Natural diamonds are formed over a period of few hundred thousand years. The price of a diamond depends mainly on four factors commonly referred to as the 4 C's of a diamond. Two similar looking diamonds may be widely different in price depending on close examination of diamonds. No two diamonds are exactly the same. All natural diamonds have imperfections it all depends on how much you magnify. The only perfect diamonds are the man made diamond. Even flawless diamonds can appear included if highly magnified under a microscope.
Cut : Cut is an important characteristic of a diamond. A diamond with right color and clarity but not cut in right propotions will be less brilliant. A perfect cut unleashes the fire and brilliance of a diamond. A diamond cutter must place each of the stone's facets and angles in correct geometric positions. If a diamond is cut too deep or too shallow it looses light and is far less brilliant. The width and depth have the greatest effect on how light travels within the diamond, and how it exits in the form of brilliance. Its the brilliance and its flashing, fiery effect that makes diamonds so pleasing to the eye. Diamonds are cut in different shapes and proportions such as Round, Asscher, Cushion, Emerald, Heart, Marquise, Oval, Pear, Princess, Radiant & Trilliant. Carat: Carat reflects the weight of a diamond. 1 carat = 0.20 grams. The diamonds of same carat weight with different other factors may differ widely in price. If a single stone is of higher carat its of a higher price given all other factors are exactly the same. It is very important not to mistake carat weight as referring to the dimensions of a diamond. It refers to weight only. Why? Because weight can hide in different parts of the stone. Most of our diamonds come with individual certifications & appraisal Color: Most diamonds have at least a trace of yellow. A diamond is graded on a scale of colors ranging from Colorless to Yellow i.e D to Z Clarity: The clarity of a diamond meand how clear or clean a diamond is. The more clean the diamond, the higher is the price. Most diamonds have inclusions in them. The clarity scale is a measure of these inclusions. F-IF -Flawless or Internally Flawless. This diamond has no internal inclusions. Very rare diamond. VVS1-VVS2 - Very Very Slighty included. Very difficult to detect under 10x magnification. No visible inclusions to human eye. VS1-VS2 -Very Slighty included (two grades). Minute inclusions invisible to the naked eye and seen only with difficulty under 10x magnification. SI1-SI2-SI3 Slightly Included (three grades). Minute inclusions Can be seen under 10x magnification. No visible inclusions to human eye in SI1. Minute inclusions may be visible to human eye in SI2 and SI3 I1 -Included (three grades). Inclusions visible under 10x magnification as well as to the human eye.Fact: Let's say you are searching for a round diamond between color D-J, and clarity SI1-I1, & a carat weight between .95ct to 1.05 ct. How many possible combination might you be searching for? 3, 6, 20? How about a minimum of 1,400. Wow!! how is that possible? Let's do the the math, 7 colors x 4 clarity x 10 carat sizes, x 5 cuts= 1,400 possible combination. This does not even allow for certified vs non certified or a specific budget. You say this will take for ever!! Well we make it easy, just go to our current stock list database and you will find that special stones that meets your budget. Once you find your dream diamond, you can either buy it online and checkout using our easy paypal integrated checkout system, or email us for any queries.... Easy Peezee Right? Email us with your questions netdiamonds@telkomsa.net. NETDIAMONDS - your wholesale online diamond dealer. Buy direct and save. If you are not familiar with the 5 c's, (cut, color, clarity, carat, COST) please read our diamond lesson below.Diamond Cut Explained
Fact: The "Shape" of the Diamond is different then the "Cut" Proportions affect the quality of loose diamonds. Used by permission International Gemmological Institute The Diamond Cut & Color opposed to the Clarity probably controls more variables affecting the quality and subsequent pricing of your engagement ring diamond. If diamonds are not cut to the right shape and proportion, the effects are less than optimal, even if it has great clarity. If the diamond is cut too deep, you'll see large dark shaded areas when viewing it through the table. A good table cut should be 53-64% of the width. Good Depth % are 58-64%. Anything outside this range means the diamond is too deep or too shallow. Polish and symmetry (i.e. facet alignment) fine tune the price. In a nutshell, the 4 C's mean squat without good proportion data. Other Shaped Diamonds The other shaped diamonds don't have the same proportional requirements as round diamonds. For princess cut diamonds, just make sure the depth percentage is between 60% to 71%. The industry is still undecided on good specs for Princess Shaped diamonds. No trade agreement has been established on them yet, the experts are working on it. Make sure of the shape your special girl likes before you rush out to buy that engagement ring. Let her view our current stock list before you are engaged & make your selection together, because the Diamond you choose, symbolizes your love for each other forever! Diamond Color Explained Most diamonds range in color from clear to yellow, clear being the best. This diamond color chart shows how diamond experts rate color: Ideally you want engagement ring diamonds that are D, E, or F in color. But your wallet determines the color grade, not you, so the most likely is a J or a K color diamond. Many people spend more & get G, H, or I. Colors like J,K,L are more affordable. D,E,F are rare and expensive, out of range of us common folk. If you consider M-N & use a white mounting they will appear a little lighter. Still some jewelry shops will try to sell them as whiter diamonds using special lighting techniques. This is why you should print a copy of this guide & bring it with you to a jeweler and refer to the color charts so the jeweler knows you researched your diamond characteristics. After viewing the jewelers diamonds with your new knowledge, come back to About Me to search for your dream diamond & we can do a BUY IT NOW listing for you. Fancy Diamonds Some people like yellow diamonds in the "Z" color range, referred to as fancy color diamonds, or fancy yellow diamonds. Some jewelers trick you by making a yellow diamond look white, and show the diamond on a black velvet pad or background. It sure does make the diamond look great but INSIST on seeing the stone on a white background (Even a white piece of paper). Black will make even the most yellow diamond appear white. If jewelers refuse you, WALK OUT! Diamond Fluorescence Diamond fluorescence is your diamond's reaction to ultraviolet light. We at NetDiamonds know the experts and are divided whether fluorescence helps or hurts diamond values. Some unscrupulous jewelers pull a Jedi mind trick, showing you how "perfect" your diamond is as it turns blue under UV! They can't sell you on the diamond engagement ring's real attributes. UV lighting is not how we view normally diamonds, so it's a bogus show, a waste of time. These stones might look whiter in fluorescent lighting than they really are. A little bit of blue fluorescence is acceptable as it takes the bite out of the yellow. Loose diamonds with higher diamond fluorescence sell for a little less than diamonds with no fluorescence. So it does not matter which side wins this argument, it's how the market perceives diamond fluorescence that counts. The FTC forbids Misuse of the term "blue white" to make a loose diamond sound better. In a test done by GIA, the Lab claimed "experts could not agree on the effects of fluorescence from one loose diamond to the next diamond. Most felt that strongly blue fluorescent diamonds were perceived to have a better color appearance when viewed from table-up. There was no trend when the loose diamonds were viewed table-down. Most experts saw no relationship between fluorescence and transparency." So in our opinion, don't get hung up on the fluorescence issue, a med fluorescence diamond will look fine. Our advice to you: Side with the market on this one and pick a good clear stone for your diamond wedding ring so that you don't obsess over the fluorescence. No one views a diamond straight down from the top anyway. Diamond Clarity Explained Diamond Clarity Diamond clarity is important. Diamonds have natural flaws called inclusions and blemishes inside the diamond. These can be tiny air bubbles, black carbon deposits, clouds, or feathers inclusions. Look at ice cubes, you'll see they have imperfections inside and look like white feather. On the external surface blemishes can be chips, imperfect corners, scratches, or pits on the surface. Some diamond flaws are so small you need a microscope to see, or a 10x loupe. Some flaws are so bad anyone can see them. The easier the flaws are to see, & the less valuable the diamond may be, even the least desirable like a 1 carat I3 round is worth between $1,000-$2,000 wholesale. Ideally you want zero inclusions in your diamond. But life is a trade off, the fewer inclusions, the more it costs. The more it costs, the more inclusions you'll be willing to live with! Below is a clarity grading scale, graded by looking at the diamond through a 10x loupe. Most jewelers use the GIA scale to measure. As you shop the mall jewelry stores, the tags may have the GIA letters on them. The ones you'll see the most of are VS2, SI1, SI2 and SI3, typically the ones you and I can afford. Diamond clarity has a strong effect on prices. What are Clarity Enhanced Diamonds? Clarity enhanced diamonds are 100% genuine natural diamonds. If you are on a very tight budget these enhanced diamonds may be a alternate for You. Selected diamonds undergo a clarity enhancement process to make small blemishes invisible, making the diamond more visually beautiful. The process is permanent and only extreme fire, boiling acid or ammonia solutions can effect the diamond. All Your diamonds & gemstones should be cared for with the loving care they deserve & in return they will give You a lifetime of enjoyment & make terrific inheritance gifts. When having work done on a clarity enhanced diamond, please advise Your jeweler that your diamond is an enhanced diamond. Our diamond database will contain a few clarity enhanced diamonds, they will be clearly identified in the search results. All clarity enhanced diamonds should be worn and cared for like all other diamonds. Your diamond can be damaged by boiling acids, ammonia, and open flames like a jewelers torch (rule of thumb is temperatures over 900 degrees). Ultra sonic, steam cleaning and non-ammonia liquid jewelry cleaners are safe means for cleaning your clarity enhanced diamonds and jewelry. If your clarity enhanced diamond jewelry should need repairing or cleaning, merely inform the jeweler that your diamond is clarity enhanced and your jeweler should take the necessary minor precautions to handle your Diamond and all your jewelry with the care it deserves. Diamond Carat Weight Diamond Carat Marketing tradition says spend 2 months salary, and get the best diamond you can that fits the bill. Most girls have psychological goals of 1 carat. It's amazing how diamonds smaller than 1 carat look really small. For many girls, Carats are the most important part. They show off their diamond engagement rings to their friends like a trophy, and the bigger it is the crazier they get. Some girls don't care about size and are just happy that you love them. For some girls 1/2 to 0.75 Ct. is fine by them. Don't buy a 2 carat diamond engagement ring just because it's 2 carats. It could be a yellow 2 carat diamond ring loaded with flaws. You'll need the other 3 C's to ensure you get a quality diamond. Ask for the EXACT carat weight, you don't want to hear "It's about a carat". It's either 1.0 carat, or it's not. A carat is a unit of measurement, it's the unit used to weigh a diamond. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams. The word "carat" is taken from the carob seeds that people once used in ancient times to balance scales. So uniform in shape and weight are these little seeds that even today's sophisticated instruments cannot detect more than three one-thousandths of a difference between them. [NOTE: Don't confuse "carat weight" with "karat," the method of determining the purity of gold.] The process that forms a diamond happens only in very rare circumstances, and typically the natural materials required are found only in small amounts. That means that larger diamonds are uncovered less often than smaller ones. Thus, large diamonds are rare and have a greater value per carat. For that reason, the price of a diamond rises exponentially to its size. What Size Diamond Should I Buy? One general rule of thumb when buying a diamond engagement ring is budget "two months salary." This is just a guideline your first consideration should be what you can comfortably afford. Find a stone that is graded a little lower on the clarity like a Si3/I1 but as low a color letter like D-J. Deciding on carat size is really about striking a balance between size and quality. Diamonds look bigger on small hands & fingers. A 3/4 carat diamond on a small hand can look closer to a 1 carat stone. C.E refers to CLARITY ENHANCED. This is a process that a naturally mined diamond undergoes which makes the diamond's actual flaws less visible and enhances the clarity scale at the same time. This comes at a cost and you end up with a much more visually appealing diamond.
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