut out for us. 

Trey and I jumped into our new roles and we did everything. Soup to nuts. I did all the bookkeeping, took in repairs, handled vendor communications, cleaned toilets, balanced the cash drawer, and of course, sold jewelry. It was a busy time and we worked hard, but it gave me a greater appreciation for what it takes to run a retail jewelry store. It also gave me a better appreciation for Bailey’s in general. I loved the people I worked with and being a part of our family business. 

As our kids grew older and started school, I was ready to take on more at Bailey’s. Trey and I would soon take over the business as its third-generation owners, and the company needed a fresh perspective. After a few years of convincing, Trey persuaded me to get involved with Bailey’s social media. I shot pictures, filmed videos, shared my favorite pieces, and chatted with thousands and thousands of clients online. I started sharing my jewelry knowledge and styling tips and soon attracted a tribe of jewelry lovers. My curiosity was reignited, and I wanted more.

I longed to expand my passion for jewelry beyond the walls of our brick-and-mortar store. I felt I could communicate my knowledge, expertise, and passion more clearly and broadly with a digitally native brand so I created Marcilla Bailey to broadcast my love for diamonds, gems, and jewelry to the world. I dreamed up a unique, interactive, and educational jewelry brand that would guide women through their jewelry journey and made it a reality.

The color, cut, clarity, and carat weight of a diamond are together known as “The 4C’s.” These characteristics work together to determine the quality, value, and rarity of a diamond.

Color refers to how colorless a diamond is. The color scale for diamonds ranges from colorless to light yellow. Most diamonds used in jewelry are nearly colorless, with yellow or brown tints. 

Cut refers to a diamond’s proportions and symmetry which affect how a diamond sparkles, shines, and interacts with light. 

Clarity is a measure of internal and external marks or characteristics in a diamond called inclusions and blemishes. These result from formation and cutting. You can think of these characteristics as freckles or birthmarks for diamonds. 

Carat Weight is exactly what it sounds like! It is a measurement of a diamond’s weight. The more a diamond weighs the rarer it is.

Although many people think of diamonds as colorless, truly colorless diamonds are incredibly rare. Most diamonds used in jewelry are actually nearly colorless, with yellow or brown tints.

Diamonds should be graded on their own, not when mounted, as a setting can introduce tints of its own color into the diamond. 

Setting a diamond in yellow gold can make slight amounts of yellow or brown less obvious. Setting a diamond in a white metal mounting can make the color in yellow or brown stones more apparent but can also enhance the appearance of a colorless stone. 

And We’ll let you in on a secret! Diamonds with superior cut and polish can look up to two color grades better when viewed face-up. For this reason, we go out of our way to select only diamonds with optimal cut and polish at MB!

Diamonds also come in colors such as: blue, pink, purple, red, green, orange, brown, and yellow. These diamonds are called fancy colored diamonds.

A diamond’s carat weight is exactly that, its weight. However, when shopping for a diamond, be careful not to confuse weight with size. For example, when comparing two 1 carat round diamonds, one might look much larger or smaller than the other because they are cut differently and have different proportions.

A well-cut 1-carat round diamond should measure approximately 6.5 millimeters in diameter. If a diamond is too shallow, it will have a broader diameter, making it appear larger, but also duller. 

The same is true for a 1-carat diamond that is cut too deeply. It will appear smaller when compared to a well-cut 1-carat diamond and will not have the same sparkle as a well-cut diamond. 

For reference, one carat is equal to 200 milligrams or one-fifth of a gram. There are 142 carats in an ounce. 

When diamond shopping it’s important to remember that a small difference in carat weight can mean a big difference in value and price.

If two diamonds have the same color, cut, and clarity but one is larger than the other, the larger diamond is much more valuable than the smaller one because it is rarer. For example, a .96 carat diamond and a 1.02-carat diamond can have dramatically different prices despite having similar weights.