Monthly Archives: December 2011

Lab-Created Diamonds – Simulated Diamonds And Manufactured Diamonds Review

There has been a good deal discussion about lab-created diamonds. Together with that talk, there is much misinformation and perplexity. The jewellery lover, who’s interested in realizing the huge savings and aesthetic beauty that simulated diamonds offer, is usually bewildered through the manufactured diamond industry jargon and available options. This information will categorically break it down in easy-to-understand terms to ensure that anyone can make an intelligent decision when choosing a simulated diamond.

GEM MATERIALS: 99% of all lab-created diamonds sold worldwide are polycrystalline on a molecular level. The differences are fundamentally in the technical aspects of manufacturing, cutting, and polishing. Think of it this way–all coffeemakers are made of plastic, steel, and glass, the differences are how these materials are designed and implemented. Higher quality coffeemakers create a better tasting mug of coffee. High quality manufactured diamonds have been in line with mined diamonds.

QUALITY VARIANCES: It seems like grade variations are made out to be considered a more complicated lab-created diamond issue then it really is. Once boiled down, you will find three primary grades of simulated diamonds–high, medium, and low. For the jewelry shopper it ought to be noted the quality of setting goes hand-in-hand with the excellence of the gemstone. The ones that sell manufactured diamonds off point-of-purchase displays within the costume jewelry parts of discount stores use poor or scrap stones that aren’t gem quality, and also have disco ball or murky look. Those that sell manufactured diamond jewelry around the TV shopping channels–which is usually with a sterling silver or a micro-thin layer of gold plated over silver (Vermeil [pronounced ver-may]) settings–use medium quality stones not of gem quality. Those that sell solid 14K gold or solid platinum settings, usually, use the highest gem-quality man made gemstones that replicate mined diamonds.

PRICING: Poor quality stones are sold in large quantities to costume jewelry makers and are often glued on electroplated settings. This jewelry is okay for children, where loss risk is high, in most cases retails for less than $15 per item. You will discover medium grade stones primarily in silver jewelry that costs under $100 per item, settings and stones. Medium grade simulated diamonds can be distinguished by the naked eye as not mined diamonds. High quality gemstone quality lab-created diamonds, undistinguishable through the human eye alone from mined diamonds, are found installed on settings of solid 14K gold and platinum. This is regarded as fine jewelry, using the best quality gemstones selling for less than $100 per carat for that gemstones alone. Manufactured diamonds that cost over $100 a carat aren’t high quality than those that sell for between $80 and $100 per carat.

RECOMMENDATIONS: If you’re buying for somebody that is likely to lose the jewellery, there is no reason to spend anymore than you have to, and Wal-Mart will do all right. Around the clearance rack you may also get some jewelry for under $5 per item. If you purchase simulated diamonds set in sterling silver, expect decent stones, however they will fool few into thinking they are mined diamonds. Also, your fingers are likely to turn green or black in response to some chemical reaction, avoid the silver per se, however with the nickel/copper alloys in sterling silver. With any plated settings, gemstones are low to medium grade, and the plating will eventually chip off, particularly round the edges. When that happens, the nickel/copper alloys will be exposed, the setting may be like it came out of a gum ball machine, and your finger will generally turn green or black. It is just a few good sense, if you want simulated diamonds with mined-diamond qualities, they ought to be occur 14K solid gold. Jewelers who offer lab-created diamonds are not going invest in money on gold and not mount the highest quality stones, which would defeat the objective of creating fine diamond-like jewelry and alienate customers.

Synthetic Diamonds – Chagrined When Jewelers Scoff At Fabulous Fake Diamonds

New synthetic diamonds are extremely bear much resemblance to mined diamonds the naked eye cannot tell the difference, often saving consumers enough money to create a down-payment on a new house or purchase a car. Unfounded diamond jeweler arrogance, pretentiousness, and snootiness has gone too far!

My girlfriend has been parading out and about having a magnificent 4-carat Round Brilliant cut synthetic diamond set in a sensational 14K solid gold filigree solitaire ring setting for any year now. She’s visited restaurants, work, shopping, night clubs, museums, and parties. Friends and family have scrutinized her ring. She has been stopped repeatedly by others who were dumbfounded by her ring. Hundreds of people have seen her ring, astonished by its majesty, gushing about it. And despite its ostentatious size, no one has asked if it is an imitation diamond!

How could this be? The latest breakthrough science in lab-created diamonds has brought them in line with mined diamonds. Gone is the aurora borealis or “disco ball” effect that was observed in synthetic diamonds of history decades. New millennium synthetic diamonds–with similar hardness, clarity, fire, and brilliance–are indistinguishable using the human eye alone and simply don’t look fake. High quality synthetic diamonds have the coveted hearts-and-arrows effect.

This begs the question: If one would saunter into a jewelry store with a synthetic diamond, can a jeweler tell the difference? Since all mined diamonds have color disparities (flaws), birthmarks (flaws), and inclusions (flaws), and lab-created diamonds have no above, a trained eye will easily notice the main difference. A sneering glance within loupe as well as under discriminating examination with a magnifier, a jeweler will often proudly declare an artificial diamond like a fake. Modern synthetic diamonds are too perfect on the planet of jeweler snobbery when pushing over-priced high profit diamonds may be the agenda at hand.

With the use of scientific testing equipment, mined diamonds will conduct electrical current and synthetic diamonds won’t. This is because mined diamonds are a carbon gem material and synthetic diamonds are polycrystalline. A thermal probe will produce different readings, differentiating the 2. But performs this really matter to a jewelry lover who is thinking about aesthetic beauty and saving 1000s of dollars? Around my girlfriend continues to be showcasing her synthetic diamond on her finger; no one has walked up to her with scientific equipment asking to check her gemstone.

So why do almost all brick-and-mortar jewelers carry only mined diamonds? Why do jewelers scoff at synthetic diamonds? You have to look no further than your wallet. A 1-carat high quality mined diamond is all about $3000, a 2-carat about $18,000, a 3-carat about $40,000, and a 4-carat applies to about $90,000. Respectively, synthetic diamonds run about $79, $158, $237, and $326. It comes down to the cash. Don’t kid yourself.

It is also about indoctrination. For more than a century, the diamond cartel has spent billions of dollars convincing the public that jewel quality mined diamonds have intrinsic value like gold. Not the case. Why? During this time DeBeers has limited production, bought up supplies from others, stockpiled inventory, and imposed its monopoly position on jewelry manufacturers in the successful effort to help keep prices inflated. And to complicate matters, the diamond industry as a whole has a checkered past with conflict stones, debt-slave child labor in India utilized in cutting operations, and shady techniques accustomed to enhance perceived quality to help squeeze out ridiculous prices from beleaguered jewelry lovers.

Smart jewelry shoppers today are thinking about synthetic diamonds as an alternative to mined diamonds for some very savvy reasons: (1) They are able to acquire superb pieces occur solid 14K gold. (2) They’ll save literally thousands of dollars. (3) There is no need to purchase insurance. (4) When wearing there synthetic diamond jewelry nobody will know that they’re not mined diamonds unless they tell them!

Is Bigger Better? The How-To’s When looking for Diamonds

Purchasing a diamond can be an exhilarating but daunting adventure, especially if you’re a newbie.

If I could just offer one suggestion it might be this: “Learn around you can about the 4Cs before you go shopping.”

For that uninitiated, that’s cut, color, clarity and carat. And that i like to add yet another – good sense.

Deciding on the perfect diamond (and there is no such thing as the “perfect” diamond, although a few have come close) is really as much a matter of personal taste as it is a matter of the diamond’s characteristics.

Some couples are willing to forego quality for size, others prefer the brilliance of a flawless blue-white diamond on the larger stone with less clarity.

You function as the judge – but not until you’re clear about those characteristics I pointed out. It is best to read our Diamond Buying Guide, or visit among the quality online jewelers such as http://www.bluenile.com or http://www.mondera.com.

Speak with any jeweler and they’ll all give you a different opinion as to what they feel is an essential quality of a diamond.

According to Mayer Herz, Vice President of Diamond Acquisition at Mondera.com, “Cut is an essential consideration if you’re on a tight budget. You may make up for low color and clarity if the stone is well cut.”

However, Joseph Schlussel, Publisher of Diamond Registry Bulletin, says “I personally think that color is the most important thing. Many people who go into an outlet today, they’re told about cut. However i take a look at what you could see having a human eye alone. I’d put cut the last, since most people can’t view it.”

The safest all-round bet would be to search for the overall “package”, using the levels of cut, clarity, color and size as good as you will get for the price you’re prepared to pay.

Listed here are my tips to help you obtain the best value possible:

* Ensure you get a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or the American Gem Society (AGS) Certificate when you purchase your diamond. Certificates guarantees that you’re getting that which you taken care of.

* If you are buying at a retail store, ask to visit your diamond against a white cloth (or take your own – even a white sheet of paper is going to do the secret!). Jewelers typically make use of a black felt cloth to show their stones because all diamonds look white against black.

* The American Gem Society says the cut of the diamond can influence the cost by as much as 50%. A well-cut diamond, when viewed from above, will sparkle having a brilliance you won’t find in any other precious stone.

* Most diamonds have flaws (called inclusions) that developed during its formation an incredible number of years back. Some are impossible to determine with the human eye alone, others glare to you. The greater inclusions, the poorer the quality of diamonds, and also the less light it will emit. Nevertheless its all a trade-off – fewer inclusions means a more expensive diamond.

Knowledge is power, and also the more you understand about how exactly diamonds are graded and how that determines the cost you’ll pay, the greater you’ll be able to judge what’s value.

Most importantly, keep in mind that you will be the one putting it on, and hopefully for a long time, so the ultimate decision is yours. My very first diamond had a hairline crack deep inside it, and I came to love that diamond as much because of its tiny flaws when i loved my husband for his!