Diamond jewelry tips
Contrary to popular belief, diamond jewelry value does not depend purely on the weight or carat weight of the diamond, it is determined by four factors known as the four 'C's and the best purchasing tips for buying diamond jewelry come from understanding how the diamond jewelry trade uses these four factors to establish the value of diamond jewelry:
Diamond Jewelery Color
The majority of diamond jewelry sold in the jewelry industry ranges in color from near colorless to very light yellow or brown, but diamond jewelry does come in all colors - pale yellow, canary, pink, red, green, blue and brown and these are known as "fancies".
The more color the stone in your diamond jewelry has, the less it will seem to sparkle. This is caused by the color in the stone blocking some of the light from passing through the stone.
Colorless diamonds allow the most light to pass through them which creates the maximum amount of brilliance (or fire). Trully colorless diamonds, however, are rare and valuble.
In the diamond jewelry trade, cut stones are graded for for color, against a white background (anyone who shows you diamonds against a black background is out to con you), according to the to Gemological Institute of America's professional color scale that begins with the highest rating of D for colorless, and ends with a rating of Z for stones with traces of a very faint yellow or brown color.
Diamond jewelry made with diamonds graded G through I show virtually no color that is visible to the untrained eye.
And if your budget is limited, only a very faint hint of yellow will be apparent in diamonds graded J through M.
To ensure that their customers enjoy only fine, classic diamond jewelry,
Mondera
does not offer diamonds that have been graded below M.
Diamond Jewelery Clarity
Diamonds are made up of pure carbon, which crystallizes under the intense heat and pressure within the earth. Tiny traces of minerals, gasses, or other elements can become trapped inside diamonds during the crystallization process.
In the diamond jewelry trade, the flaws caused by the trapped minerals, gasses, or other elements are called inclusions. The number, color, type, size and position of surface and internal inclusions effect diamond jewelry value. Inclusions can interfere with the passage of light traveling through a diamond, reducing its clarity and diminishing its brilliance and sparkle and therefore its value.
Less than 1% of all diamonds ever found can be classified as flawless, so the fewer and smaller the inclusions and thus the higher the diamond grade, the more rare and valuable the diamond will be.
The Gemological Institute of America's (GIA) quality analysis system is the most widely used for grading gemstones in the United States. Clarity is graded according to the relative position of the diamonds on the Flawless-to-Imperfect scale:
| F - IF | |
Flawless or Internally Flawless. This diamond has no internal inclusions. Very rare. |
| VVS1 - VVS2 | |
Very Very Slighty included. Very difficult to detect under 10x magnification. |
| VS1 - VS2 | |
Very Slighty included (two grades). Minute inclusions invisible to the naked eye and seen only with difficulty under 10x magnification. |
| SI1 - SI2 | |
Slightly Included (two grades). Minute inclusions Can be seen under 10x magnification and in some cases, in SI2, inclusions are visible to the naked eye. |
| I1 - I3 | |
Included (three grades). Inclusions visible under 10x magnification as well as to the human eye. |
While the presence of inclusions do lower the clarity grade, and therefore the value of a diamond, your diamond jewelry does not have to have a completely clean diamond to be extremely attractive. Diamond jewelry containing stones with VVS and VS grades can be excellent choices as well.
If your budget is limited, a more affordable option is to choose diamond jewelry which contains, what gemologists call, "eye-clean" - diamonds. These have no inclusions visible to the naked eye and are classified as SI or SI2.
Mondera
offers diamond jewelry containg diamonds classified from Flawless to I1 clarity.
Diamond Jewelery Carat
In the diamond jewelry trade, a diamond's weight is expressed in carats or points. There are one hundred points to a carat and one carat has a metric weight of 0.2 grams, or 1/42 of a standard ounce.
A one carat brilliant cut diamond will be about the size of a small pea. A one point stone isn't much larger than a pinhead and has fewer facets.
If your budget is limited, you can still find a larger diamond of excellent quality by selecting one which is graded slightly lower in terms of color and clarity.
The following picture illustrates approximate diamond sizes.
Diamond Jewelery Cut
A diamond's cut must not be confused with its shape. A diamond can be cut into any shape by grinding and polishing, small, flat planes into the diamond, so that the maximum amount of light is reflected back to the viewer's eye.
These polished flat planes are known as facets and are produced according to exact mathematical formulae. A good cut gives a diamond its brilliance, sparkle and fire:
 |
Brilliance - The internal and external reflection of light to the eye from a gemstone. |
|
Sparkle - Also known as Scintillation - The flashing effect produced when a diamond is moved in the light. |
|
Fire - Also known as Dispersion - The flashes of different rainbow colors resulting from the dispersion of light, particularly when viewing a diamond in strong, direct light. |
Just as important are the table size, crown angle, and pavilion depth, all of which have a dramatic effect on diamond jewelry quality and appearance.
Recommended Online Diamond Jewelery Store
All Mondera diamonds are certified by the world's leading laboratory, the Gemological Institute of America, ensuring that your jewelry is extraordinary.
Mondera offers only timeless classic designs and never compromises on the quality of design, craftsmanship or gems. Only the finest quality jewelry reaches their customers and by bypassing the intermediaries in traditional jewlery distribution channels, customers will find that Mondera's prices are 30-50% lower than the average US retail prices.
All Mondera products come with Free Shipping on US orders and a 30-day money-back Guarantee!
