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Do You Know... About Diamonds
by Jackie Bridgford
http://www.ablediamonds.com
Do you know what diamonds and a chocolate substitute have in
common? Can you name the most popular cut of diamond? Do you
understand why size is only one-fourth the reason for a
diamond's price? Do you know what makes a diamond 'fancy'?
But there are things about diamonds that are lesser known,
things that are fascinating little tidbits to collectors of
stray information. Do you know why we measure diamonds in
'carats', for instance? It's completely unrelated to
'karats', a measurement of purity for gold. The word carat
is derived from the carob seeds that were used in ancient
times to weight the other side of the scale when measuring
gemstones.
The sophistication of our measurement methods has come a
long way since those times. A carat is now the equivalent of
200 milligrams, or .2 of a gram. There are 142 carats in an
ounce. Carats are divided into 'points'. There are 100
points in a carat, so a 25 point diamond is one that weighs
a quarter of a carat.
As primitive as that sounds, it was a remarkably accurate
method of measurement. Modern tests with carefully
calibrated electronic scales aren't able to detect more than
one three thousandths of an ounce difference between the
weight of carob seeds. Nowadays, a carat is 200 milligrams,
or .2 grams. If you prefer English measures, an ounce is
equal to 142 carats.
Diamonds are as unique from each other as fingerprints.
Their size, cut, clarity and imperfections all create a
'signature' that is recognizable. A certificate issued by an
accredited laboratory will give you all the information to
identify the uniqueness of your own diamond.
Black diamonds contain inclusions of graphite within the
crystal. Black diamonds of significant size and quality are
relatively rare. Gray diamonds, on the other hand, may be
caused by a number of different impurities in the diamond,
and those impurities often lend a tint of other color to
grey. Gray pink, gray blue and gray green are all fairly
common.
There is one exception to that rule - fancy diamonds. Those
diamonds that are clearly red, blue, green or yellow are
extremely rare, and that rarity makes them extremely
valuable. Canary diamonds, for instance, are an intense
yellow, and are valued for their sparkle and fire. Pink
diamonds, mined in only one place in the world, are
exceedingly rare, and priced accordingly. A 3/4 carat fancy
intense pink diamond can easily cost $30,000 - without the
setting.
The third C, Clarity is a measure of the transparency of a
diamond. Most stones contain tiny imperfections either
internally or on the surface. Most of these are so minute
that even experienced jewelers may have trouble finding
them. The highest clarity grade is Flawless - a stone that
shows no internal or external blemishes or flaws at 10x
magnification. From there, stones are graded according to
number, size and position of inclusions or blemishes, but
it's only the lowest few grades that have imperfections that
visibly affect the beauty of the diamond.
One of most unique types of diamond is found only in a small
mine in China. Chameleon diamonds range in color from olive
green to pale yellow green. As one might guess from their
name, chameleon diamonds actually change color under certain
circumstances. When subjected to eithr heat or lighting
changes, chameleons either lighten to a brighter yellow, or
darken to a more intense green temporarily.
Like fancy diamonds, but not the price? It's now possible
for gemologists to create synthetic fancies by exposing the
diamonds to the impurities that cause the colored tinges in
natural fancies.
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