Archive for July, 2009

Cushion Cut Diamond

July 31st, 2009

 Cushion Cut Diamond

The Cushion Cut is also starting to grow in popularity.  The design has evolved from the Old Mine Cut of the 19th century, this cut had large deep facets and the more traditional Oval  Cut.  The Cushion Cut was also known as the “candlelight diamond”, when prior to the electric light the diamonds would sparkle in the presence of candle light.

The Cushion Cut, as with other fancy cut shapes, does not provide as much sparkle as the Round Brilliant Cut, but what you get is an individual diamond as this type of cut is much less common.

In terms of standards defining the Cushion Cut there is much more latitude enabling the cutter to cut into shapes ranging from square to rectangular, with varying table sizes.

When purchasing a Cushion Cut diamond it is very important that you get the right advice, ideally you should meet with a specialist who can advise on the various cut attributes and tailor these to the design of your jewellery.  Typically these specialists will source their diamonds direct form the cutters in Antwerp (where most of the world’s larger diamonds are cut.

If you are looking to purchase diamond jewellery then a good starting point would be the London-based office of Antwerp suppliers, bestdiamonds.co.uk and designsbyindigo.co.uk.

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Asscher Cut Diamond

July 27th, 2009

Asscher Cut Diamond After reading this Asscher Cut Diamond post check out our blog page on where to buy diamonds and browse the amazing designs

The name “Asscher” came from the Asscher Brothers in Netherlands who came up with the design in 1902.  The cut they designed is similar to the Emerald cut but is more square in its design.  The Asscher cut is a square stepped cut with cropped corners.

The popularity of the Asscher cut has grown significantly since the 1990s having been popularised by celebrities. 

When selecting an Asscher cut diamond it is important to focus on the quality characteristics of the diamond.  As the diamond cut provides fewer facets it will tend to sparkle less than the round brilliant cut.  The large open table of the cut allows any imperfections within the diamond to be seen more easily, thus the Clarity of the diamond needs to be a key factor.

Another aspect of the Asscher Cut to consider is its proportions, the cut needs to help maximise the reflected light for optimum sparkle.  Some minimum cut proportions to consider are a depth of 65% to 73% and a table of 55% to 64%.

Apart from choosing the cut of the diamond you also need to consider the ring or other jewellery mounting.  The Asscher Cut will require (typically) a four pronged setting, one on each of the corners.  Due to the complexity of diamond settings it is best to meet with a specialist company that can source certified diamonds and provide a bespoke design service for the perfect diamond engagement ring.

If you are looking to purchase an Asscher Cut diamond we suggest bestdiamonds.co.uk or designsbyindigo.co.uk – London based suppliers of bespoke diamond jewellery at dicounted prices to high street jewellers.

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Fake or real diamond?

July 24th, 2009

Many people will have heard of someone who has mistaken a fake diamond for a real diamond.  There have also been some articles published where after many years of marriage, the partner dies, then the widow or widower finds out the diamond they purchased all those years ago was a fake . 

Real diamonds have been created naturally over  millions of years.  Carbon under extreme pressure over millions of years creates what we see today as the diamond we admire so much.Real diamonds are also unique, a bit like a finger print, they have imperfections, and when they are cut for your ring, bracelet, or other piece of jewellery, they acquire more uniqueness.  The imperfections can be measured and recorded as a fingerprint for the diamond, a company called GemPrint was established to do just that, record a “gem print”.

Moving onto fake diamonds, typically these are crystals such as Moissanite.  These “fake diamonds” will appear very pure, and it would be very easy for a diamond expert to tell the difference.  However from a distance most people would not be able to see the difference, a bit like a fake handbag, you would not let anyone examine it closely to find out that you are passing off a fake as the real thing. 

Then there are man-made diamonds.  These are not fake diamonds, but equally they do not have the character of real diamonds.  It is a bit like hand made chocolates or machine made chocolates … most of us prefer the luxury of hand made chocolates.  The man-made diamonds tend to be perfect in structure, so whilst the real thing in terms of crystal structure, they simply do not have the character of a real diamond, a character that has evolved over millions of years.

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Platinum, White or Yellow Gold?

July 17th, 2009

A decision many of us face when buying diamond jewellery, which one do we choose, will it be platinum? white gold? yellow gold?  Here is some information to help you decide.

Firstly price, platinum is the most expensive, you can expect to pay around twice as much for platinum vs gold – depending on the gold purity (more on this later).  Platinum is more heavy than gold,this is fine if it is a diamond ring you are buying, but this maybe be a factor to consider if buying a large bracelet or necklace, the heavier weight may feel uncomfortable.

The cheapest is yellow gold – cheap being a relative word here as gold is not cheap!  The purity of gold is also a factor, typically 9 ct, 18 ct, or 24 ct.  Absolute pure gold is 24 ct, but it is a soft metal, so it is not often 24 ct is used in jewellery.  For many people the choice of yellow gold is its familiar colour, one glance at the yellow gold bracelet or ring, and you see it as gold right away.

Then there is white gold.  This is normally where yellow gold has been plated to look like platinum. you need to take care of this type of white gold as the surface plating can wear off with time revealing the yellow gold beneath (although it can be re-plated).  White gold can also be made through mixing with alloys, this creates a very similar colour to platinum, and there is no need to worry about the colour wearing away.  Rolex is one company that use this type of white gold. 

So, there is a brief summary of platinum, white and yellow gold.  Hopefully this will be of help when going to buy your diamond ring!

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Cut – Clarity – Colour – Carat

July 17th, 2009

The diamond cut, clarity, colour and carat are commonly referred to as the 4 Cs.  knowing a little about the 4 Cs is fundamental when buying a diamond or diamond engagement ring.  So here is a brief overview of the 4 Cs.

Cut – this is how a diamond is cut to form both its shape such and to create maximum sparkle. Of the many shapes such as Princess, Pear, Marquise, Asscher, Cushion, it is the Round (Brilliant) cut that reflects the maximum light and thus sparkle.  But even with each shape there are good and bad in how the diamond is cut to maximise reflected light.  Sometimes diamonds are cut shallow, thus looking down you see a bigger diamond, but you lose the sparkle and value.

Clarity – this is all about how pure the diamond is.  Almost all diamonds have imperfections, usually referred to as inclusions.  The more inclusions the lower the value of the diamond.  But its not just the size and number of these inclusions, it is about where they are situated and thus their visibility to the eye.

Colour – this can range from white (clear transparent) through to pink, yellow, brown and blackish colours.  The most popular and most common is white, but there are grades with D being the best, followed by E, F, G, etc, where the diamond starts to take in tints of colour, usually a faint yellow.  That said some coloured diamonds such as bright yellow and pink are very rare and expensive to buy. 

Carat – the weight of a diamond.  As the carat size increases so does the price per carat.  Thus a 10 carat diamond is worth much more per carat than a 1 carat diamond, simply because larger diamond are so rare.  You will also find that diamonds with carat weights of 0.99 or 1.99 (which look like 1 carat or 2 carat to the eye) are very rare, tihs is because the diamond cutters will sacrifice some of the cut characteristics to maximise the weight … on the principle a 2 carat diamond is worth more per carat than a 1.99 carat diamond.

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Buying a diamond engagement ring

July 16th, 2009

There will come a time when most guys buy a diamond engagement ring and propose to their wife-to-be.  But it is a daunting time, how much do you spend? How do I know she will like the ring? If I chose with her then she will find out how much I paid.  These questions and thoughts are some that might go through the mind whilst looking for the ideal engagement ring. So, how do you go about it?

Firstly, you need to know what sort of design your girlfriend would like.  This is not so difficult, take her to a few high street shops, note what draws her attention in terms of design and price.  get a feel for the type of diamond ring she would like.  Of course this depends on how open you are about the engagement, it can be done discretely, or you can openly discuss the designs and prices.

Once you have an idea what your girlfriend would like you can then set about finding a company that will provide you the quality diamond engagement ring at a price which meets your budget.  The good bit here is that you can expect to pay up to 50% less than the prices you see in the high street shop with companies such as designsbyindigo.co.uk.  These companies will also offer advice on design and source a diamond direct from the cutters in Antwerp to meet your budget.

Once you have chosen your design and placed your order the ring is made for you, usually in 2 – 3 weeks.  You can then view, check, and make your final payment.  All of this, if you wish, without your girlfriend knowing.

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The Diamond Blog

July 15th, 2009

This is the first post in our blog.  Our blog will focus on diamonds, everything from the history of diamonds through to diamond jewellery, the diamond markets, diamond related news, and of course buying diamonds.

There are so many misunderstandings when it comes to diamonds that it is very easy for people to buy on emotion and pay well above a diamonds true retail value.  Hopefully by reading through our blog our readers will gain much valuable information helping them to make an informed choice about buying diamonds.

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