Gemstone and Jewelry

In their most natural form, diamonds are – well – quite ugly. They have no luster or shine, and in fact, look like nothing more than
broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and then polished before it actually becomes a thing of beauty. Diamonds are cut with saws, into round shapes. From the rounded shape, other shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes – but the shape is less important than the quality of the cutting that is being done. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light, and it will not sparkle and shine very well. Each facet of the diamond must be carefully cut into the geometrical shapes that allow the diamond to sparkle and shine, then the entire diamond is cut into a specific shape, such as an emerald cut or a princess cut diamond.
Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into a dop, which resembles a cup with another diamond – only a diamond is strong enough to smooth the edges of another diamond. Read the rest of this entry »

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Diamonds are graded for certification by laboratories using grading criteria. Four of these criteria are critical to understand when
making a diamond purchase or investment. Known as the “Four C’s” these criteria are: color, cut, clarity and carat. Color is the result of the composition of a diamond and it does not change. When a jeweler is describing the color of a diamond they are referring to the presence or absence of color in white diamonds. Because a diamond with no color allows maximum light to pass through, colorless diamonds are preferred for their sparkle. Cut refers to a diamonds reflective quality. Most diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The brilliance of diamonds is heavily dependent on the cut. The different angles and the finish of a diamond determine its ability to reflect light and cause its brilliance and fire. Read the rest of this entry »

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When it comes to diamonds, there are
numerous scams to avoid. Most scams are
minor, but 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. Therefore,
they are easily fooled. Read the rest of this entry »

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THE little Chinese girl ran merrily down the street after her friends under the watchful eye of her fond grandmother. Suddenly she stumbled and fell headlong. Grandmother rushed over anxiously to aid the crying child, but, finding no serious harm, she comforted the girl and sent her off again to play. One curious circumstance attended this familiar incident: the grandmother seemed to derive immense satisfaction from the fact that the two little green bangles worn by the youngster, one on each wrist, had been shattered beyond repair.

Why her satisfaction? Well, the little ornaments were of jade, and she herself had seen to it that the little granddaughter wore them for protection. Indeed, many Chinese believe that if a person wears jade and is involved in any sort of accident, the jade will be broken but its wearer will enjoy protection. No wonder, then, that grandmother noted this apparent confirmation of her superstition with that “I told you so” attitude!

This story helps us to understand why, for the Chinese, jade is “the quintessence of heaven and earth, “the most precious of precious stones” even surpassing diamonds. Read the rest of this entry »

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