Expert Tips on Luxury Designer Jewellery

Diamond engagement rings from Verragio: COUTURE-0405

2012-01-26T17:26:00.000+08:00

Diamond engagement rings from Verragio: INSIGNIA-7005

2012-01-26T17:22:00.000+08:00

Paradiso Collection of Diamond Engagement Rings by Verragio

2012-01-26T17:18:00.000+08:00

Couture Collection of Diamond Engagement Rings by Verragio

2012-01-26T17:13:00.000+08:00

GIA Ex/Ex Cushion Cut Diamonds: hand shots

2012-01-26T17:07:00.003+08:00

TOP 10 BIGGEST DIAMONDS OF THE WORLD

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The 10 Biggest and famous Diamonds in the World
10. The Millennium Star, Weight: 203.04 carats
The Millennium Star is internally and externally flawless pear-shaped diamond (total of 54 facets). With the weight of 203.04 carats it is the 10th largest diamond in the world. Originally, the rough stone was 777 carats found in the Mbuji-Mayi district of Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1990. After 5 months of studying and planning the cutting of the stone, it was decided to cut the rough diamond into three pieces. The Millennium Star is the outcome of the largest piece. The value of the stone hasn't been revealed but the Millennium Star was insured for 100 million English pounds, this is believed to be a fraction of its true worth.
9. The Red Cross, Weight: 205.07 carats
The Red Cross is canary yellow cushion-shaped diamond with weight of 205.07 carats. The rough stone weighed 375 carats and was found in Kimberly mines (South Africa) in 1901. The diamond was presented as a gift to the art sale held in London by Christies in 1918, on behalf of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John. Another rare feature is that a Maltese Cross is distinctly visible in the top facet, hence the double appropriateness of its name, the Red Cross Diamond.
8. The De Beers - Weight: 234.65 carats
The De Beers diamond was found in Kimberly mines in 1888, the rough stone weighed 428.50 carats and measured 47.6 mm through its longest axis and 38.1 mm square. Weighing 234.65 carats, the De Beers is the 8th largest faceted diamond in the world. After its display in Paris the Maharaja of Patiala bought the De Beers. In 1928 Cartier of Paris set it as the centerpiece of a ceremonial necklace that came to be known as the Patiala Necklace. The necklace originally contained about 2,930 diamonds weighing about 962.25 carats. Today's whereabouts of the De Beers diamond and the Patiala Nacklace is unknown.
7. The Jubilee - Weight: 245.35 carats
The Jubilee is a colorless cushion-shaped diamond with a weight of 245.35 carats. The original rough stone, an irregular octahedron without definite faces or shape weighed 650.80 carats and was found in the Jagersfontein Mine towards the end of 1895. When during the cutting it became evident that a superb diamond of exceptional purity and size was being produced, it was planned to present it to Queen Victoria. In the end this did not happen and the diamond remained with its owners. The following year marked the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (the 75th anniversary of her coronation) so the gem was renamed the Jubilee to commemorate the occasion.
6. The Centenary - Weight: 273.85 carats
The Centenary was found in Premier mine in 1986, in its rough form it weighed 599 carats. When cutting was completed the Centenary weighed 273.85 carats, measured 39.90 � 50.50 � 24.55 mm, and had 247 facets - 164 on the stone and 83 around its girdle. Never before had such a high number of facets been polished onto a diamond. The true value of the Centenary diamond is unknown, but the diamond was insured for around $100 million in 1991.
5. The Spirit of de Grisogono - Weight: 312.24
The Spirit of de Grisogono, at 312.24 carats, is the world's largest cut black diamond, and world's 5th largest diamond. In a white gold mounting, it is set with 702 white diamonds totaling 36.69 carats. This diamond originally had a rough weight of 587 carats and was mined several decades ago in west Central Africa before being imported into Switzerland.
4. The Cullinan II - Weight: 317.40 carats
The Cullinan II is the massive 317.40 carat cushion shaped diamond in the center-front of the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain. Cullinan II was cut from the largest gem-quality diamond ever found, it weighed 3106 carats, or about 1 1/3 pounds. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting on that eventful day. The nine larger stones of the Cullinan diamond remain either in the British Crown Jewels or in the personal possession of the Royal Family.
3. The Incomparable - Weight: 407.48 carats
2. The Cullinan I - aka the Star of Africa
Weight: 530.20 carats
1. The Golden Jubilee
Weight: 545.67 carats
See also Top 10 Most Expensive Diamonds In The World

International School of Gemology

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GIA Diamond Grading Guide: How to Buy a Diamond

2012-01-26T16:47:00.003+08:00

The 4 C's of a Diamond

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The 4 C's of a Diamond

The most common and most accepted standards in evaluating a diamond are called the 4c’s:
Carat Weight
Cut
Color
Clarity

Carat Weight

The carat weight, not to be confused with the “karat” – a measure of the quality of gold, is simply the weight of the diamond. One carat is equivalent to .2 grams or .007 of an ounce of diamond.

The price of any diamond is equivalent to the number of carats times the price per carat.

As the number of carats goes up, the diamond is considered to be more singular and thus more expensive.

D -Pavilion depth
H -Crown height

Cut

In the diamond business most experts agree that the single most important aspect of a diamond is its cut. The cut doesn’t refer to the shape of a diamond – pear, round, oval; rather, it means to the quality of the proportioning, symmetry, and polish.

Diameter: The measure from one end of the girdle to the other.

Table: The single largest facet of a gemstone which also has a flat top.

Crown: The part of the diamond coming from the girdle to the handle.

Girdle: A narrow band which extends around the single widest part of the diamond.

Pavilion: The bottom part of a diamond which goes from the girdle to the point of stone.

Culet: The very tip of the gemstone. It is preferred that the culet, which is a facet, is not visible to the unaided eye.

Depth: The length of the diamond; it is measured from the culet to the table.

How does cut affect fancy shaped diamonds?
Due to the complex patterns of fancy cut diamonds like pear, oval, heart, emerald, princess, radiant, and others the rules above are very hard to apply. The consumer however, doesn’t have to be left in the dark and reduced to making guesswork about its quality. Agencies like the EGL USA have extensive information on the cut of fancy shaped diamonds. Below are some general guidelines to follow.
Since a cut is meant to maximize brilliance you can reverse-judge the cut by the amount of brilliance a fancy shaped diamond has. The diamond should be exhilarating to look at and should dance and sparkle when placed in light. “Light leakage” through the pavilion should be at a minimum.
There exists a concept in fancy shaped diamonds called the bowtie effect – it is an area of diminished light appearing in the shape of a bowtie. It is a sign of low quality cutting. You must use your eye to judge the extent of the bowtie effect.
A very important consideration of fancy cut diamonds is the symmetry. Ideally the two halves should be a mirror image of each other; differences should be hard to spot. Sometimes cutters purposely make the halves different to save weight.
Some fancy cut diamonds such as the marquises, pears, and hearts have points at their ends. These points shouldn’t be too sharp as they might chip under special situations. The points should be thick enough to withstand normal use.

Color

Unlike other factors concerning a diamond, color is largely a matter of preference; some like a diamond with strong color while others like a completely colorless one. Diamonds completely devoid of color are considered rare and thus are much more pricey then near-colorless diamonds.

If one wants to have a larger diamond within a limited budget his best option would be to get a diamond with a slightly lower color grade. Diamonds which are slightly tinted with color have a warm hue and are less costly then their colorless peers.

Although the general rule is that the less color a diamond has the more valued it is, there are exceptions to this rule. Most don’t know that diamonds come in every color of the light spectrum including brilliant yellows, steely blues, soft pinks, and fiery oranges. Some even come in fancy white and fancy black. These diamonds with rare colors are considered ‘fancy’ and are extremely valuable – probably the most expensive objects per unit weight on earth. This only applies if the color is natural and not man-made or treated in any way.

Fancy colors include brilliant yellows, steely blues, soft pinks, fiery oranges and more; there's even fancy white and black. If the color is natural, as opposed to treated, the prices of these fancies can be extremely high.

International diamond laboratories and gemologists have adopted a scale for judging the quality of diamonds The scale is meant to judge rarity – from colorless on the left to light yellow on the right.

Clarity

Clarity is the measure the amount of blemishes a diamond has. Blemishes are nature’s birthmarks on diamonds which make each diamond unique.

External blemishes and internal blemishes (called inclusions) usually have absolutely no effect on a diamonds brilliance or fire. Nonetheless, diamonds are given a grade for clarity; this grade is deduced on what can be observed when using a 10x magnifier.
An often asked question by consumers is if blemishes don’t affect a diamonds beauty and brilliance why does it matter what the clarity grading is. The answer is that diamonds with fewer blemishes are rarer and thus more expensive. As previously stated however, diamonds of all clarity ratings can look gorgeous depending on other much more significant factors like cut and color.

Although actual clarity grades are given by professionals using very accurate 10x magnification powers, the consumer can nonetheless make rough judgments of clarity using the charts below. Note however, that these judgments will not take the place of professional inspection.

How diamonds are cut

2011-08-04T22:58:00.000+08:00

How Diamonds are Formed - National Geographic

2011-08-04T22:56:00.000+08:00

The Diamond process from the Mine to the Market

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How to buy a diamond online

2011-08-04T22:51:00.000+08:00

How to Buy a Diamond

2011-08-04T22:46:00.000+08:00

How to buy diamonds - Tips for buying a diamond

2011-08-04T22:44:00.000+08:00

#10 -- Shapes - Diamond Education Buying Guide Series

2011-08-04T22:39:00.000+08:00

#9 - Carat Weight - Diamond Education Buying Guide Series

2011-08-04T22:34:00.000+08:00

#8 - Clarity - Diamond Buying Education Guide Series

2011-08-04T22:33:00.000+08:00

#7 - Fluorescence - Diamond Education Buying Guide Series

2011-08-04T22:31:00.000+08:00

#6 - Color - Diamond Education Guide Series

2011-08-04T22:29:00.001+08:00

#5 - GIA Cut Grade System - Diamond Buying Education Series

2011-08-04T22:25:00.001+08:00

#4 - Cut, Polish and Symmetry - Diamond Education Series

2011-08-04T22:23:00.001+08:00

#3 - The 4Cs Diamond Buying - Diamond Education Guide Series I

2011-08-04T22:22:00.001+08:00

#1 - How to Buy a Diamond - Diamond Education Guide Series

2011-08-04T19:25:00.000+08:00

3D Realistic Diamond Animation by Ehtiram NAJAFOV

2011-08-02T22:38:00.001+08:00