Jewelry Blog covers blog space on Jewelry topics such as diamond, wedding jewelry, gemstones, jewelry design, jewelry business, jewelry technique, and more general jewelry topics.





The Special Four C’s of the Fancy Diamond

January 15, 2009 by Fred Peters · Comment
Filed under: Diamonds 

Diamonds are more commonly known as colorless stones that break out in brilliant fire when light strikes it. But there is a rare class of diamonds that come in different hues, called fancy diamonds or fancies. Natural diamonds can get their color from the following: trace elements in their crystalline structure, like nitrogen and boron, which can produce color; radiation present during a diamond’s creation which can generate a green color; and even inclusions that can produce unique tones and hues.

When learning about diamonds, a person typically finds out about the four important characteristics of a diamond, known as the four Cs. These are cut, color, clarity and carat. When it comes to fancy diamonds, a special kind of four Cs applies to it, in order to grade the diamond and estimate its price. Colored diamonds are graded in two ways – first by the stone’s basic hue, which can blue, pink, yellow, green, black, violet, orange and red. The second way is to ascertain the intensity of its color.

The Gemological Institute of America or GIA uses 9 different categories to grade a diamond’s color saturation, which range from Faint to Fancy Vivid. There are diamonds that form a secondary color undertone, which can either enhance or detract from its worth, depending on the color. For example, a blue diamond that is yellowish can be made less expensive because of the yellow undertone, whereas the same blue stone with a purple undertone can be worth more.

When it comes to a colored diamond’s cut, an expert cutter has to consider the inclusions in the stones, because these flaws might be the ones enhancing the diamond color. The more popular cut or shape for colored diamonds are round, oval, and radiant. As for grading clarity, a colorless diamond is usually graded according to the number of blemishes and inclusions found within the stone. But for colored diamonds, clarity is not so important, although those stones with greater clarity command a higher price since they are uncommon.

As for a fancy diamond’s carat weight, the bigger the stone, the higher the price tag, especially since large-sized fancy diamonds are rare. But a diamond’s value will also depend on its other characteristic, not just its size. It is important to compare gemstones that are of similar characteristics when determining price. The prince of a fancy diamond depends on several factors, like the rarity of its color, with red being the rarest diamond color. The intensity or vividness of its hue also determines price, as well as the purity of the stone, which can be bright and clear or clouded.

When purchasing and investing in a fancy colored diamond, it is best to ask for a lab report or grading report of the stone.

The Difference Between Diamond Necklaces And Diamond Pendants

November 6, 2008 by Kathy Austin · Comment
Filed under: Diamonds 

Diamond pendants, being made up of a small piece of jewelry hanging from a metal chain, will generally have less diamonds embedded into each pendant compared to diamond necklaces that may have diamonds linked to each other all throughout the length of the chain. Some people may prefer to wear diamond pendants because the beauty of the few diamonds or one diamond set into the pendant may be prettier or more appealing to see, than a host of diamonds linked to each other in a diamond necklace. But other people may like their jewelry to be flashier so they choose diamond pendants because these can show off more diamonds to whoever is watching.

Diamond necklaces may be of three types of length – you can buy the choker length, the princess length, or the opera length. Choker length diamond necklaces are those that surround the neck slightly above your collarbones. Princess length diamond necklaces are those that will hang lower than your collarbones or maybe drape just over the collarbones. (Princess length diamond necklaces are usually the most popular type of diamond necklaces bought by consumers.) The last type, the opera length diamond necklaces, are definitely more dramatic than the first two types because opera length diamond necklaces may hang over your dress front or blouse front – and so are more obvious to see. The jeweler that sells diamond necklaces to you may also have diamond necklaces that are variations of these three main types.

« Previous PageNext Page »