Diamonds the four C's....

Diamonds are available in different colour, sizes, quality, rarity and price. Two diamonds might look the same to inexperienced eyes even though there is a significant difference in price.

This is because the value of white diamond is determined by what are commonly referred to as the 4Cs (Colour, Carat, Cut and Clarity).

1. Colour - The highest quality diamonds are described as colourless and are extremely rare and valuable.The purer the colour, the greater its ability to reflect and refract light, thus the greater its brilliance.

Colour D-F is considered “colourless”, G-J is” near colourless”, K-M is “slightly tinted”, and the scale moving through the alphabet to Z” Yellow colour”.

A single increase or decrease in the colour grade can make a price difference of thousand of dollars, depending on the size of the diamond.

2. Carat (Weight) - The carat measures the diamond weight rather than its size or diameter. For example, one carat is described as 100 points, and half a carat is 50 points

A diamond may appear to have a larger top surface when it is cut in a shallow proportion to make it look bigger in comparison to an ideal cut diamond, eventhough these two stones may have the same carat weight.

However, the light in a shallow cut diamond escapes through the pavilion before it can be reflected and thus it sacrifices the brilliance and makes them less valuable. (See further information about cut below for further details).

3. Cut - The brilliance and sparkle of a diamond is determined by its cut. When a diamond is cut to its ideal proportion, it allows the maximum amount of light to enter and is reflected from one facet to another and dispersed through the top of the stone.

If the cut of the diamond is too deep, some light escape through the side of the stone If the cut is too shallow, the light escapes through the bottom of the stone before it can be reflected.

4. Clarity - Clarity is a term used to describe the number of inclusions in a diamond. Almost all diamonds contain traces of non-crystallised carbon, the element in which they were born.

Large inclusions interfere with the dispersion of light and therefore the diamond’s brilliance. The fewer the inclusions, the rarer the stone.

VVS, VS and Si inclusions are not visible to the naked eye; they are only visible through magnification.

-----------------------------------------------------

"White Gold" verses "Platinum"

• WHITE GOLD - is a mixture of gold and some white metals such as nickel, silver and palladium.

• White gold can be 18ct, 14ct, 9ct or any karat. For example, 18ct white gold is made by mixing 75% gold with 25% other metals, such as nickel, silver and palladium.

• White gold jewellery is coated with another white metal called Rhodium. This Rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. Therefore, to keep white gold jewellery looking its best, it should be re-Rhodium plated approximately once a year.

-----------------------------------------------------

• PLATINUM - is a white metal and is used in its pure form (approximately 95% – 100% pure).

• It is strong. It is ideal for jewellery worn everyday because platinum prongs show little wears and thus offer precious stones greater protection.

• It is lustrous. It will not tarnish or dull, so it does not need to be rhodium plated like white gold jewellery.

• It is hypoallergenic. It’s pure and will not irritate your skin with the variety of irritants mixed into alloys.

The price of platinum, however, has always been higher than gold because it is far less common. To produce a single ounce of platinum, a total of 10 tons of ore must be mined. In comparison, only three tons of ore are required to produce an ounce of gold.

Top