Diamond Ring Blog

In January of 1905, the superintendent of the Premier Mine in south Africa came across what he thought was a large piece of glass glinting in the sunlight.  The “glass” was tested and proved to be the largest gem-quality diamond ever found.  It weighed 3,106 carats, or about one and one-third pounds! Named for Sir Thomas Cullinan, the man who opened the mine, this amazing gem was presented as a sixty-sixth birthday gift to King Edward VII, of England, in 1907.  King Edward shipped the gem out to Amsterdam to be cut.  The cutter yielded nine major gems, which all remain in the British Crown Jewels (or are owned personally by the royal family), as well as ninety-six smaller  -but still sizeable!-gems, and nine diamonds of a half-carat or less.

Although we think of carat as a size, carat is actually a measure of weight-two hundred milligrams to be exact.  Most jewelers refer to one carat as 100 “points.” This means that a 75-point diamond would be three-quarter carat or 0.75ct.  The reason we think of carat as a size, rather than a weight, is that two diamonds of the same weight and cut will generally look to be about the same size.   This is not the case, however, when comparing carat weight between diamonds and other gems. for example, emerald is less dense than diamond.  So if you were to compare a 1.0-carat round emerald with a 1.0-carat brilliant cut diamond, the emerald would be larger - just as a pound of feathers would be much larger than a pound of lead.   For more information about loos gemstones, visit Mybargainjewels.com and ask to speak for a sales representative.

Diamond is known as “The King of Crystals,”because it is symbolizing the central Sun of the Solar System, the force in which maintains itself as the perfect state. It rallies strength with age and maintains the energy to stimulate unity and love of one self and of others. In ancient times it was given to ensure love and harmony and to dispel anger.

Madonna and Brittany Spears are two people who take diamonds to an entirely new and fun level. For instance, both wore a pave diamond initial necklace valued around $13,000 when they presented at the 2003 MTV music awards. Since that time, people have shown tremendous interest in owning their own pave diamond necklaces, rings, bracelets in fine jewelry.

When we’re talking diamonds, the term “girdle” takes on a whole new meaning.  The girdle of a cut diamond is the outer edge, or perimeter, of the stone.  If you look at a diamond sideways, particularly under magnification, you will see that the girdle is not just an edge, but actually a polished (or unpolished) area of the stone.  The ideal girdle is “medium” to “slightly thick” in size.  The thickness of the girdle is important.  It affects both the value and the durability of a given stone.  an extremely thin girdle poses the real risk of chipping with normal wear. An extremely thick girdle will make a like-weight diamond appear smaller than a well-cut stone. Girdles may be thicker in non-round shaped diamonds to protect the stone at its points.

Enhancement is often used as another word for treatment.  However, it has a broader meaning as well.  Enhancement also refers to the faceting and polishing of a gem.