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Q. What is a diamond?
A. A diamond is a mineral composed essentially of carbon crystallized at extremely high temperatures and pressures; in nature, diamonds form 150 to 200 kilometers (93 to 124 miles) or more below the earth's surface. Diamond is the hardest of all known natural substances (10 on the Mohs scale); its refractive index is 2.417, dispersion 0.044, specific gravity 3.52, and its luster is adamantine. Diamond forms in the cubic, or isometric, crystal system, has four directions of perfect octahedral cleavage, and shows a step-like fracture surface. Its color ranges from colorless to yellow, brown, gray, orange, green, blue, white, black, purple, pink, and, extremely rarely, red. Transparent and near-colorless in a desirable color, diamond is a highly valued gemstone; poorly colored or heavily included single crystals are used for a wide variety of industrial purposes; polycrystalline material is crushed and used as an abrasive powder.
Q. Where do diamonds come from?
A. Diamonds are mined in many parts of the world, but 80% of the stones on the market today come from Angola, Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Russia and Zaire. All of these sources might appear to indicate great availability, but this is not the case. More than 250 tons of ore need to be blasted, crushed and processed to yield just one carat of rough diamond. If that weren't enough, most of the rough extracted from the ground is not suitable for gems; only about 20% of all rough diamonds are suitable for gem cutting.
Q. What is a diamond made of?
A. A diamond is made entirely of carbon (just like the graphite in a pencil). But, while graphite is very soft, the carbon atoms in diamond form in such a way as to create the hardest known substance. This special structure allows diamonds to take a superior polish and project more brilliance than any other natural colorless gemstone.
Q. Can a diamond break or chip?
A. Even though diamonds are extremely hard, they can still be damaged from ill-treatment. Diamonds can scratch each other and all other gemstones, such as sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and pearls. Store your diamonds away from other gems in your jewelry box and don't wear any valuable gemstones while doing hard work.
Q. How should I clean my diamond?
A. Anything that cuts grease will help remove the build-up of oil and dirt from a diamond. Commercially prepared jewelry cleaner is perfectly suited for this purpose as is dish detergent and a bit of ammonia. Other gems may require different cleaning procedures, especially opals, pearls, emeralds, turquoise, and other soft and porous stones. Ask your retail jeweler the best way to clean any stone in question.
Q. What are the “Four C's” of diamond quality?
A. The key to a diamond's value is its rarity, and no two diamonds are alike. Rarity is determined by a diamond's unique characteristics as measured by the Four Cs: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. Using these criteria, a small diamond of exceptional quality will likely be more valuable than a larger diamond of lower quality.
Q. What is a “Carat”?
A. Diamonds are weighed using metric carats. A carat weighs about the same as a small paper clip. Just as a dollar is divided into 100 pennies, a carat is divided into 100 “points.” This means that a diamond of 50 points weighs 0.50 carats. But two diamonds of equal weight can have very different values depending on their clarity, color and cut.
Q. What is “Clarity”?
A. Created by nature, most diamonds contain unique birthmarks called “inclusions” (internal) and “blemishes” (external). Diamonds with few birthmarks are rare -and rarity affects value. (I3).
Q. What is “Color”?
A. Colorless diamonds are extremely rare and highly valued. Most diamonds are nearly colorless with yellow or brown tints. Diamond Grading System uses letters to represent colors, beginning with D (colorless) and ending at Z (light yellow or brown). If a stone shows a natural yellow color slightly deeper than the Z master, its color is designated as "fancy light yellow" on the Diamond Quality Analysis Report.
Q. What is “Cut”?
A. The mere fact that there are traditionally 58 tiny facets in a diamond, each carefully cut and sharply defined, and may be only two millimeters in diameter, strikes many in the buying public as little short of miraculous. But this precision is essential to the potential beauty of a diamond. As a matter of fact, overall appearance - the brilliance, fire, and scintillation that makes diamonds uniquely beautiful - depends more on cut than anything else. There are no internationally recognized grades for cut, as there are for color and clarity, and ther are differences of opinion within the trade about some aspects of cut. Proportions are the size and angle relationships between the facets and different parts of the stone. Finish includes polish and details of facet shape and placement. Cut can also mean shape, as in round brilliant, emerald cut, or marquise cut.
Q. Why are there no A, B, C grades?
A. In order to avoid confusion with a multitude of differing, previously existing grading systems, the GIA system was created, and "D" was designated the highest color grade. This system is now recognized world-wide.
Q. What's the difference between Platinum and White Gold?
A. Platinum is the metal of three. Platinum is three times the distance under ground than gold, it requires three times the heat needed to melt, and has three times the durability. It also takes three times the tools required to work with. So I'll bet you guessed it - it's also three times the cost. White gold, of course, is a mixture of pure gold and some other alloy such as nickel to help give it the white silvery look which is natural platinum.
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