Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Pink Diamonds – A Rare Diamond

Pink diamonds is a type of fancy diamond and is one of the valuable and rarest colored diamonds. Because of its rarity, its price is higher than other colored and colorless diamonds.


Image Source: http://finediamonds.com.au/images/categories/Pink%20diamonds%20scattered.jpg


These diamonds are produced at Argyle mine which is located in Western Australia and produces around 95% share of world’s pink diamonds.

They are available in different shades of the color pink: Brownish pink, Purplish Pink, Pink Champagne, Orange Pink and many more. Like other colored diamonds and gemstones, the color quality of pink diamonds is judged based upon the color intensity and consistency across the diamond. More intense and consistent it is, more costly will the diamond be. But it should also be noted that even lighter shades of pink diamonds are costly because of their rarity.

Engagement rings with pink diamonds have become highly popular since Jenifer Lopez was given a pink diamond engagement ring. Moreover, these diamonds have been the favorite of many celebrities and trend setters because they bring a unique factor into the jewelry.

They are available in various styles and settings. But if the desired design is not available with the retailer, then they would always welcome a pink colored loose diamond and a setting to create a custom jewelry with this rare diamond. They are moreover appreciated when set into white gold or platinum metal, since these metals enhance their beauty.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Fancy Color Diamond Grading

Fancy color diamonds come in all colors and shades of the rainbow. Among them, yellow ones are most common. They are usually used in fashion jewelry.


Image Source:http://www.glimmerocks.com/standardimages/DJ/fancy_colored_diamonds.gif

Diamonds being very precious and expensive, certain factors should be taken care of before buying them. As known to all, the Four Cs are the most important characteristics to be considered for judging the quality of a diamond. But these factors differ slightly for fancy colored ones.

Diamond Color Grading

The color grading technique for fancy color diamond is slightly similar to that of colored gemstones. The two basic aspects to be considered while judging the color of the colored diamond are Hue and Intensity. Hue refers to the color of the diamond which may include pink, red, blue etc. Intensity means how light or dark the color is. The more intensity, more beautiful will the diamond look and more expensive it will be.

Diamond Cut Grading

Like colorless diamonds, the most excellent/ideal cut colored diamonds emits maximum brilliance. A colored diamond with a good cut derives its most intense color, hence increasing its worth and beauty. Facets add more color to the diamond and if cut properly, gives the best appearance to the stone.


Diamond Clarity Grading

For a colored diamond, clarity is not the most factor for judging its quality. Even a lower clarity diamond will appear inclusion-free depending on the color intensity. Secondly, if the color of the inclusion is same as that of the diamond, then it will be nearly invisible. Also the appearance of the inclusions (if any) will be noticed only if they are present directly on the table of the diamond. Usually fancy colored diamonds with higher clarity are rarely found.


Diamond Carat

Carat weight of a colored diamond is computed or analyzed in the similar way as that of the colorless ones. The more carat weight, more expensive it will be.


Diamond Certification

Apart from the four Cs, the certification of the diamond should also be taken care of. All the major gem laboratories like GIA, IGI, and EGL certify and provide report for fancy color diamonds. The certificate ensures that the diamond is naturally colored and an not enhanced one.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories

Many gemological laboratories provide certificates which prove the authenticity of a diamond and specify its minute facts and characteristics. One such laboratory is the American Gem Society Laboratories (AGSL). This laboratory provides diamond grading services to jewelry industry only, which means that they accept diamonds only from jewelers and manufacturers.

AGSL is known for grading the diamond cut including the Ideal Cut. It is also known for grading the fancy cut diamonds like Emerald, Oval and Princess cut. According to this laboratory, the most important among the four Cs of a diamond is the Cut, because this feature determines the amount of refraction or reflection of light.

The AGS Laboratories offer various reports depending on the type of diamond information required. The most preferred among them is the Diamond Quality Document (DQD) which includes the complete analysis of the four Cs of the diamond: Color Grade, Cut Grade, Carat weight and Clarity grade.


Image Source: http://www.agslab.com/product_diamond_quality_document.php

AGS Diamond Grading System

Grading is allotted in numerical form from the range of zero to ten. For Diamond Cut, zero means the best cut (Ideal cut) and ten indicates the lowest one. In the Verbal form, cut can be classified as AGS Ideal or Excellent or from Very Good, Good to Fair or Poor. The same numerical form goes for the Clarity feature of a diamond. The verbal descriptor for indicating the clarity of the diamond is same as that of GIA (Gemological Institute of America). For Diamond Color, zero indicates colorless and ten indicates light yellow or light brown.

AGSL provides easy-to-read grading scale hence making it easy for the consumers to evaluate and verify the quality of the diamond they have purchased.

Related Posts

Related Posts with Thumbnails