Diamond Jewellery Diamond History Birth Stones Numerology 22k - 24k Jewellery Policy
Diamond History
In ancient times only kings wore diamonds as a symbol of strength, courage and invincibility. Over the centuries, the diamond acquired its unique status as the ultimate gift of love. It was said that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with diamonds which have a magic that nothing else can ever quite equal. But it wasn’t until 1477, when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy, that the tradition of diamond engagement rings began. Even the reason a woman wears it on the third finger of her left hand dates back to the early Egyptian belief that the vena amoris (vein of love) ran directly from the heart to the top of the third finger, left hand.

Diamond is the birthstone for the month of April, and besides being the most popular gemstone for engagement rings, is the anniversary gem for the 10th and 60th years of marriage. Diamonds are found in Australia, Congo, Botswana, Russia and South Africa.
Click to find out more about our 4C's
Cut Color Clarity Carat
In this section you will find information on the diamond grading, diamond quality, and other diamond information that will help you make an educated purchase of your diamond for your engagement, anniversary or other special occasion.

4Cs Diamond Guide:

Four main factors are considered when determining the quality and value of a diamond. These are called the four Cs: Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat Weight
CUT
Cut refers to the overall description of the proportions on the one hand and the finish of the diamond on the other hand. The cut of a diamond-its roundness, its depth and width, the uniformity of the facets-all determine a diamond's ability to refract brilliance. Many gemologist consider the cut the most important diamond characteristic because even if a diamond has perfect color and clarity, a diamond with a poor cut will have dulled brilliance. The width and depth have the greatest effect on how light travels within the diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance,
Too Shallow  : Light is lost out the sides
                        causing the diamond to lose brilliance.

Too Deep       : Light escapes out the bottom causing the
                        diamond to appear dark and dull.
Cut Determines Sparkle

The diamond's, specifically the depth compared to the diameter, and the diameter of the table compared to the diameter of the diamond, determine how well light will reflect and refract within the diamond.
Diameter : The width of the diamond as measured through the girdle.

Table       : The largest facet of a gemstone.

Crown     : The top portion of a diamond extending from the girdle to the table.

Girdle      : The narrow band around the widest part of a diamond.

Pavilion   : The bottom portion of a diamond, extending from the girdle to the culet.

Culet        : The facet at the tip of a gemstone. The preferred culet is not visible with the unaided eye
                  (graded"medium" or "none")

Depth       : The height of a gemstone measured from the culet to the table.
Ideal cut : Represents roughly the top 3% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects nearly all light that enters the diamond. An exquisite and rare cut.

Very good cut : Represents roughly the top 15% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects nearly as much light as the ideal cut, but for a lower price.

Good cut : Represents roughly the top 25% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects most light that enters. Much less expensive than a very good cut.

Fair cut : Represents roughly the top 35% of diamond quality based on cut. Still a quality diamond, but a fair cut will not be as brilliant as a good cut.

Poor cut : This includes all diamonds that do not meet the proportion standards of a fair cut. These diamonds are deep and narrow or shallow and wide and tend to lose most of the light out the sides and bottom. Blue Nile does not carry poor cut diamonds

Which Cut Grade is Best?

For a diamond that has no visible difference when compared with the naked eye to more expensive cuts, choose a diamond with a cut grade of good, and polish and symmetry grades of very good or good.

For excellent value with an ideal- or very-good cut diamond with very good or good polish and symmetry, consider less expensive grades of color and clarity - look for a diamond with G or H color and SI1 or SI2 clarity.
COLOR
A diamond acts as a prism, dividing light into a spectrum of colors and reflecting this light as colorful flashes called fire. Just as when looking through colored glass, color in a diamond will act as a filter, and will diminish the spectrum of fire emitted. The less color in a diamond, the more colorful the fire and the better the color grade.
    D :     colorless. The clearest diamond color grade, which is very rare.
    E:       Extremely colorless. Trained gemologists can detect slight color. A high-quality diamond.
    F:       Colorless. Only trained gemologists can detect color. Lowest of the colorless grades.
    G-H:   Near-colorless. When compared to better color grades, slight color detectable, but is a much better value.
    I-J:     Near-colorless. Color slightly detectable. An excellent value.
    K-M:   Faint yellow.
    N-Z:    very light to light yellow.
The note about flourescence:
Related to diamond color, fluorescence is a unique effect that causes a diamond to produce a slight blue glow when exposed to intense, direct ultraviolet light. Some people seek diamonds that produce this unique effect, while others definitely want to avoid it - it's purely a matter of taste.

What color grade is best?
For the purist, look for a colorless diamond with a grade of D-F and a fluorescence rating of none, faint, or slight. For an excellent value in a diamond with no noticeable color to the unaided eye, look for a near-colorless grade of G-I, and a fluorescence grade of medium or strong blue. Or, if you'd rather not compromise on color but would like to stay on budget, choose a diamond with a good cut and SI1-SI2 clarity and consider going with a strong fluorescence. It will still be beautiful to the unaided eye and you may prefer the unique effect of a strong fluorescence.
CLARITY
Diamonds that are absolutely clear are the most sought-after and therefore the most expensive. But many diamonds have inclusion- scratches, trace minerals or other tiny characteristics that can detract from the pure beauty of the diamond. The GIA and AGS use a detailed system of rules and standards to summarize the number, location, size, and type of inclusions present in a diamond.
FL, IF Diamonds: Flawless has no internal or external flaws, and internally flawless has no internal flaws. Very rare and beautiful diamonds.
VVS1, VVS2 Diamonds: Very, very slightly included. inclusions are very difficult for a trained profession to see with a 10 X magnifying Loupe. An excellent quality diamond
VS1, VS2 Diamonds: Slightly included. Inclusions are visible under 10x magnification. In SI2 diamonds, inclusions may be visible with the unaided eye. A good diamond value.
I1, I2, I3 Diamonds: I1, Internal characteristic(s). Which can hardly be found with the naked eye through the crown side of the diamond. I2, Large and/ or frequent internal characteristic(s). Easily visible to the naked eye and which reduce(s) the brilliancy of the diamond slightly. I3, Large and /or frequent internal characteristic(s) very easy to be seen with the naked eye and which reduce(s) the brilliancy of the diamond.

What Clarity Grade is best?
We recommend that you select an "eye-clean" diamond - one that has no inclusions visible to the unaided eye. An excellent value, diamonds of this clarity are much less expensive than IF- or FL-grade diamonds and typically do not contain visible inclusions that detract from the beauty of the diamond. For example choose SI1 or SI2 with G or H Color. We recommend that you select an "eye-clean" diamond - one that has no inclusions visible to the unaided eye. An excellent value, diamonds of this clarity are much less expensive than IF- or FL-grade diamonds and typically do not contain visible inclusions that detract from the beauty of the diamond.
Carat Weight
Once you have determined what cut, color, and clarity grade you are looking for in a diamond, it is easy to determine the carat weight of diamond that will fit within your budget.
Effect of Carat weight on Price:
Most people are familiar with the principle, the higher the carat weight the greater the diamond value. However, in actual practice, this principle is more complicated than it appears.
This can be illustrated by having you arrange the following four rings in the order of decreasing diamond value. Assume that the quality, shape and color of all the diamonds are the same.
  1. 1-carat diamond solitaire ring(one diamond only)
  2. 1-carat TW, 24-diamond wedding ring
  3. 2-carat diamond solitaire ring
  4. 2-carat TW, 48- diamond wedding ring
In almost all cases, the order of decreasing value would be c>a>d>b. In rare cases, the order might be c>d>a>b. Strangely enough, a single one-carat diamond usually costs more than two carats of small diamonds of the same quality. This is because the supply of larger diamonds is very limited. When diamonds are mined, large gems are discovered much less frequently than small ones, which makes large diamonds much more valuable. In fact, diamond prices rise exponentially with carat weight. Therefore, a 2-carat diamond of a given quality is always worth more than two 1-carat diamonds of the same quality.

Investment Value :
Many diamond shoppers have been told that their investment will hold its value better if they buy a very high quality stone. On the surface, this sounds reasonable but this logic fails to take into account the effect of supply and demand. Since most buyers are seeking diamonds with VS2 or SI1 clarity and G or H color, these diamonds have appreciated the most in past years.

As the following chart shows, very high quality diamonds have appreciated much less than "high demand" diamonds. While most shoppers don't intend to have to sell their diamond in the future, it still makes sense to invest in an asset that is expected to appreciate.
Advice: While most shoppers don't intend to have to sell their diamond in the future, it still makes sense to invest in an asset that is expected to appreciate. Your best investments for appreciation will be in the VS2 to SI2 clarity range and the G to I color range.

Beware of retailers who tell you that your diamond is "investment" quality if it has high clarity (IF or VVS). We talk to a lot of customers who bought "investment" diamonds in the past who paid premium prices for very high clarity but still had low color and/or poor cut. Just like real estate, if you want to sell a diamond you must find a buyer willing to purchase. If your diamond has low color or poor cut, you will have a hard time finding any buyer, let alone one willing to pay what you think it is worth.

Care for your diamond:
Diamonds are the hardest substance on earth. They are uniquely resistant to damage by heat or scratching, and only can be cut or polished by another diamond - but an extremely hard blow to the girdle can cause a diamond to chip. By having your diamond set in a relatively protective setting, and remaining conscious of it on your finger, you can keep your diamond intact for a lifetime. Exposure during ordinary wear to perspiration and household chemicals, like chlorine and hairspray, can cause buildup that dulls the surface of a diamond. We suggest periodic cleanings to keep the diamond brilliant and refractive.

A solution of one part ammonia and six parts water can be used to clean diamond Jewellery at home. If cleaning by hand, gentle scrubbing with a soft brush should loosen most dirt and greatly increase the brilliance of the diamond, but be careful not to scratch the metal of your setting. Once a year, it is a good idea to have a jeweler professionally clean your diamond and check the security of the setting.

We recommend that all diamond Jewellery is stored individually in soft cloth pouches when not being worn to prevent the diamond or diamonds from scratching or dulling other Jewellery.
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