This is what I learned about the Diamonds recently and I would like to share it with you, because this is almost everything interesting about them.
A diamond is one of the words I always associate with art.
Do you know why?
It’s because Shine bright like a diamond is one of my favorite songs and Diamonds are forever is one of the films I adore.
Maybe you’ll wonder what is the relation between music and films here, but do you see what these two really popular names have in common?
You guessed it…It’s the diamond. So, what do you know about it?
Why in our perceptions the elegant jewelry must always be with gemstones? More specifically with diamonds.
Fancy engagement rings, earrings made with diamonds…wedding bands…Every little princess dreams about these.
But why is like this and how about you? Do you love jewelry and the diamonds song as much as I do?
If your answer is positive, then stay with me.
All you would like to know about the Diamond
Why the diamond rings have always been so popular and why on Earth most of the girls I know would die to have something in gold (preferable) combined with a diamond.
Or should I say it better- with diamonds.
Why the diamonds are so precious but at the same time not considered as valuable as the gold? What is the difference between karat and carat and what are the most popular diamond shapes?
Now I’m going to tell you everything you would be interested to know about these precious gemstones.
From what is diamond clarity and princess cut to which one is the most expensive diamond in the World.
Are the Diamonds forever?
People say diamonds are forever and if you wonder where this came from I’ll tell you right now.
In 1947 Mary Frances Gerety was the copywriter from advertising agency N.W. Ayer. She was the one who created the slogan “A Diamond is Forever” for De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd.
Mary Gerety managed to create one of the most successful and longest-running advertising campaigns in history.
As you can imagine what the popular sentence implies is that a diamond is a symbol of eternal love.
A love that lasts forever. But how about diamonds? Can they last forever?
Diamonds are among the hardest substances known to exist on Earth yet, and you probably know that nothing can scratch a diamond, but this doesn’t mean diamonds are non-destructible.
The answers to the question do diamond last forever could be Yes or No.
In fact, the right answer to this question is: It depends.
Confusing isn’t it?
The Hardest material on Earth
The diamonds are considered to be the hardest matter that exists, but the scientists say they have found material which is even stronger than the diamond and its name is lonsdaleite.
Where the word “Diamond” comes from?
The name of the diamond comes from the Greek adamas or adamantem meaning adámas, “invincible, unconquerable.”
Adámas eventually became a synonym for the word diamond. Even if it’s not easy to trace the history of the exact origin of “diamond” it is assumed that Adámas was used to refer to Sapphire (or it’s base corundum, the second hardest mineral in the world).
Corundum is a mineral that serves as the base for both sapphire and ruby. The difference between sapphire and ruby comes from the impurities within the corundum that give each gem its distinctive color.
What actually “Diamond” means?
You can see many things that have “diamond” in the name — diamond rings, diamond earrings, diamond necklace, pink diamond, black diamond.
You maybe know you can find even “a blue diamond”.
What probably you don’t know yet though is that the term “diamond” is not always exactly what you are thinking.
The term “diamond” is broader than actually many people think.
Diamond vs. Brilliant
“Diamond” is the name of the mineral, but this name is used as much for the cut diamond as for the rough(raw) diamond and the industrial diamond.
While “diamond” is broader, “brilliant” stands for a gem quality diamond carved in brilliant.
The difference between all other types of diamonds and the brilliant are its proportions which allow optimal use of light. This makes the brilliants to sparkle with radiance.
Brilliant it is the most typical and most desirable diamond cut, but other sizes are used as well.
In short brilliant is a specially cut diamond and the correct wording should not be just a “diamond” but “a diamond of brilliant cut.”
Nowadays we use the word brilliant not only for diamonds’ cuts but also for other gems, because the same cut can be applied to other stones too.
You will maybe agree though that it would be kind of awkward to say instead of ” Honey, I love this diamond ring.” something like “Oh Darling, this ring with a diamond of brilliant cut is so amazing”…
Probably this is why “diamond” is a bit more popular compared to “brilliant” when used with the same meaning.
Diamonds vs. other Gems
Gems? Everyone knows them because they are the expensive stuff in jewelry stores.
Gems are known as inorganic natural substances used in jewelry and among their properties are their beauty, durability, and rarity.
They are widely used in jewelry watches, wedding rings,earrings, you name it.
But what exactly are the gems and what diamonds and other gemstones have in common?
Gemologists, are the people who describe gems and their characteristics and can identify them. Basically, gemologists, identify precious stones and grade their quality.
For a long time, the term “precious stone” has been used only for the four most important gems: diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald. The other gems were called “semiprecious“.
Actually, any gemstone that is different than a ruby, sapphire, diamond or emerald is a semi-precious stone.
The term semi-precious can be confusing, because it creates impression the precious gems are more expensive.
While semi-precious stones are ample, compared with the precious stones, they are not necessarily cheaper.
In modern gemology, the terms “gem” and “precious stone” are usually used as synonyms.
Diamonds and their cost
What is the real cost of a diamond or any other of the beautiful gemstones?
This is a subject for specialists — jewelers and gemologists. For people like you and me, it can be difficult if not impossible to find out if that diamond worth its pricing label.
I know what you’re thinking, and I think same — there is nothing wrong to have a bit more about knowledge on this matter, so let’s dive a bit deeper in it.
The 4C’S of the diamond
One of the aspects that differentiate the diamond from the rest of the gems is the possibility of determining its quality according to specific rules and nomenclatures.
The latter allows gemologists or jewelers to speak a common “language” easily understood by other specialists.
Grading the quality of a diamond and respectively its value is not a simple operation and at times could be challenging even for the professionals.
The characteristics that determine the quality, and therefore the value of a diamond are its Color, its Purity, its Weight, and its Size.
These characteristics frequently mentioned in ads for diamonds are also referred to as the ” 4C’s “ by their initials: Color (diamond’s color), Clarity(diamonds purity), Carat (diamond’s weight), and Cut (diamond’s size).
Color Grade of the Diamond (C for Color)
The Color Grade or just the color of the diamond is among its most important characteristics.
From the very old times, the color of diamonds has been given importance. In India, diamonds were classified into four categories that corresponded to the four social castes that existed in the country; the best was the most colorless and was awarded to nobles and priests.
Diamonds which are colorless and have the most beautiful appearance are those with the highest quality.
In the nature diamonds of intense colors such as yellow, brown, orange, green, blue or pink are extremely rare.
Jewelry business focuses exclusively on what is known as “colorless series”.A diamond of lower quality has a noticeable pale yellow color.
The first classification of the diamond for its degree of incolority with commercial repercussion took place after the findings of the important deposits of South Africa.
Something more to read
The color determination of the diamonds consists of assessing the degree of colorlessness that they present, comparing it with a patterned diamond duly graded by one of the existing reference organizations CIBJO.
According to the standard, established by The World Jewellery Confederation, the determination of the degree of color must be carried out in laboratories by means of a visual comparison with a diamond scale.
At present, there are four main scales used to designate the color grades of the diamond of the colorless series.
Every scale belongs to an internationally recognized association and linked in some way with gemological teaching or the trade of gems: GIA (Gemological Institute of America), CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation), Scan. D.N. (Scandinavian Diamond Nomenclature Committee) and IDC-HRD (International Diamond Council).
The four scales have established correspondences between their degrees, being frequent the joint use of two terms, each of them of a different scale.
Apart from the above four classification societies, there are also other laboratories which provide reports on gemstones and grade them.
Clarity of the Diamond (C for Clarity Grade)
In contrast to color, the different international norms given by the four international associations, present a fair degree of equality in the denomination of diamonds’ clarity degrees and in their determination.
The determination of the Clarity Grade of a diamond is a process of evaluation of its purity and the inclusions inside the gem.
In general, inclusions are found inside diamonds.
However, sometimes external defects can also influence the determination of the Clarity Grade. Especially if the inclusions break the symmetry, damage the overall appearance or penetrate the stone and can not be eliminated.
A magnifying glass is usually used to appreciate the purity of the diamonds. When this process takes place in a laboratory, however, the determination is made with a binocular microscope.
In both cases, the determination of Clarity Grade happens under special lighting conditions.
Carat (C for Carat Weight)
The weight of the diamond, as well as that of any other gem, is considered as a factor of its quality as important as its color, purity or size.
The weight of all the carved gems is measured in carats. Therefore the metric carat is the basic unit of measurement of the weight of all diamonds.
The international abbreviation for carat is “ct.”.
One carat is equivalent to one-fifth of a gram, or 200 milligrams.
Something Important: The abbreviation “K” which also is pronounced carat it is used only to indicate the different purities of gold.
Therefore “ct.” and “K” are two completely different things.
When it comes to a piece of jewelry with more than one bit of diamond, the total weight of all the diamonds or gems should be clearly stated.
The weight of a diamond or a batch of diamonds is expressed by the number of carats and two decimals, which in commercial language are called “hundredths.”
For example, 2.53 ct is pronounced as “two carats and fifty-three hundredths ” and so on.
When it is necessary to indicate the weight of a diamond, only when the thousandth (the third decimal place) is a 9, the weight must be indicated by passing to the hundredth higher.
This means that the correct weight of a diamond weighing 1,220ct., 1,221ct., 1,222ct., 1,223ct., 1,224ct., 1,225ct., 1,226ct., 1,227ct. or 1,228 ct. will be indicated as 1,22 ct.
Only if the diamond weights 1,229 ct its correct weight will be given as 1.23 ct.
Carat weight may be expressed not only in decimal numbers, but also in fractions.
As long as the rest of the characteristics are maintained, the bigger a diamond is the higher its price per carat.
That means, two stones of half a carat will be worth less than one of a carat of the same quality. In addition, it is important to understand that with the increase in weight, the price does not increase on a regular basis.
Something that you maybe don’t know: When reaching certain weights there are abrupt price increases per carat.
These weight borders, also called “magical borders”, are 0.3 ct, 0.5 ct and above all 1 ct. of and their multiples.
Weight and Size of a brilliant cut diamond.
If you don’t know there is a relationship between the size and weight of brilliant cut diamonds.
The proportions of the brilliant cut are very well defined, so for the brilliant cut stones, the weight can be estimated from their diameter.
Even if this is a rough estimate (several factors can vary the real weight of the gems) in general, we can say that a brilliant of three millimeters weighs approximately 0.1 carats.
If you are looking to buy a diamond ring, then this useful tool can help you choose the right sizes for the gem and for the ring. You can even see how big is the gem as per dimensions you have entered.
See these handy charts by Brilliance which represent the ratio between Weight | Size for diamonds of different cuts.
Cut (C for Cut Grade)
The size is an important factor for the brilliance of the diamond.
The most common types of size in diamonds of a certain size are Brilliant, Emerald, Princess, Oval, Heart, Radiant, etc.
Accurate workmanship, experience, and artistry are needed to fashion a diamond in a way that its proportions, shape, and polish deliver the glittering light only possible to see in a diamond.
A diamond cut is a style used when shaping a diamond for polishing.
As we all know, diamonds are renowned for their natural ability to transmit light and diamond cut unleashes the light and sparkle in them.
The cut of a diamond is the most important characteristic of a diamond because it affects its brilliance. Consequently diamond cut is a major factor in the precious stone’s quality.
Diamond’s cut grades indicate how well the facets of the gemstone interact with the light. Therefore, high cut grades have a great positive influence on a diamond’s sparkle.
If it is cut poorly, even a diamond of high quality will appear lifeless. Less luminous diamonds that don’t create fire and sparkles can appear dull and be less valuable.
Why Gold actually worth more than Diamonds?
Have you wondered which is more valuable diamonds or gold?
I can bet you have, but this what I will tell you might surprise you, unless you are trading on the financial markets.
Gold has been always considered a very secure investment and its price is set around the globe.
Its value is stable and what is more important — predictable. These are the two reasons gold holds more value than diamonds.
In contrast to the gold only the highly prized diamonds will hold their value or might become more valuable over time.
The diamond’s value decreases once the gems leave the shop, same as it is when you are buying a car or another movable property.
This is because there is no set unit price that is recognized in worldwide markets for the diamonds.
And yes the diamonds are expensive, they are valuable, but not as valuable as the gold.
Other interesting things about diamonds
As you could see there are many hidden secrets in the magic world of diamonds.
I thought you might be interested to read about some of the most curious things related to the diamond and its beautiful name, so here are they.
- In general, nothing can scratch a diamond but this is not very correct. In fact, the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond or something harder than it;
- 1477 is the year when the first known use of a diamond engagement ring took place;
- The largest diamond ever found was discovered in 1905 by Frederick Wells. The 3,106-carat diamond weighing 1.33 pounds was found occasionally in a mine in South Africa. The largest diamond was christened the “Cullinan,” as an honor to the owner of the Premier Mine in Pretoria, Thomas Cullinan.
- The highest price ever paid for a jewel belongs to a diamond known as The Pink Star.The unique and largest in the world 59.6-carat pink diamond with an oval shape was sold for $71 million in Hong Kong during one of Sotheby’s auctions in Hong Kong.The most expensive gem ever was sold in about five minutes of bidding;
- The largest producers of diamonds in the World are Russia,Botswana and Australia;
- Most of all natural diamonds are formed deep underground at depths more than 100 kilometers below the Earth’s surface;
- Most expensive diamonds on Earth are not only classified, but also have their own names. Popular diamonds’ names include The Pink Star, The Hope Diamond, The Orange, The Sancy Diamond;
- The synthetic diamonds in contrast to the natural diamonds are made in a laboratory, but they consist of the same material as natural diamonds — pure carbon.The synthetic diamonds are known also as cultivated or cultured diamonds;
- The greatest concentrations of diamond deposits are located in Southern and Central Africa, Australia, Russia, Brazil and Canada;
- A cultured diamond do differ a natural one, and the main difference between the synthetic and natural diamonds is their clarity. A synthetic diamond tends to be cleaner, when compared to a natural gem. As far as the basic structure of the gem is concerned, there is no actual difference;
- The leaders in diamonds export are India, Belgium and Israel;
- Scientists have discovered a planet that they believe is composed mostly of carbon. The “diamond planet” has a bit weird name;
Everyone loves diamonds
I think everyone loves diamonds, but for different reasons.
I am not exclusion, so when I was a child, I knew that even if I can’t have a bracelet or necklace with diamonds, then at least I should have one diamond ring…
Everyone loves diamonds, because they are gorgeous and unique.
Now when you know so much about them, don’t you want even more than before to own at least one of these precious gemstones?