A woman's frosting
I was in a shopping complex in Bangsar a few weeks back with my friend. As we headed towards Starbucks, my friend veered to her favourite shop just a couple of metres away from our intended destination which was a jewelery store- Habib Jewels. "Okay, here we go again", as I said to myself.
They were having a promotion - on diamonds. Hearts On Fire diamonds to be exact. The sales person showed us these Hearts On Fire diamonds. I know there is a Love Diamond popularly sold by Carat Club, but what is Hearts On Fire diamond? Now, I know a bit or two about diamonds because when I was a small kid, my mom used to drag me to the jewelery store whenever she wanted an opinion to buy something. I vaguely remembered some words like 4C, VVS something something. But now, if I were to buy diamonds for someone, I know my 4C's. Different diamonds are priced differently although they are of the same weight. I would like to explain to you a little bit about diamonds so that you can look more educated when you happen to visit the jewelery store sometime.
Why are diamonds so precious and expensive?
Diamonds are precious and expensive because of several reasons:
- Diamonds are actually crystals. It is the only gem that is formed from only 1 element and that is carbon, which is put under tremendous heat and pressure for thousands if not millions of years.
- Diamond is the hardest naturally formed substance known to man.
- Diamonds are very rare, and that is what makes it expensive. Although the basic carbon is commonly found in coal and and graphite, the crystaline form is very rare which is 99.9% pure carbon. In South Africa where famed diamonds and the largest diamond mining quarries are found, to find a yield of 1 carat polished diamond would require the mining and processing of 250 tonnes of ore.
- Diamonds have been worned and adored by the noble classes since the 1st century. The ancient people associates the unique properties of diamonds as the power of invincibility. Eversince the Archduke of Austria in the mid 1400's presented his bride to be, the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy with a diamond as an engagement ring, the diamond have been the symbol of love.
- Diamond mines are usually harsh and desolate places and to mine in such a place and condition is extremely hard. In 'Skeleton Coast', Namibia where 2% of the world's diamonds are from, the 25 meter wide sand embankment on top are repaired daily to hold back the brutal surfs that has claimed so many seafarers lives. In Yakutia, the coldest province in Siberia where diamonds are mined, the conditions are so cold and extreme that steel poles could snap like matchsticks and engine oil could just freeze in the engines. That is how harsh some diamond mine environments get.
So how to choose a diamond?
For those of you who only know how to wear diamonds and do not know how to appreciate it, a diamond's price is directly related to the basic of knowing a diamond which is the 4C's. The first time I heard the word 4C's when I was a kid, I thought the salesperson said Four Seas. Wow, this must be precious as you need to know the four different seas!
Okay so now since I'm all grown up (yea rite) the 4C's actually meant Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. Let me give you a crash course on diamond appreciation so you would know, how precious the diamond that your love ones has given to you.
Color
Diamonds in the natural form is not colorless. That is right. Through the glimmer of it, if you look closely, diamonds usually have a slight hint of color, which usually is yellowish. Colorless diamonds are extremely rare (as if diamonds aren't rare enough), colorless ones are rarrer than rare. There are tho colored diamonds and these are extremely rare too. They have blue, red and pink (I know you loikee...) but these are in very rare cases. So the commercial ones do look colorless but it has a slight tinge of yellowness to it. So how do we look or rate this color and how does it effect the price?
The above is the Gemological Institute of America's color scale. It starts off at D to Z+. D color is to signify that it is colorless and Z+ is the fancy diamonds (the colorful ones that I talked about). Most diamonds that you see at the jewelery store is usually F or G onwards. It looks colorless to the naked amateur untrained eye but to gemologists or after looking at several diamonds, you can actually see the color of it like on the right. Of course these look a little bit exeggerated but D color would be the bottom right and G would be the top left corner diamond. Given the same exact carat, cut and clarity, a diamond's color would affect its price. Why does it start with D to Z and not from A to Z? Well, back before there were any standard form of identifying diamond colors, a lot of diamond merchants used their own symbols such as numeric or alphabets. A to C have been used to signify that the diamond is colorless or have a very slight yellowish tinge while others used other forms including the words clear loupe. With the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) scale, it has been standardized even with IGI (International Gemological Institute), so it starts with D to ensure that everything starts fresh.
Clarity
A diamond's price is also affected by its clarity which means, how clear the diamond is. Diamonds in its raw form is dull on the surface. It needs to be cut and polished to bring out the shine in it. The clarity would take into account how well it was polished and if there are any inclusions or blemishes in and on the surface of the diamond. There is also a scale to verify the clarity of diamonds.
So basically, the chart tells it all. FL also known as Flawless diamond is extremely rare. There are 2 types of imperfections in and on the diamond, they are called Inclusions and Blemishes. Inclusions are imprefections inside the diamond itself such as formations of other crystaline or feathering ( a whitish cloud of gas trapped when in the process it being made ). Blemishes on the other hand, are surface imprefections such as little cracks or imprefect polishing of the diamond. Each and every diamond in fact, has some sort of inclusion or blemish. This is actually the fingerprint of the diamond itself as no two diamonds are a like in their inclusions and blemishes. A gemologist can tell you whether a group of diamonds came from the same mine as the inclusions may be unique to that certain mine. Synthetic made diamonds or other wise known as industrial diamonds like cubic zirconia do not have such fingerprints. These inclusions or blemishes is what tells you whether the diamond is real or not, just like pearls, when you grind it between your teeth. If it feels unsmooth and course, then the pearl is real but if its smooth and silky then its most prolly be fake pearls. Inclusions are formed inside the diamond itself while it is being formed. Sometimes gasses other than carbon gets trapped and other crystaline compound appears inside the diamond. There have been garnet or ruby crystals found formed inside a diamond. So basically, its good to have some inclusions to let you know that its a real diamond but not too much as it will be devalued. Given several diamonds that has the same carat, cut and color, the difference in clarity will effect the pricing of the diamond.
Cut
Cutting the diamond properly to reflect the most amount of light is, I would say the most important thing in the diamond, other than the weight. A diamond can be cut into many ways. When you talk about a diamond's cut, its not about the shape but its symmetry, proportion and polish. When a rough or often called raw diamond is brought in, it has to be cut into the desired shape to ensure the maximum shine. This is what gives the diamond its brilliance and glitter. This part is the hardest part to explain because there are just too many aspects of it. It would be better for me to explain it verbally than to type it, because it would just take too long. Essentially, the cut of the diamond, must be able to reflect the light back to the wearer, then only can you appreciate its dazzle.
If the diamond is cut too deep, then the light will not reflect back up. The diamond will not dazzle.
If the diamond is cut to shallow, then the light will escape thru the bottom thus making the diamond look 'dark' in the middle when viewed from above.
The ideal cut is when the light entering the diamond from the top, is reflected back to the top, thus giving the brilliance, dispersion and scintillation. This is when the diamond is said to be twinkling like stars.
The diamond is can be segmented into different sections when you talk about its cut. The top portion of the diamond is known as the crown. This is where the facets are located. The bottom layer of the diamond is known as the pavillion and the middle layer in between the crown and the pavillion is the girdle. Having a thicker girdle will make the overall height of the diamond 'higher' and may not be the 'ideal cut'. The dillema for most diamond cutters is either to maximise the raw diamond by cutting it higher but by doing so, the ideal cut is not met thus you won't get a glittering twinkling diamond. To get the ideal cut, a lot of sides and top of the raw diamond is wasted in the cutting process. This cutting process is also the reason you get 'Hearts On Fire' and 'Love Diamond'. The hand cutting process is so meticulous and tedious, but it is cut to perfection because if any of the facet is not the same angle, height or space, the heart shape or arrows will not appear symmetrical and the diamond is considered to be spoiled to become 'Hearts On Fire' or 'Love Diamond'.
Carat
The last and most important characteristic that depends the price of the diamond is carat or weight of the diamond. Basically the diamond is measured in the units of carat. A carat is about 0.2grams. Smaller than a carat can also be known as a point. So a 1.34 carat diamond is called "One carat thirty four points" or if you would want to purchase smaller than a carat ie 0.56 is called "Fifty six points". The larger the carat the more expensive the diamond gets because of its rarity. Large raw diamonds are extremely rare thus making it very expensive.
This chart basically shows a rough estimate of how large the diameter of the diamond would be following the carat weight. Please remember that carat weight DOES NOT follow the diameter of the diamond. Again, by having a thicker girdle, the weight of the diamond can be increased without increasing the diameter or table of the diamond. One 2 carat diamond is more expensive than 8 x 0.5 carat diamonds. Reason is that a 2 carat diamond is very rare compared to 0.5 carat diamonds. So combined weight will not be equavalent to one piece of diamond.
So now that I have explained to you how to choose a diamond, for the guys, hopefully you can choose well for your partners. To me, diamonds are rare and unique. I am certified to be able to choose the right diamond for the right woman in my life. I even have a certificate to prove it..hehe. I will not give a solitare diamond ring to any woman unless she is unique, rare and would be forever in my life. The woman to wear the diamond that I give must be as brilliant and dazzling to me as the diamond that I will give her. I already have the perfect diamond to be made into a ring for the woman of my choice. It is very unique, rare and perfect. The only problem is finding the perfect woman for me to give it to. Hope you had a pleasant read.
-For Everything She Is And Will Be -....she deserves the perfect diamond.
Sources:
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
International Gemological Institute (IGI)
The Hearts On Fire diamond
The Love Diamond
The Carat Club
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