Internal Diamond Flaws
When a diamond is considered to have a flaw, it is an imperfect gem stone. Something about the diamond did not form correctly, or there are tiny imperfections within the stone. Diamond flaws and inclusions are often not noticeable to the average person, and you need not worry about the small inclusions that occur in most diamonds. There are actually only very few diamonds which can be labeled “perfect”, and if they are placed in the category of no diamond flaws and inclusions, chances are the diamond will be extremely expensive!
There are some minor inclusions which cause a diamond to appear slightly dull. The inclusion within the diamond can affect the stone's clarity because as light passes through the stone, it is intercepted by the inclusion. Many of these flaws and inclusions can be reduced or fixed with the various forms of treatment processes that gemologists and jewelers have learned to do over the years.
Other diamond flaws and inclusions may be large enough to cause weakness within the gem stone, and the stone could shatter or break much more easily than a stone without the weakness. These are the flaws you want to be careful with, since they reduce the value of your stone.
Pinpoint Inclusions
When a diamond has speckles of dark crystals in groups or scattered throughout the stone, it is said to havea form of diamond flaws and inclusions called pinpoint inclusions. If the dark crystals are all clustered together in the stone, the clarity of the diamond is effected, and it appears to have a “cloud” inside the stone. These types of diamond flaws and inclusions may cause the diamond to be worth less, as it greatly effects the appearance.
Problems from Laser Treatments
When an imperfect diamond is treated with lasers to remove dark diamond flaws and inclusions from within the gemstone, sometimes a line is left through the diamond that looks much like a thread. The laser line begins at the outer edge of the diamond, and moves inward to the area where the dark inclusion was treated by the laser. These diamond flaws and inclusions are unsightly and easily spotted by most people, making the diamond less desirable.
Mineral and Crystal Inclusions
While most diamond flaws and inclusions are negative, there are instances when the diamond flaws and inclusions are actually an eye catching aspect of your diamond! For example, diamonds typically have smaller crystals inside the diamond, often so tiny they cannot be seen without some sort of magnifying device. The clarity of the diamond can be effected by these crystals, if there are enough of them and if they are all grouped together in one area of the diamond.
There are a few rare instances when another gem stone is actually inside a diamond, and could certainly not be seen as a diamond flaw or inclusion. For example, if you had a ruby or emerald that was surrounded by a diamond, you would see that as a special piece of jewelry- not a flawed one!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Diamond Flaws and Inclusions
Friday, February 23, 2007
What Are Dirty Diamonds?
A dirty diamond is one of two things: a rough
diamond, or a diamond that hasn’t been
cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are
uncut and unpolished – hence, they are dirty.
But that type of dirty diamond will soon be
cut and polished and sitting in a beautiful
jewel box in a display case. Then someone
will purchase it, and before long, it will
become a dirty diamond once again.
Diamonds become dirty. When you wash
your hands with a diamond ring on, soap
scum clings to it. When you put on hand
lotion, it gets grease on it. Shower with your
diamond earrings or necklace, and again,
you get soap scum. In one short day, your
brand new diamond could be dirty!
Purchase an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner the
same day that you purchase your diamond
jewelry, and use it every single day, without
fail. The clarity of the diamond changes
when the diamond is dirty – it loses its
sparkle. By taking one minute each day to
clean your diamond jewelry, you can avoid
this, and your diamonds will never be dirty!
Monday, February 19, 2007
How to Care for Your Diamond
Caring for a diamond takes more than
occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever,
but they can be damaged if you are not
careful. By learning how to properly care for
your diamond, you will ensure that your
diamond is indeed forever.
First, you should take your diamond jewelry
to a jeweler once a year. Have him check the
mountings and prongs that hold your
diamond in place. Have him make any
needed repairs. This will prevent your
diamond from falling out of its setting and
becoming lost.
Diamond jewelry that is not being worn, or
diamonds that are loose should be stored in
a fabric lined jewel case, or in a jewelry box
where it can be kept separate from other
jewelry. Each piece should have its own
compartment. This will keep diamonds from
becoming scratched, and it will also keep
your diamond from scratching other jewelry
as well.
Remove your diamond jewelry when doing
physical work. Diamonds can be chipped
and scratched easily. Also avoid allowing
your diamond to come into contact with
bleach or other household cleansers – this
can damage or change the color of the
settings and mountings, and it may even
irreversibly change the color of the
diamond!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
How to Spot A Fake Diamond
In this world of advanced technology it is
almost impossible to simply look at a
diamond and determine whether it is real or
not – especially if you don’t know much
about diamonds. There are some steps that
you can take to avoid buying a fake diamond,
however.
First, only deal with reputable jewelers, and
when you find a reputable jeweler, stick with
them. Avoid buying diamonds or other
jewelry from jewelers that you have never
dealt with before in the past. Ask to see the
certificate for the stone. If no certificate exists,
walk away.
Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake
diamonds, such as zirconias, are usually set
in low quality metals. Take a close look at the
stone. Fake diamonds are not durable –
natural diamonds, on the other hand, are the
most durable stone on the planet. Look for
scratches or nicks.
After purchasing a diamond, take it to
another jeweler for appraisal. In fact, take it
to two or three other jewelers for an appraisal
to make sure that the appraisals are all fairly
close. If you find that you have purchased a
fake diamond, you may be accused of
making a switch when you return to the store
of your purchase; therefore, it is important to
have a certificate for the diamond. No two
stones are alike.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
How Diamond Prices Are Determined
Pricing most products is quite easy.
Determine how much it costs to make the
item, how much it costs to market that item,
and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more.
Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t
quite that simple. There are many factors
that are considered when diamonds are
priced.
Diamond prices are determined first by
adding the cost of the rough diamond, the
cost of cutting the diamond, and all other
costs necessary to turn the rough diamond
into a marketable diamond. Depending on
the importance of the diamond, an
independent company may be called in to
certify the grade of the diamond based on
color, cut, clarity, and weight.
At this point, the diamond becomes more
expensive each time it changes hands, until
it finally reaches a retailer, where the price is
raised a bit more. Before reaching the
retailer, however, the diamond must travel
from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to
the independent grading company, and
then to the Primary market. Once it has
reached the primary market, it will be
purchased by diamond dealers and
wholesalers, and from there it will be sold
to retailers.
As you can see, the earlier you can purchase
a diamond in the process, the lower the cost
of the diamond will be – but not the value.
The value is based on what the diamond will
sell for in the market place – through a retailer.
If you own a diamond, and you have no idea
how much it is worth, you can have it
appraised, but the appraisal may not be
accurate. You will be better off obtaining a
certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute
of America. With the information on this
certificate, you can use a cutter’s guide to
accurately determine what your diamond is
worth.
There are also many diamond price
calculators available. These can be found
on the Internet, and many diamond dealers
use these as well. You must realize, however,
that before you can accurately price a
diamond, without a Diamond Grade Report,
you need to know quite a bit about diamonds,
such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight
– and how each of those aspects adds to the
value of a diamond, or decreases the value of
the diamond as the case may be.
Again, you will be better off if you get a
Diamond Grading Report on the diamond,
and use that information to look up the price
in one of the guides that the diamond cutting
industry uses. This will give you the most
accurate value of the diamond in your
possession, or of the diamond you are
considering purchasing.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
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.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Synthetic Diamonds
The first synthetic diamonds were produced by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic diamond is basically a rock that has the durability, refractive index and hardness of a natural diamond – but it is made by man. A synthetic diamond should not be confused with stimulant diamonds, such as glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.
Although the technology for synthetic diamonds came into play in 1954, no synthetic diamonds were ever seen on the market until the 1990’s. This was due to the fact that it took many years for General Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that could compare with the quality of a natural diamond – and when they figured out how to do it, they found that it cost more to produce a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and cut natural diamonds.
Finally, a small company by the name of Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to produce synthetic diamonds that were of the same quality as natural diamonds, at a cheaper price. Today, Gemesis produces synthetic white diamonds, and colored diamonds as well. These diamonds sell for about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond, but there is a shortage of them, and they are hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic diamonds are rarer than natural diamonds!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Where Diamonds are Mined
Argye mine located in the Kimberley region in the far north east of Western Australia. Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s largest single producer of volume of diamonds. However, due to low proportion of gem quality diamonds it is not the value leader. It does produce 90-95% of the world’s supply of pink diamonds.
Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, located in Canada it is a very large mine. It is located north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle on an island. The island is connected by an ice road. It is also an important part of the regions economy employing more than 700 people and producing more than 8 million carats annually.
Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP Billiton and located south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Ekati is Canada’s first operational diamond mine. Diamonds mined here are sold under the Aurias trade name Authenticity is verified through CanadaMark service. CanadaMark service is also owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.
Baken diamond mine is located along the lower Orange River in South Africa. It is owned and operated by Trans Hex. The average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 carats. In 2004, this mine produced a 78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was sold for over 1 million US dollars.
Merlin is the second of only two diamond mines in Australia. No longer operating it was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker Resources, who has explored the possibilities of reopening the mine.
Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine. It us located 240 Km west of Francistown. The mine is owned by “Debswana” which is a partnership between DeBeers and the government of Botswana. This mine operates 7 days a week. It maintains pre primary and primary schools for its employee’s children. There is also a 100 bed hospital and game park. This mine began production in 1971 and is the oldest mine owned by the Debswana Company.
The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South Africa produced the largest gem diamond ever in 1905. The Cullinan Diamond weighed 3,106.75 carats. This mine also produced the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed 545.67 carats. This mine is owned by the De Beers Company and was renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in 2003 in celebration of its centennial.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Corporate Gift Promotional Product: Why is It Important?
The subtle power of small promotional product can easily be underestimated, but in playing field of business marketing, promotional product is one of the driving forces why companies succeed. This is the main reason why many companies invest on promotional products just to make at least a slight edge over their competitors. It may seem a risky investment but the result will definitely yield a good harvest in the long run.
Does it mean that a promotional product as simple as keychain can make a big difference to a company?
Keychain itself (or any other type of promotional products) is not the reason why some companies excel. It is the way it is being used by these companies.
Companies promote their new products. They introduce it in many ways; billboards, newspaper ads, television commercial, etc. And of course, promotional products. While it may seem not as obvious as any other types of advertisements, promotional products play a unique role by getting the company directly at the hands of the potential consumer. Keychain for example is important and is carried everyday by anyone. Once keychain is used as a promotional product where company logo or company product is printed, it becomes a living advertisement.
The company and product will then go where the people take it.
Any other items use as a promotional product will send a message that the company, product, or service do exist.
Meanwhile, promotional product intended as a gift gives creates a long lasting effect on the client, partner, employees, and costumers.
A client who receives from a company a gift for his or her contribution to the business welcomes a vibrant relationship. Also there is a great chance that the relationship will thrive into a much better one. Also, a partner receiving a gift from a company will result to better future deals. The simple gesture of gift giving will be remembered for a long time.
Giving promotional product as a corporate gift to an employee for a job well done also creates a bilateral effect. First, the employee will feel that his or her work is appreciated that will boost his or her drive to achieve more. On the side of the company, better efficiency is achieved. There is a study suggesting that giving corporate gift to employees who have done well in their tasks reduces absenteeism and improve productivity. This only shows that when the employees are appreciated and receive something from the company in exchange for good work, the company will thrive more.
Costumers on the other hand who receive a useful promotional item will remember the company where the item came from.
Regardless of the price and as long as it is useful, with quality, and sends the right message to the intended receiver be it a client, partner, employee, or costumer, promotional product is an effective way improve relationship at the same time, increase the chances that the product or services that the company offers is known.
Giving away promotional product as a corporate gift though is not a 100% assurance that the product or service company offers will be known. The right use of promotional product is also important. It should be in the want that is related to the business or product and will reach the right persons who have the potential to become costumers.
