CRATER DIAMONDS

CRATER DIAMONDS

Diamonds are found in several countries throughout the world though almost 65% of the entire World's diamond are mined on the African Continent in mines scattered throughout South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola  and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The world leading diamond giant De Beers situated in Kimberley controlled almost 90%  of the diamond market share, and manipulated diamond price up to the late 1980s prices. But during the past 25 years De Beers lost control of the diamond industry, for the first time in a hundred years, resulting in supply and demand unaffected by their monopoly. Russia and Canada, are also two of the leading diamond-producing countries, closely followed by Australia.  

Diamond, Jasper, Quartz and Mica prospected in an open mine.

Be that as it may, we find that the world's leading consumer of diamonds has virtually no production. Millions of carats of diamonds are annually consumed by the American public  in the United States, either in the form of beautiful jewelry or as loose stones for jewelry production.  However, the only active diamond mine in the US, is the Crater of Diamonds Mine near Murfreesboro, Pike County, Arkansas.

Day visitors at the Crater of Diamonds State Park

This North American 3.7 km² public park attracts thousands  of visitors both locals and foreign tourists annually, in their quest to find diamond. Their primary purpose may be to experience prospecting first hand, though they have hope in finding  a valuable stone buried somewhere in the vast volcanic crater. Diligence and knowing how to dry sift for diamonds can lead to very rewarding experience. Most people do find grey rocks and several other brown and yellow, minerals like garnet, jasper, agate, amethyst, and quartz. Mica a mineral also commonly found in volcanic soil and is found in abundance which many people mistake for diamond. If you find a diamond, it is yours to keep, no questions asked. 

Young couple prospecting for diamonds

The  reality TV  program "Suddenly Rich" showcased a young couple who were down on their luck with only sufficient funds to celebrate their anniversary as a one day picnic at the Murfreesboro State Park. Within minutes of their arrival, whiles  the boyfriend went to hire a sieve to sift through the dirt, the young lady started  digging with her  hired shovel.  The first dig uncovered a shiny stone which she thought it was a shiny piece of quartz, only to be surprised later when an official at the Diamond Recovery Centre at the State Park examined it and told her it was in fact a diamond and offered her $30 000 on the spot for it. She was elated but reluctantly declined his offer even though the pair of them were virtually pennyless. Weeks later after having her newly discovered rough diamond evaluated by a gemologist of note, the diamond turned out to be one and half carats in weight, colour D (ice white) with clarity somewhere between vs and vvs, worth over $300 000. 

A 1.5 carat ice white diamond worth more than $300.00

Another such open mine is the massive Popigai crater situated in Taymyr Peninsula of northern Siberia, Russia , which is at least 25 times larger than the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.  It is believed that these diamond bearing craters were formed when asteroids  measuring between 2 to 8 kilometers in diameter slammed  in to the earth at  hypervelocity speeds of 20 km per second. The intense flash of heat and pressure it produce is the exact conditions needed for diamonds to form.  In the case of Popigai it is believed that flakes of graphite in the Archean graphite-garnet gneiss that converted into tiny diamond under 2.0 millimeters in size, are more suited for producing diamond abrasives that jewelry. Since it is also believed there was insufficient time for large, single-crystal stones of great clarity and purity to develop, it is  unlikely that the Popigai Crater will become the site for a gem-diamond mining operation. 

But that is just speculation by the west because there are lots of news reports of major diamond deposit containing trillions of carats of gemstone-quality diamonds that Russia has kept secret. If the Russian government should prospect the crater and bring those diamonds to market, the value of diamonds and the diamond will fall like ninepins due the huge diamond surplus. The largest consumer of diamonds in the world will instantly loose the investment value in diamonds and mind you, so will the the rest of the world.

State Park official showing a family the diamond prospecting ropes.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

LETS TALK DIAMONDS

If you're interested in Diamonds, then I'm certain you've met the four C's, but if you haven't, allow me to introducing you to them or perhaps just refresh your memory if you've forgotten. An important characteristics to consider when buying a diamond is Carat, though Colour is the more important characteristic when it comes to value. Carat and Colour is then closely followed by Clarity. Cut / shape and are the two least important characteristics yet plays a huge role in the elegance and style of the jewelry piece it adorns. Having said that, in reality these are the four term that most people find familiar or are familiar with,  each  of which are very carefully considered when grading a Diamond. However, there is a fifth C, which is most often neglected, and that is certification.

1) Carat - weight of the Diamond 
2) Color - Starting at D (white) and and extending to Z (yellow)
3) Clarity - Internally flawless to flawed
4) Cut / Shape - (RBC-round brilliant cut, pear shape,  etc.)
5) Certification - the proposed / insurance replacement value 

Certification is probably the most neglected C of the 5 C's, event though certification by an accredited establishment like the GIA, AGS, IGI, EGL, etc, gives your diamond enormous credibility. Credibility attributed by "Diamond experts" about the physical physical features of the diamond. Diamonds inherently have internal features which are known as inclusions. They are in essence black pinpoint inclusion (imperfections) unique to each Diamond. Diamonds also have surface irregularities, known as blemishes which include scratches and nicks on its surface. In Jewelry circles they are referred to as clarity characteristics.   Collectively, it is these characteristics that gives Diamonds their real character.

Diamonds without inclusions and or blemishes are somewhat rare, except that most of their characteristics / imperfections can only be seen with a jewelers lupe or under magnification. Clarity is the relative absence of inclusions and blemishes. Diamonds without inclusions and blemishes are called internally flawless, fetch  the highest prices, are sought after and really expensive because they are rare. This is what makes flawless Diamonds a girls best friend. All women want to find love but they also don't want love to be broke. They also want a stone that is hard wearing. 

The hardness exhibited by Diamond makes it the ideal gemstone because it maintains its polish extremely well. Since it can only be scratched by other Diamonds, it is well-suited to daily wear due to its resistance to scratching. This is the major contributing factor to its popularity as the preferred gem for engagement and wedding rings, allowing it to be worn every day.

BEYOND THE 4 C's

Diamonds certified  using the AGS (American Gem Society) Scale, are written  in a preferred order, the cut Cut grade is always first, followed by the Diamond Color grade, then by its Clarity grade and lastly its Carat grade. If the finest Diamond Cut is also Colorless, Flawless, and weighs one carat, it would be written as: 0/0/0–1.000 carat. By the American Gem Society Diamond Grading Standards, a Diamond of this quality would be known as  Triple Zero  or Triple 000 or AGS 000.

GIA grade their diamonds as triple excellent, implying they are the most brilliant and the best-cut diamonds which as commonly known as a triple excellent ratings or 3ex.  A diamond with a 3ex  ratings in a GIA lab report doesn’t mean that it has the best possible optical performance or is  the best looking diamond. It does guarantee that it's not an "ugly diamond" because  diamonds are tested for fire, brilliance and scintillation during their grading process.

GIA Triple Excellent quality and  AGS 000 quality doesn't necessarily mean they have consensus on gemstones,  no, no, no, their certifications are often conflicting especially with regards to heat treated and radiated diamonds and other precious gemstones. I know of a case when heat treated stone was graded as a sapphire by one and as a ruby by the other. But their say so does 

Diamond is the April gemstone  and as birthstones go, Diamond is deemed as the “King of all Birthstones,” and therefore makes the ideal choice for a gift to loved one born in April.

MISREPRESENTATION

DIAMONDS VS JUNK

Fine  jewelry and costume jewelry fall into two very different and distinct categories or jewelry markets. Fine Jewelry is more often than not made from one of the noble metals. So, as a rule fine jewelry pieces are manufactured from either solid silver, solid gold or solid platinum. Noble metals resists chemical action, doesn't corrode easily, and is not easily attacked by acids.  Solid noble metal jewelry is long lasting and expensive and are normally beautifully designed which ads to their value. One can find 925 silver or 9kt gold earring that are made hollow but that's the exception to the rule. Solid silver rings, earrings and broaches are normally not diamond encrusted, whereas solid gold and solid platinum pieces encrusted with diamonds are beautiful and expensive and construe true and  real investment. 

SILVER

However,  just because it is solid silver, solid gold or even solid platinum doesn't mean it's 100% pure. Silver commonly known as 925 Sterling Silver is in fact an alloy, composed of 92.5 % pure silver by weight and 7.5% by weight of one or more other metals, which is usually copper. The reason for making fine silver jewelry from an an alloy is that  silver  99.9% pure silver, is generally too soft to be durable. Fine 925 Sterling Silver is commonly used for jewelry hosting semi precious gemstones like Ruby, Amethyst, Morganite, Onyx, Garnet Cabochon, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz, etc...   You may find Silver jewelry  hallmarked with one of the following inscriptions. 800, 925, 950 or 957.   

GOLD

Solid gold is especially matched with diamonds but one may find gold rings, gold earrings and gold broaches hosting some other gemstones like emerald, or sapphire or tanzanite, etc. Some of these gems  are often used as accent stones to flank  the center diamond and make for beautiful contrast in stone colour. Gold also come in different grades ranging from 9kt to 24kt.  Once again, like silver is an alloy composed of one or more metals, gold can be found as several alloys, gold mixed with either platinum, silver, palladium and rhodium so that it give gold the hardness needed to make men's jewelry which is normally 9kt. Women's jewelry is mostly manufactured from 14kt and 18kt.  Gold rings can also be found with the European Gold Purity Stamp of  999, 917, 750, 583, 500, 417, 375 corresponding to 24kt, 22kt, 18kt, 14kt, 12kt, 10kt, 9kt respectively. Gold of 37.5% purity is better known as  9kt, gold of 41.7% purity is better known as 10kt, gold of  50.0% purity is better known as 12kt, gold of  58.0% purity is better known as 14kt,  gold of  75.0% purity is better known as 18kt, gold of  91.7% purity is better known as 22kt, and gold of  99.9% purity is better known as 24kt. The higher the gold content the higher the value. Jewelers use an X-ray fluorescence meter to test the karat purity of precious metals in jewelry without damaging the fine jewelry.

PLATINUM

Platinum is predominantly reserved for diamond encrusted jewelry and can also be found as an alloy even though it is he hardest of the noble metals. My personal favorite is a 1ct solitaire diamond tension set in platinum because of its strength.  Jewelry hallmarked PL, or PLAT or PT950  means it is made of  95% platinum  by weight . When platinum is alloyed in a lesser ratio, it will be hallmarked with the alloyed metal first, for example  IRID/PLAT which implies 10% iridium / 90% platinum by weight. Platinum is more expensive than gold and reserved for hosting the best diamonds for making he finest jewelry.

Be that as it may, desperate jewelry sales staff commonly  use inappropriate terminology  to dupe unsuspecting clients into buying worthless pieces of Jewelry at  exorbitant prices. Calling stones other than diamond, diamond. In my opinion, if the jewelry item doesn't boast a  diamond then the word diamond should never be used to describe it.

A beautiful pair of ruby earrings or a Sapphire ring will never be advertised as diamond rubies or ruby diamonds neither diamond Sapphire or Sapphire diamond but just as either Rubies or Sapphire. But the jewelry industry is replete with silly advertising, for example.

Eg:-1
Breathtaking! 4 Carat TW SIM PEAR Cut Diamond Ring with Accents Engagement Ring  

Eg:-2
Amazing! Huge 4 carat SIM Diamond Solitaire With Accents Wedding Engagement Ring  

Eg:-3
Astonishing! Huge 4 carat SIM Diamond Solitaire With Accents Wedding Engagement Ring  

Eg:-4
Exquisite! Luxury British Princess Engagement Ring -Platinum Colour  

The small print saying:- Rings manufactured from "Jeweller's metal" with 18k gold and rhodium plating, simulated diamond. Looking at the above adverts, if you don't know that "SIM" stands for simulant or "platinum colour" doesn't mean platinum then you in for a big surprise. Especially if you bidding for said ring on an online jewelry auction. And the facade continues. One site had the following label to advertise their wares.

"Absolutely beautiful round brilliant cut 1 carat
CZ diamond wedding engagement style ring". 

Here, the term CZ written in uppercase stands out, almost alerting the prospective buyer into querying it. But when it it written in upper case like the eg below,

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL ROUND BRILLIANT
CUT 1 CARAT CZ DIAMOND WEDDING 

ENGAGEMENT STYLE RING

Prospective buyers are duped into making a bid and if successful are sort of prohibited from returning it to the suppliers because of their  Ts&Cs (Terms and Conditions) which look something like this.

Shipping method Shipping details:- Registered Airmail R350.00 for "each" item purchased. -Returns: A 20% restocking fee is deducted for all returns of Jewelry items from amount paid due to the delicateness of items and shipping fees are non refundable on all items,

Watch out for the junk which is advertised as:-

New 18K RGP* in Yellow gold, ladies Infinity style ring adorned with Genuine AAA crystals

Main Stone: 
Genuine Top Quality Swiss cubic zirconia simulated Diamond

Material: 
100% Brand New White Gold overlay Ring

NB!
Gold-plated means "covered with a thin layer of gold".
Rolled gold means a "thin coating applied to a baser metal by rolling".
Gold filled  means a "slightly thicker gold plating". 
Simulated diamonds means "not real diamonds". 
"Lab diamond means crystals" made in a laboratory.

MISREPRESENATION DIAMONDS VS JUNK

CUBIC ZIRCONIA KNIVES

WEDDING RING OR WEDDING KNIFE

Diamond, is  the best-known and the most sought-after gemstone globally. As such, Diamonds are ever increasing in value and rightfully so because there is nothing in the world that can rival them since they are absolutely unique in all of their characteristics. Their continual hike in price is making it somewhat difficult for those on a budget who wish to invest in Diamonds to even enter the Diamond market. Since this bar for entry into the "Diamond Playing Field" is progressively rising, many a young man who intended to buy his fiancé a genuine rock, is settling for an engagement/wedding ring populated by some Cubic Zirconia (CZ) crystal or the other. 

Be that as it may, this is not because they can't afford a genuine Diamond but rather, with the recent advances in the manufacture of faux Diamonds, a large amounts of Cubic Zirconia set rings that mimic real Diamonds are in their faces wherever they go. You can find Cubic Zirconia jewelry in virtually every Jewelry store, on display at every pawn broker and listed on every jewelry auction. 

They are also extremely pervasive in online catalogues and private sales and even on general online auctions like e-bay, bidz, bidorbuy and propertyroom, etc. The general idea of the CZ pundits, is to flood the market with this low cost or rather a "No Cost" excuse for a Diamond which shouldn't even be associated with the name Diamond. In a nutshell, simulated diamond is actually a misnomer. Man-made diamond is another misnomer and so is faux diamond and lab created Diamond. Some lab Diamonds may be chemically identical to natural Diamonds but are still not real or genuine Diamonds, ask any gemologist.

18ct gold half carat diamond three stone ring worth $2000 US.

Jewelry auctions displaying engagement/wedding  rings made of copper/brass that is 14kt white gold plated, with 1 - 2 ct Cubic Zirconia crystal starts with bids from as little as R1.00 are inundating the internet. This doesn't mean  you won't be outbid for it by some other amor who actually attaches some suedo value to these "stone" and its EP (electroplated) piece of copper. 

Yet, I've seen auctions where 925 silver rings with 1 ct Cubic Zirconia crystals go for R1.00 at the fall of the hammer. However, many young men tend to think because Cubic Zirconias are pervasive and not too expensive (typically 1/10th - 1/5th of Diamond prices) it is OK to buy them. In my opinion they are not OK to buy because they have no real value.

The preposed one tenth to one-fifth of the value of a Diamond of equal size is a fallacy. In reality it's an out-right lie that faux jewelry merchants, scientist  and "femologists"  are trying to sell you. Marketed as an affordable synthetic stone as brilliant as a Diamond,  cut in the same shapes as designs as a Diamond to replicate a Diamond almost exactly ("almost diamond" but not). 

To the naked eye, a Diamond and a Cubic Zirconia can look identical. After all, that’s the whole idea, but while a Diamond is said to be a girl’s best friend, that will  never, ever, ever, ever be said about a Cubic Zirconia. The bottom line is, you get what you pay for. So ladies, do yourself a favour and get a diamond education at "What every women should know about Diamonds".

Silver 925 ring with 1.5 carat Cubic Zirconia available on auction from ZAR 1.00

Let me put this into perspective. Diamonds are the hardest naturally-occurring surface  material known to man, thus  much harder than every type of rock, even harder than steel. This implies that a Diamond regardless of how old it is, even the oldest of heirlooms would most likely be in prestine condition, unscratched and looking like it was cut yesterday. Nothing is able to scratch the Diamond except another Diamond. 

This makes it an everlasting jewelry item suitable to be handed down from generation to generation, with the full knowledge that its value will keep-on increasing. Diamond hardness is measured on the Mohr scale which is a qualitative scale that characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals by the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material.

For example, Obsidian is volcanic glass and has a hardness of 5.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.  The blade of the average kitchen knife blade is also 5.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. A hardened steel file that can sharpen a knife blade is around 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. Cubic zirconia  has  a hardness  of 8.5 on the Mohs hardness scale thus several times harder than both steel and hardened steel. 

Corundum on the other hand has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs hardness scale and is even harder than Cubic Zirconia. Sapphire and ruby are two varieties of corundum both twice as hard as topaz and has nothing to do with Pokémon Omega Ruby Versus Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.  Moissanite measures 9.5  on the Mohs hardness scale and Diamond has a hardness of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, and is four times as hard as Corundum. 

Having said all that, it is more than obvious that a natural sapphire engagement ring or a natural ruby engagement ring is a far, far better purchase in both hardness and value than synthetical manufactured Cubic Zirconia. Cubic zirconia crystals are formed by melting powdered zirconium and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) together and heating them up to a temperature of 4,982ºF. The produced crystals, so called "gemstones" are then cut to shape to  resemble Diamonds in its various shapes and passed off as almost Diamonds / artificial diamonds. 

However, Cubic Zirconia is 1.7 times denser than a diamond and about 50 percent heavier than natural diamond. So in reality there is no such thing as "almost diamond" and neither is there a thing as "making diamonds" and neither, is there a thing like "artificial diamonds". Diamonds are natural and anything unnatural that resembles Diamonds are not diamonds but are fakes. 

Cubic Zirconia crystals are fake, even though they do not look fake or glassy, they do resemble diamonds yet doesn't even qualify to be called gemstones. Jewelry quality Cubic Zirconia crystals are way overrated and are much more akin to rhinestones (rock crystals originally gathered from the river Rhine) and the modern day varieties of  "rhinestone" manufactured from lead glass, aka crystal glass.

Cubic Zirconia worth a fraction of the diamond weight it represents.

Again in my opinion, Cubic Zirconia doesn't have the necessary hardness to withstand years of wear and tear that Diamond heirlooms should and can withstand. It should rather be put to other uses like making dental crowns, dental implants, bridges  and dentures because Zirconia as a ceramic biomaterial is more suited to making teeth and ball heads for prosthetic implants.  Zirconia ceramics have several advantages over regular ceramic materials, due to their very interesting mechanical properties. 

During the 60's extensive research on the use of Zirconia ceramics as biomaterials started. Since, low-quality zirconia were used as an abrasive in huge quantities  and  refractory Zirconia ceramics were used to manufacture parts operating in aggressive environments, like valves and port liners for internal combustion engines and thermal shock resistant refractory valve parts in foundries. By the turn of the century industrial quality Zirconia blades were used to cut Kevlar, magnetic tapes, cigarette filters because of their ability to withstand wear. 

But today’s main applications of zirconia ceramics is in total hip arthroplasty (THA) ball heads because of its biocompatibility and microstructural characteristics. Cubic Zirconia is relatively hard, though nowhere near diamond but harder than most other materials hence it can scratch glass. 

Different size hip joint  ball  socket (cup and socket)  manufactured from Zirconia ceramics

Prosthetic hip implant with Zirconia bearing coupled to the pelvis
and the ball is attached to a Titanium pin embedded in the femur.

But the newest and latest use for Cubic Zirconia -Zirconium dioxide and Zirconium powder- is to make knives. So in order to perpetuate the "bling industry's facade" that Cubic Zirconia has gem quality value, these knives are not called Cubic Zirconia knives but rather Ceramic Knives.

By dry-pressing Zirconia powder in the shape of a knife and firing it through solid-state sintering, the resultant blade edge is then sharpened by grinding it with a Diamond-dust-coated grinding wheel, producing a knife of 8.8 hardness on the Mohr scale that is harder than any steel knife with a sharp edge that can only be destroyed by cutting material harder than itself. Ceramic knives are substantially lighter than steel knives, and do not conduct electricity at room temperature,  will not corrode because they are non metallic thus also non-magnetic. So, say goodbye to you  magnetic knife holder.  

Cubic Zirconia knives are also strong acid and caustic resistance, highly resistant to bacteria  and have the ability to retain a cutting edge longer than any metal knives. As such,  ceramic knives are better suited for slicing boneless meat, vegetables, fruit and bread. However, since ceramics are brittle, blades may break if dropped on a hard surface and therefore unsuitable for chopping through bones, or frozen foods. In fact, you can have infomercial-like fun slicing and dicing all kinds of food  because they will slice  through foodstuff like a hot knife through butter.  

Cubic Zirconia knives and peeler

Unlike a traditional steel knife blade that can be honed  in  order to keep the  sharp edge, a ceramic knife will stay sharp and retain its cutting edge for  up to 10x longer.  Although a ceramic knife does not need sharpening in the same way as steel, its blade edge will eventually degrade or chip and lose its sharp cutting edge, especially if not protected and stored carefully after use. That means  slicing metal cans are completely out of the question. Today more and more Chef's knives are made of Cubic Zirconia like the black ceramic and  the Kyocera Z206 Advanced Ceramic knife, which tend to fetch a higher price than the regular kitchen knife.

A Cubic Zirconia knife with an average weigh of 100 grams can be bought for as little as $5.00 whereas a Cubic Zirconia  crystal weighing as little as 1ct is expected to sell for $100.00. Really now! Besides it probably takes longer to press a knife and sharpen it than it takes to polish a tiny CZ crystal. So where does the supposed value of Cubic Zirconia "gemstones" really come from? It's obviously thumb-sucked to con the gullible. The old adage "A fool and is money is soon parted" has never be truer when it comes to Cubic Zirconia jewelry.

Anyway, can you even image the sharpness and longevity of a knife edge if made from genuine Diamond let alone its cost? If this was even possible, what would they actually price the simulated diamond knife at?

DIAMOND CHARACTERISTICS

DIAMOND CHARACTERISTICS

Getting married is a really amazing experience because it gives one the opportunity to experience so many new things. One such new experience is choosing and buying the right engagement / wedding ring with the right diamond. Buying a diamond is a completely new experience for most young people, but it doesn't  have to be overwhelming or confusing. Understanding a diamond's characteristics, value and quality is fairly straightforward and is within the realm of everyone in the market to buy a diamond ring.

Below is an explanation about a diamond's characteristics and how each of those characteristics influence its value and appearance, as well as which of its characteristics are more important than the others. So, in just a few moments you'll know everything you need to know about diamonds in order to choose that perfect diamond for your loved one.

Cut, clarity, Colour and Carat are know as the 4 C's but if you haven't heard about them before,  I suggest you read some of my previous logs.  However, I need to throw you another curved ball and  it's called shape. Shape describes a diamond's form, when viewed from above. Diamonds come in several shapes and sizes amongst which are Round (RBC), Princess, Marquise, Asscher, Cussion, Emerald, Pear and Oval, all  considered to be standard for loose diamonds. They can range from tiny chips called  pavé, pronounced “pa-vay”,  to the gem-quality diamonds. The largest diamond ever found weighed in at 3106.75 carats. 

However, these diamond shapes have different attributes, and their sizes have different values but the overall beauty of the individual shapes and the size of the diamond is purely a matter of personal taste. Before we continue, let me say that the biggest factor to choosing the right diamond is to choose the right shape, so therefore before you can choose the right diamond, you need to be absolutely certain about which shape you prefer. The most common  diamond shape and most popular diamond shape favoured for engagement rings, earrings and accent stones is called round brilliant cut (RBC). Round cut diamonds are generally fiery and the luster of the gem produce appealing reflections due to their number of facets- normally 58.

The image on the top left is  a view of a diamond from the aove. The image on the left is a view of a diamond from below. The bottom image is a 3D view of a round brilliant diamond (RBC).
Note! All other diamond shape are also cut multifaceted but the brilliance and luster will vary because of its reflected light.

DIAMOND SHAPES

Princess Cut Diamond is normally a multifaceted square shape stone. Emerald shaped diamonds have step style facets. Cushion Cut diamond are either square or rectangular in shape with rounded corners and sides. Marquise Cut Diamond is very unique in appearance and have an overall oval shape with two pointed ends.
Pear Shaped Diamond is a cross between the marquise shape and the oval shape and somewhat  resembles a Teardrop. A Trillian Cut Diamond is a triangle with rounded sides and softly rounded corners. Oval Cut Diamond shape is much like a round cut diamond but elongated.  Each shape has a different luster which is dependent on its colour and clarity.

Physical diamond size is related to weight which is measured in carats. So it goes without saying that the larger a diamond the higher the carat and therefore higher the price. However clarity and colour takes preference over cut and carat. Clarity ranges in steps from flawless to I3. Flawless being the most expensive but diamonds graded I2 and I3 are the primary diamond grades you should consider because they are really good value for money. For example a 10 pointer flawless diamond with colour D would cost several times the price of a half a carat diamond graded I3 with colour K. For a more in depth colour grading tutorial, all about diamonds. Colour is a very important characteristic. The whiter the diamond the more pricey the diamond. Colour is graded from D - Z, D being the whitest and Z virtually yellow.

To sum up, the closer the diamond is to D and the closer it is to flawless the higher the price and conversely the closer the diamond is to Z and the higher the impurities the lesser the cost of the diamond. But regardless of how impure the diamond or how off-white or even how small the diamond is, it is a million times better than buying imitation,  synthetic, man made ‎Zirconium dioxide (cubic zirconias) aka "fake diamonds",  lab-grown diamonds, Russsian lab diamonds and other man-made diamonds. 

Moissanite  is another diamond simulants, pasted off as diamond, and eventhough  it is naturally occurring silicon carbide and is almost as hard as diamond, in no uncertain terms it is not a diamond - its a diamond simulant. Investing in Moissanite simulants equates to paying top dollar for semi precious stones like amethyst, citrine, aquamarine, amethyst, garnet, tourmaline.  Diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds are the only precious gem stones worth investing in. The newest gem to take the market storm is Tanzanite which is a  rare blue gem and a popular alternative to blue sapphire. Diamond rings are often accented with Tanzanite which are really beautiful . What makes Tanzanite valuable is because it is considered to be a thousand times rarer than Diamonds. My implication if the Tanzanite mines run dry, the value of Tanzanite may even exceed the value of diamonds, so Diamond and Tanzanite jewelry is the way to go.

DIAMOND AND GOLD THIEVES

DIAMOND AND GOLD THIEVES

The internet is really huge, humongous even colossal, so colossal that when you purchase something online and it doesn't arrive you often have no recourse. Sellers can so easily claim that the item got lost in the post. In fact many sellers have something to that effect on their websites, claiming no responsibility for undelivered goods. Great is the possibility that it was never sent in the first place. However to alleviate this problem, it is imperative to insist on  a tracking number. But somehow they find a loop hole around that too.  I once waited on a package for 3 months that was supposed to be delivered within 10 days. To add insult to injury when I queried the tracking number I was told that the package was already delivered yet I never received it. My saving grace was that the seller couldn't produce documentation with my signature where I signed for acceptance of delivery.

Fraud is being perpetrated online virtually every single day, but let me rephrase that.  Fraud is being perpetrated online virtually every second on the day. Somewhere on the word wide web some seller is defrauding some buyer. All to often, some seller is taking some buyer for a sucker because of his or her lack of knowledge of the item bought and I am not shy to say that it more often than not happens when buying a jewelry item. My wife has a 1ct 7 diamond halo ring  so I bought a pair of 1ct 7 diamond halo gold earrings  to match  online. The pair of earrings was advertised as 1ct but when it arrived is way way less than the advertised weight, in fact it was only 0.56ct. 

The image on the left is what was delivered and the image on the right is what was expected

To make matters worse the advertised gold weight of 3.032gms  turned out be about a third of the weight, a mere 1.050gms. The sellers justification was that it was a typo in the advert and insists that the 14 small diamonds in the pair of earrings is definitely 1ct.  My expert jeweler of 40 years just looked at it and said the diamonds are  .04ct each and when multiplied by 14 makes a mere 0.56ct. Have a look at the pics below and the certificate that represents it. 

The image of the diamond gold earrings in the advertisement

This dubious certificate accompanied the earrings which was totally  bogus.
The diamonds were the wrong colour, the clarity was way off and the
diamond weight was .44 carat less than advertised.

Anyway after 6 months of haggling with the seller, I threw in the towel knowing full well that he will never be successful in his business for cheating. By example he is like the butcher who sells you 1kg of sausage at the going rate, only to discover it is a half a kilo when you arrive at your camping site 100km away. The fuel cost just doesn't justify returning to the butcher to rectify the situation, you cut our losses and you move on, but you make certain his clients knows about his antics. After all this time my wife is finally wearing the earrings that match her ring even though they are tiny compared to what we should have received, let alone the financial implications.




On another occasion I bought I bought a tension set .415 ct solitaire diamond ring but when it arrived it wasn't tension set but rather just has  a tension-set-look. Its a really nice ring and has a decent  value but its not what I intended to buy. Here's a pic of the ring below. Beneath the diamond, there is a segment upon which the diamond sits and it is attached to the band on either side. The words "Tension-set" in their advert was the draw card  but it was also the catch. When I contacted the seller about my dissatisfaction, he unceremoniously told me that their refund policy still stands. I had to pay the import duty and the sales tax on the ring when it arrived in the country but the seller wasn't willing to reimburse me for that. So there,  just another scam sellers use to sucker the clients. 

Another scam that played it self out several times before, is any jewelry items bought on online auction that doesn't sell for the expected amount somehow is loaded with  postage / packaging / insurance and delivery costs and is purely a way for sellers to try to recoup some of their losses.

Don't be  taken in by these online diamond and gold thieves, rogues and cheats. My advice to you, is ask the seller as many questions as possible  about the jewelry item you are interested in and if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. Be warned and don't get suckered. Read through the previous blogs, familiarize yourself with diamond lingo and ct and colour, perchance you will never get suckered by diamond dealers.