because of diamond's eternal strength. The name diamond is derived
from the Greek adamas, which means invincible. Traditionally diamond is accepted as the 10th and 60th wedding anniversary presentations.
Diamonds are as popular as ever, and as it is the April birthstone, if you are considering buying one, here are some important facts you should know before whipping out the credit card:
The 4 C's: Because diamonds (and other gemstones) are so valuable, it is important to have a universal grading system to compare the quality of each stone.
Carat: One carat is equal to 0.2 grams. Diamonds plus all other gemstones are weighed in carats. 1 Carat is 100 pts, so a half carat diamond is 50 points.
Colour: Diamonds with less colour have a higher value, the more colourless a diamond is, the more valuable it is. The colour scale starts at D which is colourless and goes all the way to Z. Coloured diamonds are currently very popular with black, pink and yellow diamonds seen at all the major fashion and celebrity awards in 2010 and 2011.
Cut: There is traditionally 58 facets in a round brilliant cut diamond. You can buy other fancy shapes like oval, pear, square, marquise, baguette, octagon etc. The distance from the bottom of the girdle to the culet is the pavilion depth. A pavilion depth that’s too shallow or too deep will allow light to escape through the sides or the bottom of the stone. A well-cut diamond will direct more light through the crown.
Clarity: Because diamonds and other gemstones are made deep within the earth under extreme heat, they often contain flaws or inclusions which are similar to 'birthmarks' and which are unique to each gemstone. The clarity grading scale ranges from flawless (FL) to diamonds with obvious inclusions (I3). Most inclusions are not visible to the naked eye and in many instances add character to the gemstone.
If diamonds are just too expensive, there are a lot of other white/clear gemstones which can make great alternatives:
This naturally occurring colourless variety of Topaz has enjoyed tremendous interest in the past five years. As a natural, semi precious alternative to Diamond or White Sapphire, this stone is a cost effective alternative in everyday jewellery where a white stone is required.
Cubic Zirconia is a diamond simulant, rather than being a synthetic diamond. The latter are real diamonds (though produced in a laboratory rather than naturally occurring, by such companies as General Electric and Mitsubishi). A simulant, simply put is a natural or in the case of Cubic Zirconia a synthetic material that can imitate a natural diamond.
White Sapphire
White sapphire is the purest form of sapphire being composed of only AL2O3 (Alumium Oxide). Sapphires are found in a multitude of colours resulting from the minute inclusions of the crystal lattice. While sapphire is easy to manufacture in sterile laborary conditions, the earth's crust has a habit of adding something in the vast majority of sapphire deposits resulting in displays of colour. This more than any other factor affects both the prices and scarcity of white natural sapphire.
Our Easter Promotion during the month of April is 20% off all cabochon gemstones on our website.
Happy gem hunting
