DIAMOND INFORMATION
We are here to help you understand what you are looking for in your diamond purchase.
THE "4 C'S" OF DIAMONDS
Diamond Color: In most diamonds, the term actually refers to the absence of color. The less color in the stone, the more desirable and valuable it is. Some of these differences are not visible to the naked eye, but directly impact the overall quality and price of the stone.
Diamond Clarity measures the amount, size and placement of internal ‘inclusions,’ and external ‘blemishes.’ Grades run from ‘Flawless,’ with virtually no imperfections, to ‘Included,’ which contain a significant number of imperfections.
Diamond Cut does not refer to a diamond’s shape, but to the proportion and arrangement of its facets and the quality of workmanship. The amount of brilliance, sparkle and fire in a diamond is determined by cut. Grades range from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Poor.’
Diamond Carat refers to a diamond’s weight. Generally speaking, the higher the carat weight, the more expensive the stone. Two diamonds of equal carat weight, however, can have very different quality and price when the other three Cs are considered.
FACTS ABOUT DIAMONDS
Diamond, a mineral composed of pure carbon. It is the hardest naturally occurring substance known; it is also the most popular gemstone. Because of their extreme hardness, diamonds have a number of important industrial applications.
The hardness, brilliance, and sparkle of diamonds make them unsurpassed as gems. In the symbolism of gemstones, the diamond represents steadfast love and is the birthstone for April. Diamond stones are weighed in carats (1 carat = 200 milligrams) and in points (1 point = 0.01 carat). In addition to gem-quality stones, several varieties of industrial diamonds occur, and synthetic diamonds have been produced on a commercial scale since 1960.
Diamonds are found in three types of deposits: alluvial gravels, glacial tills, and kimberlite pipes. The kimberlite pipes (such as those at Kimberley, South Africa) form from intrusions of magma into the Earth’s crust and deliver diamonds and other rocks and minerals from the mantle. The pipes themselves are often less than 100 million years old. However, the diamonds they carry were formed 1 to 3.3 billion years ago at depths of more than about 75 miles (120 km). Diamonds found in alluvial and glacial gravels must have been released by fluvial or glacial erosion of the kimberlite matrix and then redeposited in rivers or in glacial till.
Diamonds vary from colourless to black, and they may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. Most diamonds used as gems are transparent and colourless or nearly so. Colourless or pale blue stones are most valued, but these are rare; most gem diamonds are tinged with yellow. A “fancy” diamond has a distinct body colour; red, blue, and green are rarest, and orange, violet, yellow, and yellowish green more common. Most industrial diamonds are gray or brown and are translucent or opaque, but better-quality industrial stones grade imperceptibly into poor quality gems. The colour of diamonds may be changed by exposure to intense radiation (as released in a nuclear reactor or by a particle accelerator) or by heat treatment.
The scratch hardness of diamond is assigned the value of 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness; corundum, the mineral next to diamond in hardness, is rated as 9. Actually, diamond is very much harder than corundum; if the Mohs scale were linear, diamond’s value would be about 42. The hardness of a diamond varies significantly in different directions, causing cutting and polishing of some faces to be easier than others. For detailed physical properties, see native element (table).
Quoted from Britannica.com
WHAT IS THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS?
Kimberley Process, a certification scheme, active since 2003, that attempts to halt the trade in so-called blood diamonds (rough diamonds sold to finance civil wars) and to protect the legitimate diamond trade. It has 49 participants (48 individual states plus the 27-member European Union), which together represent all the major diamond-exporting and diamond-importing countries of the world.
In addition, the diamond industry and various nongovernmental organizations contribute to the process as observers.
The Kimberley Process is named for Kimberley, Northern Cape province, South Africa, where representatives of southern African diamond-producing countries met in 2000 to address the threat posed to the worldwide diamond industry by gems that were being mined and smuggled into legitimate channels in order to finance conflicts on the continent. In November 2002 in Interlaken, Switzerland, ministers from 37 countries and the European Community adopted the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a document that spells out the minimum requirements for verifying that rough diamonds are "conflict-free." The requirements include, for instance, the issuing of certificates from an official exporting authority that specify the origin and contents of each shipment of rough diamonds. Participating states pledge to meet the conditions and to trade only with states that also do so.
In cases when compliance with the process cannot be verified, a country can be denied admission to the list of participants, or a participating country can be removed from the list and subjected to a trade boycott. Such was the case with the Republic of the Congo, which was expelled from the Kimberley Process in 2004 after it became apparent that the country’s diamond exports far exceeded its domestic production of diamonds—almost certainly because the exports included gems smuggled from rebel areas in neighbouring countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Republic of the Congo was readmitted in 2007 after its government demonstrated renewed control over the diamond trade.
Quoted from Britannica.com
FANCY COLOR DIAMONDS
Gem diamonds in GIA’s D-to-Z range usually decrease in value as the color becomes more obvious. Just the opposite happens with fancy color diamonds: Their value generally increases with the strength and purity of the color. Large, vivid fancy color diamonds are extremely rare and very valuable. However, many fancy diamond colors are muted rather than pure and strong.
Fancy color diamonds, on the other hand, are yellow and brown diamonds that exhibit color beyond the Z range, or diamonds that exhibit any other color face-up. These rare specimens come in every color of the spectrum, including, most importantly, blue, green, pink, and red.
Fancy color diamonds come in almost any color you can imagine. Red, green, purple, and orange are generally the most rare, followed by pink and blue. Yellows and browns are the most common fancy colors, but they’re generally less valuable than the rarer colors.
WHAT ARE LAB CREATED DIAMONDS?
Lab grown diamonds (also known as lab created diamonds, man made diamonds, engineered diamonds, and cultured diamonds) are grown in highly controlled laboratory environments using advanced technological processes that duplicate the conditions under which diamonds naturally develop when they form in the mantle, beneath the Earth’s crust. These lab created diamonds consist of actual carbon atoms arranged in the characteristic diamond crystal structure. Since they are made of the same material as natural diamonds, they exhibit the same optical and chemical properties.
Our lab grown diamonds display the same physical, chemical, and optical characteristics as natural diamonds, and exhibit the same fire, scintillation, and sparkle. Using a jewelry loupe, lab created diamonds are nearly impossible to differentiate from natural diamonds. Lab created diamonds may exhibit different trace elements than natural diamonds that do not affect the appearance of the diamond. Lab created diamonds can be distinguished from natural diamonds only with tests using specialized equipment. Lab created diamonds available for purchase should always come with a gem certification identifying them as laboratory grown.
A diamond that is created in a lab is just as real as a mined diamond. They have the same physical and chemical properties and are grown under the same temperature and pressure conditions, but without the conflict and questionable ethical practices that are common in some diamond mines. In fact, lab created diamonds are often of better quality due to the highly controlled environment and fully monitored process. Some of the biggest advantages of a lab created diamond include:
- More beautiful due to better, brighter quality and higher purity
- Fewer defects
- Environmentally friendly
- Greater affordability
- Colors that are rarely found in nature can be created, making unique and coveted pieces more obtainable
- Trackable origin sources allow you to source diamonds from reputable places that don't engage in poor treatment of workers or communities
Lab created diamonds are grown through a sustainable process using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), making it easier to keep up with demand without sacrificing quality or engaging in harmful processes or conflicts.
Guides and Charts
To help you understand your diamond
Quality Factors
Diamond Cuts
Carat Weight Comparisons
