Do you know what your diamond is worth? Not what the retail price was, not what the person at the jewelry store told you, but what its actual value is? It’s important to know, for four possible reasons.

- You want to buy it

- You want to sell it

- You want to insure it

- You’re just curious

If you’re not considering selling your diamond, and have never thought about having it insured, then your response is probably “This doesn’t apply to me.” But it so does! Continue reading »

Diamonds are the hardest substance on Earth, but they still need to be handled delicately, and with great care.  Over time any precious stone can lose its sparkle and become dull or discolored, even a diamond. And while the stone itself won’t break the setting for it might, without constant, loving attention.

Diamonds are the most dazzling and valuable jewels you can have, so here are a few Dos and Don’ts for treating them like they deserve. Continue reading »

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There is this particular kind of Irish jewelry that, if shown to a physicist or a mathematician would result in him grinning from cheek to cheek. In fact, it is even possible that if Einstein ever saw the Celtic knot design, he probably realized the true importance of the theory of relativity to man. The Celtic knot is the physical representation of the concepts of infinity and of eternal time. Irish jewelry is full of such symbols and metaphors on the secrets of life and, more importantly, the significance of living. Therefore, when it comes to mysticism and spirituality, very few jewelry styles would ever appeal in the manner in which Irish jewelry would. Continue reading »

If you have embarked upon a mission to buy a piece of artistic jewelry that is created around a real diamond or diamonds then you need to be sure that you get exactly what you pay for. You will need to compare a real diamond with cubic zirconium so that you do not end up with a poor cousin that might look exactly the same but actually cost very much lower than the real diamond that you so deserve for your money.

Jewelry designers too have evolved over the years to incorporate cubic zirconia or cubic zirconium as it is also called into their creations and now offer a wide range of cubic zirconium jewelry in the form of cubic zirconium rings and cubic zirconium earrings, among several other forms of vintage and modern designs. You might have also observed celebrity engagements or large celebrity events where young and not-so-young celebrities turn up with huge diamonds on their fingers, wrists and necks. This would have prompted you to buy a real diamond ring for your lover, partner or spouse. However, this is easier said than done since a few unethical diamond dealers have decided to pluck out the real diamond and replace it with a virtually worthless cubic zirconium diamond that unfortunately looks and acts exactly like an actual diamond upon normal inspection.
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Celebrities have become the latest official and unofficial brand ambassadors of the latest trends in the fashion and jewelry industry. If you are a huge fan of certain celebrities and follow their every move then you can certainly follow the latest celebrity jewelry trends and wear the same designer jewelry that they sport on their fingers, hands, ears and neck.

All celebrities try to look their best when they walk confidently on the red carpet during celebrity engagements or large celebrity events such as award functions. While most celebrities employ famous jewelry designers including Gucci to design exquisite and exclusive designs for themselves so as to stand apart during any event, you can simply buy their designs off-the-shelf as there are several designers that also track down the latest trends followed by such celebrities. While a celebrity might not have any financial constraint while getting rare diamonds embedded in their chosen ring or pendant, you might not have the same amount of money to do the same. However, one magic raw material known as cubic zirconia or mistakenly called cubic zirconium has almost the same properties as a real diamond but costs far, far less than an actual diamond.
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Although diamonds are forever, it might also take forever to earn enough to buy a real one for your lover or life partner due to its high price. However, you now have a choice of gifting your loved one a ring that is fitted with a synthetic diamond that looks and behaves almost like a real diamond. If you are indeed on a tight financial diet then you can easily go in for affordable jewelry embodied with a sparkling cubic zirconia diamond.

While real diamond is a hard carbon, its deceptive and cheaper cousin cubic zirconia is a lab created diamond that was discovered in 1892 but put into commercial production by the Russians in 1976. While cubic zirconia has several industrial uses, it has also caught the fancy of jewelry designers all over the world that strive to make affordable jewelry for the masses. Although cubic zirconia or CZ comes extremely near to an actual diamond in terms of looks, hardness and durability, it costs only a fraction of what a real diamond of a similar size might cost. This has unfortunately also spawned hordes of unscrupulous jewelers that try to fool people into buying a cubic zirconia diamond by claiming it to be the real thing. Continue reading »

Some of the world’s rarest of diamonds are colored. These rare colored gemstones are on par in rarity when compared with the most nebulous and obscure diamonds of the world. This is because it is not easy to find a large sized colored diamond in the first place. In fact only one in almost every 10,000 diamond carats is colored, making the finding of a colored diamond that is large unheard of!

A colored diamond is formed under conditions that are truly remarkable. Formed almost 200 km below the surface of the earth, these diamonds are carried in kimberlite stones during volcanic eruptions to the surface. It is a fact that these natural diamonds are obviously over a billion years in age and a lot of care is taken so as not to damage or destroy the larger diamonds when they are detracted from the ore. A very tiny fraction of diamond ore has actual /genuine diamonds and only 20% of diamonds that are colorless are “gem-quality”. Out of this percentage only one out of ten thousand carats is a natural colored gem.

Diamonds that are colorless are 100% carbon. When another mineral comes in contact with this carbon it produces a hue in the diamond, making the whole process rare. The clarity of the colored diamond is a huge factor that contributes to its rarity. Inclusions are small, inconspicuous marks in diamonds. The more these inclusions are not visible with the naked eye, the price and rarity of the diamond improves due to its clarity.

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Jewelry designers have for long set new design trends whether it is in vintage jewelry or in modern and futuristic designs that involved diamonds. With celebrities posing at large celebrity events with diamond jewelry hanging out from every possible visible body part, you too might want to emulate them and buy a similar piece of jewelry for that special person in your life. However, certain unscrupulous diamond dealers have allowed greed to get the better of their fair judgment and have started replacing real diamonds with fake cubic zirconia ones. It is thus vital that you conduct cubic zirconia diamond tests before you show the dealer your hard-earned money.

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Diamonds are beautiful and expensive gems that are traditionally used to accent a variety of jewelry.  You can find them on necklaces, bracelets, and the ever-popular ring. Engagement rings are the pieces of jewelry that are most commonly designed with a beautifully cut diamond. It is the symbol of love and commitment that make diamonds a very treasured stone.

Since many of us view diamonds as a valuable gem that we accessorize with, it will definitely be a shocker to find out that diamonds are now being used in the medical field. Studies have shown that swallowing nanodiamonds could eventually tell what disease you are suffering from.

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There could be a whole lot of reasons why you are wondering whether the ring or ear rings that you bought has genuine diamonds or are in fact cubic zirconia. However, you can soon be put at rest because there are plenty of tests that can be conducted to prove the differences between genuine diamonds and cubic zirconias.

One of the first tests that is usually conducted by most people is the Scratch Test. However, this traditional test has been found wanting as it isn’t really accurate as it was thought to be at one time. This is because it has been proved by modern technology that good quality cubic zirconium can also scratch glass like diamonds. Moreover you don’t really want to cause any damage to your real diamond with the Scratch Test and lower its value in addition to spoiling its beauty!

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