Diamond Shapes

Available Diamond Shapes If you thought all diamond shapes were the same, you may be surprised at the abundant number of diamond shapes that are available. Most jewelers offer at least nine of the most common gemstone shapes, including: Diamond Shapes Two diamonds that are the same shape will appear to look slightly different depending on the siz and weight of the diamond, as well as the type of setting that the stone...

Diamond Cut

Our love of diamonds and admiration of their fire and brilliance has given rise to many different cuts of diamonds. While we still see some of the earliest styles of diamond cuts – such as the round and emerald-cut, there are many more cuts today, some of them patented by their designers and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The most popular cut for a diamond ring today is still the round, brilliant cut. It was...

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,...

Diamonds Durability

Diamonds are among the hardest substances on earth, in fact they use diamonds and diamond dust to cut diamonds. Other gemstones are hard as well, but not nearly as hard as a diamond. Diamonds and other gemstones are measured by the Mohs scale. It runs from 10 (hardest) down to 1 (softest). It is some what arbitrary and not linear. The range from 9 to 10 is much greater than 8 to 9.Harder minerals of course tend to be...

Diamond Clarity

Image via Wikipedia What is Diamond Clarity? Diamond clarity is the measure of flaws found in and on the outside of a diamond. The less flawed a diamond is, the more value it has and the higher the price tag. There are very few diamonds which can be categorized as having no flaws at all, however, most diamond flaws cannot be seen without magnification of at least 10 times. Because issues with diamond clarity are often...

Diamond Carat

What is Diamond Carat Weight? When shopping for a diamond, you've no doubt heard references to the 4 C's of diamonds. Diamond carat is one of those popular ”c's” to consider when evaluating a diamond, and it's a term used to describe how much the diamond weighs. A single diamond carat is equal to the weight of 200 milligrams, or .2 grams. Diamonds are described two different ways in regards to the diamond carat. An...

Diamond Certificates

Diamond certificates from independent organizations such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) provide a diamond grading report, that gives you valuable information about the 4 C's that were taken into consideration when the diamond was priced. It's important that you use an outside source for diamond certificates, instead of the jeweler who is selling the diamond you are interested in, because the jeweler wants...

Diamond Cost

How Diamond Cost is Determined If you are in the market to purchase a diamond, you'll be learning all about the 4 C's of diamonds; cut, color, clarity and carat. But in the mind of the average buyer, there is a fifth “c” that just may be the most important of all them: the diamond cost. The actual price of a diamond is determined by a grading system that takes into account the cut of the diamond, the color, the clarity...