DIAMONDS

REPORT
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HOW DIAMONDS ARE CUT CHOOSING THE TYPE OF CUT
In their most natural form, diamonds are, well, There are many different cuts of diamonds to
quite ugly. They have no luster or shine, and in choose from. The cut essentially refers to the
fact, look like nothing more than broken glass. shape that the diamond is cut into, unless you
are in the diamond or jewelry business, but
A diamond must be cut, and then polished before this shape has a great impact on the much the
it actually becomes a thing of beauty. diamond sparkles.

Diamonds are cut with saws, into round shapes. The most popular cuts are heart, marquise,
From the rounded shape, other shapes may be oval, pear, princess, round, trillion, and emerald
cut, such as heart shapes, but the shape is less cuts. The shape has an impact on how much
important than the quality of the cutting that is the diamond sparkles, but the actual cutting
being done. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will itself, when the diamond cutter actually cuts the
lose light, and it will not sparkle and shine very diamond into a particular shape ñ also matters a
well. Each facet of the diamond must be carefully great deal. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose
cut into the geometrical shapes that allow the its sparkle. However, in the diamond industry,
diamond to sparkle and shine, then the entire the cut of a diamond doesnít refer to its shape
diamond is cut into a specific shape, such as an at all. Instead, this is a reference to the stone’s
emerald cut or a princess cut diamond. depth, width, brilliance, durability, clarity, and
other aspects of the diamond. Common cutting
Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into a dop, problems include a missing or off center culet,
which resembles a cup with another diamond, misalignment, a diamond that is too thick or too
only a diamond is strong enough to smooth the thin, cracks, or broken culets.
edges of another diamond. Once the diamond
has been cut and shaped, and had the edges When shopping for a diamond, you should choose
smoothed in the dop, it is polished on a scaif or a the shape that you like the best, but then look at
diamond polishing wheel. several different diamonds of that shape to find
the one with the best cut, the one that sparkles
the most, in all types of lighting.

© 2009 usertight
SELECTING DIAMONDS
All diamonds are graded for certification by During the formation process, inner flaws,
laboratories using grading criteria. Four of these or inclusions occur in most diamonds. The
criteria are critical to understand when making a number and size of these inclusions determine
diamond purchase or investment. These criteria what is referred to as the clarity of a diamond.
well known as “the four C’s” are: Diamonds that are clear create more brilliance
color, cut, clarity and carat. and therefore are rarer and highly priced. To be
considered “flawless”, a diamond must have no
Color is the result of the composition of a surface or internal imperfections visible upon
diamond and it does not change. When a jeweler being viewed by a skilled diamond grader using
is describing the color of a diamond they are 10 power magnifications.
referring to the presence or absence of color in
white diamonds. Because a diamond with no color Carat is the unit of weight by which diamonds are
allows maximum light to pass through, colorless measured. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams.
diamonds are preferred for their sparkle. A carat is divided into 100 segments called points.
150 points would equal one and a half carats.
Cut refers to a diamonds reflective quality. Most
diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The brilliance When you go to the store to make that important
of diamonds is heavily dependent on the cut. diamond purchase, do not be shy! Ask questions,
The different angles and the finish of a diamond get the answers needed to make an informed
determine its ability to reflect light and cause its purchase. Shopping for certified diamonds
brilliance and fire. Remember that the cut of a enables you to make an informed selection.
diamond can have an impact on its durability as Knowing the four C’s allows you to comparison
well as its beauty. Some cutting faults can make shop and purchase the best diamond at a fair
a diamond prone to breakage. A diamond that price. But, before making a purchase, look
is cut too thin can also cause light to leak out of around and decide what shapes and styles really
the back and the diamond will lose some of the appeal to you.
sparkle and appear not to shine. So, as you can
see the Cut is probably the most important of the Enjoy your diamond for years to come!
Four C’s.

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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.

© 2009 usertight
DIAMOND CERTIFICATES
A diamond certificate is also known as a Diamond what the diamond is worth. This will prevent you
Grading Report. This report comes from the from overpaying, and it can prevent a seller from
Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and under-charging as well.
you should require this report when you are
purchasing a diamond. A copy of the Diamond Grading Report should be
given to your insurance company as well, when
With a diamond certificate, you can verify the color, you insure the diamond. This provides absolute,
cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the diamond. unquestionable proof of the value of the diamond
You donít have to worry about a diamond dealer should it be stolen in the future. Insurance
telling you anything less than the truth, because companies cannot argue with the report.
the certificate comes from the GIA, not the dealer.
You may be required to pay for the certificate, but Avoid diamond dealers who seem reluctant to
the cost is usually low, and in many cases, it will provide a certificate! Also avoid sellers who tell
help you negotiate a better price on the diamond, you that a certificate diamond will cost you more,
or keep you from purchasing a lower quality the only additional cost should be the cost of the
diamond altogether. certificate, which is low. If the dealer doesnít want
to provide a certificate, then you donít want to do
If you buy a high quality diamond, and then later business with that dealer.
decide to sell the diamond, you will need to have
the certificate, or you will have a hard time selling Don’t buy an expensive diamond without paying
it to someone else. Furthermore, you can use the the extra cost of the certificate. If a dealer tries
Diamond Grading Report to look up the wholesale to convince you to make the purchase without the
value of the diamond in question. Use the guide certificate, you can be sure that the dealer has
that is used by the diamond cutting industry. probably greatly inflated the price of the diamond
or they have something that they are hiding from
With the Certificate, or Diamond Grading Report, you. Only work with trusted companies.
there won’t be any doubts when you are trying to
purchase a diamond. You can easily find out

© 2009 usertight
DIAMOND GRADING REPORTS ABOUT DIAMOND WEIGHTS
You’ve been told that having a certificate or a Diamonds are measured in Carat Weight.
diamond grading report is important, and as One carat weighs 200 milligrams. If a diamond is
a responsible consumer, you should get one, referred to as four grains, this also means that it
unfortunately, you probably won’t understand a is a one carat diamond.
word of what is on that diamond grading report,
unless you are a jeweler. The word Carat comes from the word carob.
A carob is a bean that grows on a tree in the
On the color grading scale, D, E, and F mean that Mediterranean. In times past, if a diamond
the diamond has no color. G, H, and I means that weighed the same as a carob bean, it was one
it has very little color. J, K, and L means that the carob, or one carat.
diamond has a slight yellow color. P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, and X means that the diamond is a darker However, in the far east, where Carob trees do
shade of yellow. Z means that the diamond has not grow, rice was used to measure the weight of
a fancy color other than white or yellow. On the a diamond. If a diamond weighed as much as four
color grading scale, D is the most valuable, and grains of rice, it was four grains or one carat as
X is the least valuable, however diamonds that we know it to be now.
get a Z rating are the rarest and most expensive
diamonds in the world. The majority of diamond purchases are for
diamonds that are 1/3 of a carat. Beware when
There are many aspects to a grading report. shopping for diamonds that are already set or
Figuring it all out can be very confusing. mounted. If more than one diamond is used in
the piece, the tag on the jewelry will give the CTW
You should talk to a jeweler you trust, and have or Carat Total Weight ñ it does not tell you the
them explain everything on the diamond grading carat weight of each stone in the piece. You need
report and the certificate to you. to ask the jeweler for the total carat weight of the
largest diamond in the piece to truly understand
what you are buying.

© 2009 usertight
HOW PRICES ARE DETERMINED
Pricing most products is quite easy. Determine As you can see, the earlier you can purchase a
how much it costs to make the item, how much diamond in the process, the lower the cost of the
it costs to market that item, and then mark it up diamond will be, but not the value. The value is
by 15, 30% or more. Simple, right? Well, pricing based on what the diamond will sell for in the
diamonds isn’t quite that simple. There are many market place through a retailer.
factors that are considered when diamonds are
priced. If you own a diamond, and you have no idea how
much it is worth, you can have it appraised, but
Diamond prices are determined first by adding the appraisal may not be accurate. You will be
the cost of the rough diamond, the cost of cutting better off obtaining a certificate through GIA,
the diamond, and all other costs necessary to turn Gemological Institute of America. With the
the rough diamond into a marketable diamond. information on this certificate, you can use a
Depending on the importance of the diamond, an cutter’s guide to accurately determine what your
independent company may be called in to certify diamond is worth.
the grade of the diamond based on color, cut,
clarity, and weight. There are also many diamond price calculators
available. These can be found on the Internet,
At this point, the diamond will become more and many diamond dealers use these as well.
expensive each time it changes hands, until it You must realize, however, that before you can
finally reaches a retailer, where the price is raised accurately price a diamond, without a Diamond
a bit more. Before reaching the retailer, however, Grade Report, you need to know quite a bit about
the diamond must travel from the mine, to the diamonds, such as different cuts, clarity, color,
cutter and polisher, to the independent grading and weight, and how each of those aspects adds
company, and then to the Primary market. Once to the value of a diamond, or decreases the value
it has reached the primary market, it will be of the diamond as the case may be.
purchased by diamond dealers and wholesalers,
and from there it will be sold to retailers. We have done some research to find the best price
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