Diamonds And Precious Gems

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...