How Diamonds Are Cut

In their most natural form, diamonds are –
well – quite ugly. They have no luster or shine,
 and in fact, look like nothing more than
broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and
then polished before it actually becomes a
thing of beauty.

Diamonds are cut with saws, into round
shapes. From the rounded shape, other
shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes
– but the shape is less important than the
quality of the cutting that is being done. If
the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light,
and it will not sparkle and shine very well.
Each facet of the diamond must be
carefully cut into the geometrical shapes
that allow the diamond to sparkle and
shine, then the entire diamond is cut into
a specific shape, such as an emerald cut
or a princess cut diamond.

Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into
a dop, which resembles a cup with another
diamond – only a diamond is strong enough
to smooth the edges of another diamond.
Once the diamond has been cut and shaped,
and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it is
polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing
wheel.

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Famous Diamonds

Among the most well known diamonds is the
Hope.   This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond
is currently on display at the Smithsonian.
The legends of the ill-fortune and curse
bestowed on the possessor of the Hope
Diamond are many.  This diamond was
donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The
Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky
110-carat rough.

The Dresden Green stands out among the
natural colored diamonds. It is the largest
green diamond in the world weighing
40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large
and has a natural green color with a slight
blue overtone.  These facts make it virtually
priceless.

The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and
weighs 9.01-carats.  This pink diamond was
once owned by Louis XIII.

The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful
canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42
in the rough (metric) carats discovered in
either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa.  The
gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary
weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently,
was the largest golden-yellow in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor  ( Mountain of Light )  is now
among the British Crown Jewels.  This
diamond weighs 105.60 carats.  First
mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have
been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous
peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is graded as a naturally colored
Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats.
It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990.
Since this sale, it has been modified to a
cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.

The Transvaal Blue is pear cut.  This blue
diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in
the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal,
South Africa.

The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered
in the summer of 1963, in a South African
diamond field.  This 198.28-carat fancy
brown diamond appeared to be a light
honey color in its rough state.  However,
after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden
brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt
orange.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped
69.42 carat diamond.  Cartier of New York
purchased this diamond at an auction in
1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next
day Richard Burton bought the diamond
for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the
"Taylor-Burton”.   In 1978, Elizabeth
Taylor put the diamond up for sale.
Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500
each to view the diamond to cover the costs
of showing it.  Finally, in June of 1979, the
diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

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Diamond Grading Reports

You’ve been told that having a certificate or
a diamond grading report is important, and
as a responsible consumer, you get one –
unfortunately, you probably won’t understand
a word of what is on that diamond grading
report, unless you are a jeweler.

On the color grading scale, D, E, and F
mean that the diamond has no color. G, H,
and I means that it has very little color. J, K,
and L means that the diamond has a slight
yellow color. P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, and X
means that the diamond is a darker shade
of yellow. Z means that the diamond has a
 fancy color – other than white or yellow.
On the color grading scale, D is the most
valuable, and X is the least valuable –
however diamonds that get a Z rating are
 the rarest and most expensive diamonds
in the world.

There are many aspects to a grading report.
Figuring it all out can be very confusing. You
should talk to a jeweler you trust, and have
them explain everything on the diamond
grading report to you.

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Diamond Certificates

A diamond certificate is also known as a
Diamond Grading Report. This report comes
from the Gemological Institute of America
(GIA), and you should require this report
when you are purchasing a diamond.

With a diamond certificate, you can verify
the color, cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the
diamond. You don’t have to worry about a
diamond dealer telling you anything less than
the truth, because the certificate comes
from the GIA – not the dealer. You may be
required to pay for the certificate, but the
cost is usually low, and in many cases, it
will help you negotiate a better price on the
diamond – or keep you from purchasing a
lower quality diamond altogether.

If you buy a high quality diamond, and then
later decide to sell the diamond, you will
need to have the certificate, or you will have
a hard time selling it to someone else.
Furthermore, you can use the Diamond
Grading Report to look up the wholesale
value of the diamond in question. Use the
guide that is used by the diamond cutting
industry.

With the Certificate, or Diamond Grading
Report, there won’t be any doubts when you
are trying to purchase a diamond. You can
easily find out what the diamond is worth.
This will prevent you from overpaying, and it
can prevent a seller from under-charging as
well.

A copy of the Diamond Grading Report
should be given to your insurance company
as well, when you insure the diamond. This
provides absolute, unquestionable proof of
the value of the diamond should it be stolen
in the future. Insurance companies cannot
argue with the report.

Avoid diamond dealers who seem reluctant
to provide a certificate! Also avoid sellers
who tell you that a certificate diamond will
cost you more – the only additional cost
should be the cost of the certificate, which
is low. If the dealer doesn’t want to provide
a certificate, then you don’t want to do
business with that dealer.

Don’t accept certificates from Gemological
Laboratories other than GIA. There are many
fly-by-night Gemological labs these days, but
in the end, GIA has been established as the
most respectable and trustworthy – not to
mention oldest – of the lot. So avoid dealers
who don’t want to use GIA for certification
purposes as well.

Don’t buy an expensive diamond without
paying the extra cost of the certificate. If a
dealer tries to convince you to make the
purchase without the certificate, or if they
want to use a company other than GIA, you
can be sure that the dealer has probably
greatly inflated the price of the diamond –
they have something that they are hiding
from you.

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Diamond Brands and What They Mean

Diamonds are one of the few products that
simply cannot be ‘branded.’ Even though
there are different cuts, different grades, and
different values placed on each and every
diamond in existence, no diamond is any
specific brand – just as gold is not a specific
brand.

Branding is actually based on who owns the
diamond. For instance, if DeBeers owns the
diamond, it is a DeBeers Diamond – but it is
still just a diamond. If the diamond was cut by
a specific well known cutter, then it might be
branded in that way as well – but it usually
isn’t. It is still branded based on who owns it
at the time. So basically, when it comes down
to it – diamond brands mean absolutely
nothing at all.

Do not allow a jeweler to try to talk you into
paying an exorbitant price on a diamond
because it is a specific brand. This is a bit
of trickery used by unscrupulous jewelers
when they know that they are dealing with
people who don’t know much about
diamonds. Remember that diamonds are
not actually branded – unless mother nature
has her own brand!

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Colored Diamonds

Fancy colored diamonds are all the rage
these days.  Gemologists have developed
new ways to create versions that are
affordable for the average person - by
treating less desirable diamonds. These
less desirable diamonds are treated with
irradiation followed by intense heat.  This
turns brown and yellowish diamonds into
beautifully colored diamonds that you can
afford.  This produces stunning greens,
blues, yellows, reds, purples and other
colors.  These colors are considered
permanent, but there is a possibility
they could change during repairs if a high
heat is used.

Treatments like irradiation make it possible
for more people to own these vividly colored
diamonds. Most natural colored diamonds
are rare and also extremely expensive. When
shopping for colored diamonds you need to
assume that any affordable fancy color
diamond has been treated.  Ask about the
stones origin and request to view a lab
certificate to verify authenticity.

Synthetic colored diamonds are another
option if owning a colored diamond is
something you desire but cannot quite afford.
They are real diamonds, but they are created
in a lab.

Natural fancy color diamonds get their
coloring from different trace elements present
in the stones, such as nitrogen, which
produces a yellow diamond.  Diamonds can
be colored by exposure to radiation during its
creation.  An example of a diamond affected
by radiation is a Green diamond.

Another way that a natural colored diamond
gets color is by its inclusions.  Regarded as
flaws and undesirable in a colorless diamond,
inclusions give unique tones and brilliant
flashes of color in a fancy color diamond.
Remember that Natural fancy colored
diamonds are very expensive, any colored
diamond labeled to be sold as natural should
be accompanied by a certificate from a
respected grading lab.

A "fancy" diamond is a natural diamond that
has color.  These colors vary from red, green,
purple, violet, orange, blue and pink – and
most shades between.  Fancy color shades
vary from faint to intense.

The most famous diamonds in the world are
Color diamonds.  The Tiffany Diamond,
which is yellow and the Hope Diamond which
is blue are colored diamonds.    Color
diamonds have an amazing financial track
record.  The value has never decreased on
wholesale level in more than 30 years.  Blue
and pink diamonds have doubled every 5
years of a strong economy.   In the 1970’s
you could have bought a very high quality
blue diamond for about 50K and today the
very same stone would be worth between
2 and 3 million.

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Choosing The Cut of A Diamond

There are many different cuts of diamonds
to choose from. The cut essentially refers to
the shape that the diamond is cut into –
unless you are in the diamond or jewelry
business, but this shape has a great impact
on the much the diamond sparkles.

The most popular cuts are heart, marquise,
oval, pear, princess, round, trillion, and
emerald cuts. The shape has an impact on
how much the diamond sparkles, but the
actual cutting itself – when the diamond
cutter actually cuts the diamond into a
particular shape – also matters a great
deal. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose
its sparkle.

However, in the diamond industry, the cut of
a diamond doesn’t refer to its shape at all.
Instead, this is a reference to the stone’s
depth, width, brilliance, durability, clarity, and
other aspects of the diamond. Common
cutting problems include a missing or off
center culet, misalignment, a diamond that
is too thick or too thin, cracks, or broken
culets.

When shopping for a diamond, you should
of course choose the shape that you like the
best, but then look at several different
diamonds of that shape to find the one with
the best cut – the one that sparkles the most,
in all types of lighting.

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Buying Diamonds Online

With all of the potential for scams concerning
diamonds, buying diamonds online almost
seems unthinkable! However, you actually
can purchase diamonds online, without any
problems – as long as you are careful.

First, think about your reasons for wanting to
purchase the diamond online, as opposed to
making a purchase from a local jewelry store.
The most common reason is price. Due to
low overhead costs, online jewelers and
wholesalers are able to offer lower prices.
However, you must be careful – sometimes
a price that is too low is a sure indication of
a scam.

One of the best things about purchasing
online is the unlimited selection. When
shopping offline, you are limited to the
selection in the stores in your general area.
Online, there are no limits. But again, you
must use a great deal of care and
consideration before handing your money
over to someone that you cannot see and
have never met!

Before shopping, learn as much as you can
about diamonds – especially cut, color,
clarity and carat weights. When you are
knowledgeable about diamonds, it will be
harder for a con artist to rip you off. Once
you know more about diamonds, you will be
ready to start shopping.

Take your time. Don’t purchase the first
diamond that you see that interests you.
Instead, look for similar diamonds for sale.
Do some comparison shopping to find the
lowest prices. Once you have found the
lowest price, start doing your investigation.
You know about diamonds, you’ve found a
diamond that you love, and you’ve found the
lowest price – but you are still quite a ways
away from actually purchasing that diamond!

Ask about the seller’s credentials, such as
professional jewelry associations that they
belong to. View and print the seller’s return,
refund, and upgrade policies. Also inquire
about additional services, such as settings
and mountings, sizing, and free shipping. Do
a search for customer reviews on this
particular company around the Internet. Also
check with the BBB Online to see if there have
been any complaints.

Ask for a diamond grading report from an
independent laboratory such as GIA, HRD,
EGL or AGS. You should see this before
making a purchase. Finally, use a reputable
escrow service for high dollar diamonds –
preferably one that will have the diamond
appraised while it is in their possession. The
seller sends the diamond to the escrow
service, and you send the money to pay for
the diamond to the escrow service. The
escrow service has the diamond appraised,
sends the diamond to you, and sends the
money to the seller. This is the surest way to
protect yourself…again, make sure that you
use a reputable escrow service!

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Bonded Diamonds

Before you start shopping for diamonds, 

consider dealing with a bonded jeweler. 

Bonded jewelers sell bonded diamonds, 

and there are very few bonded jewelers in 

the world. In fact, out of all of the jeweler’s 

in the world, only about 5% of them are 

bonded. Buying a bonded diamond will 

cost more than buying a non-bonded 

diamond, but when you look at what you 

get with the bonded option, you will see 

that it is well worth the extra expense.

First, bonded diamonds have a buy back 

policy for the life of the diamond. No matter 

how long you have had the diamond, you can 

take it back to the bonded jeweler and sell it 

back to him or her, for a 100% refund. If a 

jeweler does not offer a 100% buy back 

guarantee, for the life of the diamond, then 

you should take a closer look at the diamond 

to see what is wrong with it.

Bonded diamonds also have a breakage 

policy. If the stone breaks or chips, the 

bonded jeweler will replace it with a new one 

– one time. No jeweler would ever offer such 

a policy on any stone that was not 100% 

natural, so just the offer of such a policy 

should give you piece of mind concerning 

the quality of the diamond. Bonded 

diamonds are natural and untreated.

Bonded diamonds increase in value, with a 

fixed appreciation rate that is designed to 

keep up with inflation. This means that a 

diamond that is worth a certain amount of 

money today will be worth more in the future, 

as the price of diamonds continues to rise. 

This generally does not apply to buy backs, 

however. It typically applies to trade-ins. 

Alternately, by purchasing a bonded 

diamond, you are protected against the 

possibility of a market crash. If a market 

crash occurs, the value of diamonds will 

drop. However, the bonded jeweler 

guarantees to refund you the difference 

between what the diamond is now worth 

and what you paid for it before the market 

crash.

It may be difficult to find a bonded jeweler in 

your area, but if you can, this is who you 

want to deal with, as opposed to dealing 

with an un-bonded jeweler. Specifically tell 

the jeweler that you are only interested in 

bonded diamonds.  You can find a bonded 

jeweler in your area by using various online 

resources, or by calling the local jewelry 

stores.

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Are Diamonds Really Rare?

When you walk into a jewelry store and see
all the diamonds in all of the various settings
that are for sale, it is difficult to realize that
diamonds are indeed rare. Most people
don’t even stop to consider how that
diamond came to be sitting in that jeweler’s
case! There is quite a bit of work that is done
before a diamond is ready to sell to the
general public!

For every one million diamonds that are
mined, only one will be found that is a quality
one caret diamond. In order to find a two
caret diamond, about five million diamonds
must be mined. More than two hundred tons
of ore must be mined to find one small
diamond, and even then, more than 80%
of the diamonds that are mined are only
good for industrial use, such as diamond
drill bits.

So, the next time you visit your local jewelry
store, ask to see the one carat diamonds.
You should look at this diamond with new
appreciation – knowing that it truly is one
in a million!

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All About the Clarity of Diamonds

Clarity is an important aspect of a diamond, 

and it is important to know how to grade the 

clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is 

actually quite easy to learn how to grade the 

clarity of a diamond. There are basically two 

things that you must understand: Diamonds 

with visual inclusions and blemishes, and 

those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there 

are no inclusions or blemishes that can be 

seen with the naked eye. From there, the 

clarity of a diamond is further broken down 

into subcategories. 

Many people mistakenly think that diamond 

clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so. 

Clarity actually refers to the internal and 

external imperfections of the diamond. The 

best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL 

or IF – Flawless or Internally Flawless – 

meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2 

or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect, 

with a grade of I-3 being the worst.

Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which 

means that the diamond is very, very slightly 

imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the 

diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and 

SI-2, which means that the diamond is 

slightly imperfect.

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About Diamond Weights

Diamonds are measured in Carat Weight. 

One carat weighs 200 milligrams. If a 

diamond is referred to as four grains, this 

also means that it is a one carat diamond. 

The word Carat comes from the word carob. 

A carob is a bean that grows on a tree in the 

Mediterranean. In times past, if a diamond 

weighed the same as a carob bean, it was 

one carob, or one carat. 

However, in the far east, where Carob trees 

do not grow, rice was used to measure the 

weight of a diamond. If a diamond weighed 

as much as four grains of rice, it was four 

grains – or one carat as we know it to be 

now. The majority of diamond purchases 

are for diamonds that are 1/3 of a carat. 

Beware when shopping for diamonds that 

are already set or mounted. If more than one 

diamond is used in the piece, the tag on the 

jewelry will give the CTW or Carat Total 

Weight – it does not tell you the carat weight 

of each stone in the piece. You need to ask 

the jeweler for the total carat weight of the 

largest diamond in the piece to truly 

understand what you are buying.

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