Diamonds And Precious Gems

What shape diamond are you going to get for the engagement ring? Round? Square? Oval? Pear? Heart? They're all so nice! It can be difficult to choose. You could be after a shape that is popular or maybe you want to try something a little different. Some diamond cutters have created their own improvements and sell these diamonds directly. This is called a Signature Cut. The way these diamonds look are pretty impressive and very dazzling. Diamonds are already quite hypnotic, but signature cuts particularly super ideal cut diamonds are just unbelievable.   If you look at the statistics on a site like mega diamond seller Blue Nile you'll see that most people end up choosing round diamonds. The reason that round shaped diamonds, (technically called round brilliants ) are such good sellers is because they are known to be designed in such a clever way that a larger proportion of light bounces back through the top of the diamond giving it a superior sparkle. Becau...

Pricing many products for sale is generally quite easy. It goes something like this: Determine the costs of manufacturing, then the costs involved to market that item, and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or whatever the market can sustain. Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t nearly that simple. Not at all. This is because there are so many additional factors that come into play when diamonds are priced. Diamond prices are determined first by adding the cost of the rough diamond, the cost of cutting the diamond, and all other costs necessary to turn the rough diamond into a something suitable for use in jewelry. Depending on the importance of the diamond, an independent company may be called in to certify the grade of the diamond based on color, cut, clarity, and weight. As every stage involves professionals who are paid for their work the diamond becomes more expensive each time it changes hands. When it finally reaches a retailer the price will as expected be r...

I found this great resource on the Gemological Institute of America's website. It has a slider which allows you to check the size of a diamond and you can even compare it to second stone to compare the difference. This slider only shows the size of round cut diamonds, but these are the most popular cut, here it is: http://gia4cs.gia.edu/EN-US/diamond-carat-weight.htm Princess cut diamonds and other fancy cuts are nice for variety, but the round cut diamond has been engineered in such a way to get the best light performance. Occasionally you may get similar shininess from other cuts if they are signature diamond cuts. But back to diamond sizes: A 1 carat round cut diamond, when cut well, will be about 6.5 mm across.   It's difficult to see this if the diamond is in a setting particularly if it is in a setting which has a lip around the entire diamond (a bezel setting). The prong settings are popular as they display more of the diamond and this allows the light to...

When having dinner with some relatives the topic of diamonds came up, as a few people knew I had gotten my GIA  (Gemological Institute of America) accreditation.  My brother in-law said, "Who buys diamonds nowadays, anyway. Just get one of those fake ones. No one can tell the  difference."  You should have seen the look that his wife shot him. It was obvious she did not approve of his comment.   The course I studied told me that synthetic diamonds are grown in a laboratory, and have essentially the same  properties as natural diamonds: chemical composition, crystal structure and physical and optical. Most synthetic  diamonds are made for industrial use. Japan, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine and the United States in the last thirty  years have grown gem-quality synthetic diamonds in small quantities. Synthetic diamonds are generally produced  using one of two methods. One method uses high pressure and high temperature ( you might find the...

A diamond certificate is also known as a Diamond Grading Report. This report comes from a laboratory where trained gemologists examine diamonds and other precious gems. They then write a report for the jewel and this gets included with the jewel when bought or sold. One of the most respected labs is the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). While most dealers refer to the reports as "Certificates", they are not certificates. They are Grading  Reports .  GIA issues Diamond grading reports for stones 1 carat and over. Smaller stones can also get inspected and have a report made. These smaller stones will get a Diamond Dossier, which excludes the map of the stone marking where any visible crystals and other inclusions are in the diamond. With a diamond grading report or dossier, you can verify the color, cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the diamond. You don’t have to worry about a diamond dealer telling you anything less than the truth, because the repo...

Diamonds have on more than one occasion played a pivotal role throughout history. There is speculation that the French revolution may have gone differently if the Austrian general, the Duke of Brunswick, at the head of the troops had not been bribed by the French revolutionaries who smuggled the French Blue to him. He lost important ground with some baffling decisions and the French were not overcome by his troops. The story of this stone is told by Richard Kurin in his fantastic and well researched book Blue Hope, published by Smithsonian Books. This stone was eventually cut into at least 2 pieces, one of which his daughter Caroline brought to England when she married Prince George IV. This diamond would later become known as the Hope Diamond. It is now one of the most well known diamonds in the world. This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian. The legends of the ill-fortune and curse bestowed on the possessor of the Hope Diamond are many. ...

When it comes to buying diamonds , here are a few scams to be on the look out for. Most scams seem minor, but   if you are on the receiving end of a scam you will definitely wish you had been pre-warned. There are some major ones that come up from time to time concerning the buying and selling of diamonds.  Scams occur simply because most people who buy diamonds – for whatever reasons – don’t know that much about diamonds. Most people don't think they can easily be fooled. Unfortunately  some people make it their business to be convincing.  And on the part of the victim it's usually greed that shuts down common sense. Everyone wants a good deal, but it's good to remember that we often get what we pay for. Is something too good to be true? If you start getting all jittery and over excited because you start thinking this is an extremely rare opportunity and are being told you have to make a decision on the spot this is usually a tactic to get you to gra...