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.

How Diamonds Are Mined

We seldom think about how the diamonds
we wear came to us. Natural diamonds, as
opposed to synthetic diamonds or fake
diamonds, are mined from the earth. There
are currently two methods of mining
diamonds: Pipe Mining and Alluvial Mining.

When pipe mining is used, the diamonds
are extracted from the earth through volcanic
pipes. These are not man-made pipes. These
are natural pipes in the ground. Shanks are
put into the ground next to the pipes, and
tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of
the pipe. The diamonds are not sorted out at
the mine. Instead, huge rocks that are full of
diamonds are brought out of the mine and
moved to a screening plant for separation.

The Alluvial mining method is done in
riverbeds and on beaches. Walls are built to
hold back the water and the sand on the bank
or beach is moved with a bulldozer until the
level of earth that diamonds can be found in
is reached. Again, the diamonds are not
sorted here. Instead, the sand that contains
the diamonds is bulldozed into trucks, and
taken to screening plants.

How to Buy Silver Jewelry Wholesale

Silver jewelry is not only beautiful, it is very much in
style these days. Silver jewelry compliments
anything you wear, and it is usually less expensive
than gold jewelry. There are many sources from
which you can buy silver jewelry wholesale, but the
Internet will offer you the biggest selection possible.
After all – you will have the whole world at your feet
– or fingertips.

As with any other jewelry, begin your search online.
There are countless jewelry wholesalers online, and
many of them specialize in silver jewelry. When you
buy your jewelry from jewelry wholesale sources,
you will pay a fraction of the cost that you would
pay at a retailer’s place of business, such as a
jewelry store.

When you purchase silver jewelry wholesale, make
sure that you are purchasing sterling silver jewelry.
Sterling silver is almost always marked with the
numbers ‘925.’ This is the highest quality of silver
that you can buy – wholesale or retail. Note that
there is no such thing as ‘high quality sterling
silver’ and ‘lower quality sterling silver.’ Sterling
silver comes in one quality – sterling silver. The
weight of the sterling silver used in the piece should
be the determining factor in the cost, unless the
item was hand-made, in which case it will cost
considerably more than similar pieces that were
not hand made.

Silver jewelry tarnishes – whether it is sterling silver
or not. You must clean and polish your silver
jewelry on a regular basis to help it keep its shine.
There are many different brands of silver polish on
the market that can be used to accomplish this.
You should plan to clean your silver jewelry on a
weekly basis.

Buying silver jewelry wholesale is the best way to
go. Silver is already relatively inexpensive – even at
wholesale prices. When purchasing such jewelry,
the silver or quality of the silver is not what you
need to concern yourself with – again, silver is
silver, just make sure it is sterling silver. The
settings and stones that are used in the piece
should be your concern.

You need to insure that the piece is solidly
constructed, and you need to make sure that the
gems used are not simulated gems – unless that is
what you want. Of course, when real gems are used,
such as diamonds, the cost of the jewelry will rise
considerably. But as long as you are buying jewelry
wholesale, the price will still be the lowest price you
will find.

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.

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!

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.

How to Buy Diamond Engagement Rings

There is much to consider when purchasing
a diamond – especially diamond
engagement rings! The tradition of
presenting a woman with a diamond
engagement ring when proposing began in
1477 when Archduke Maximilian presented
a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy – and
in most cases, the woman you plan to
propose to will expect a ring to accompany
that proposal!

First, determine how much ring you can
afford. Most people use the ‘two months
salary’ rule. This means that the ring should
cost the equivalent of two months of your
current salary. Because you have other bills
to pay, saving up this amount of money may
take quite a bit of time. You should consider
financing. Simply go to the jeweler of your
choice and tell them that you plan to buy an
engagement ring, and that financing will be
necessary. Go ahead and get the credit
check out of the way, find out what your
payments will be, and how much of a down
payment is required.

Now, have your mother, sister, or your
girlfriends best friend take your girlfriend
shopping, and make sure that they gaze at
the engagement rings to get an idea of what
she might like. Make sure that the jewelry
store you buy the ring from will allow you to
return the ring, if that is required, or allow
your girlfriend to exchange it for another if
she isn’t happy with it!