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About Diamonds
- Carat - The Larger a Diamond, the More Rare. Larger diamonds are found relatively infrequently in nature, which places them at the rarest level of the Diamond Quality Pyramid. What also makes a bigger diamond so desirable is that it shows off a stone's fine color and cut, and therefore its brilliance, to its best advantage.
- The More Pure the Color in a Diamond, the More Rare. Diamonds are graded by color, starting at D and continuing through the alphabet. Truly colorless stones, graded D, treasured for their rarity and value, are highest on the Diamond Quality Pyramid.
- While nature determines a diamond's clarity, carat weight and color, the hand of a master craftsman is necessary to release its fire, sparkle and beauty. When a diamond is cut to good proportions, light will reflect from one mirror-like facet to another and disperse through the top of the stone, resulting in a display of brilliance and fire.
- To establish a diamond's quality, jewelers examine each of the 4Cs -- cut, clarity, carat weight and color. The combination of the 4Cs determines the value of a particular diamond. For example, a colorless diamond is at the top of the Diamond Quality Pyramid in color ... but if it lacks clarity, is small, or not well cut, it will be of a lower value. The finest stones possess the rarest quality in each of the 4Cs, and are the most valuable.
- Diamonds categorized as internally flawless reveal no such inclusions. Flawless stones are at the peak of the Diamond Quality Pyramid and are treasured for their rarity and beauty. Diamonds with very, very small inclusions are graded as VVS1 or VVS2. The larger the inclusion, the lower the grade and the less rare the diamond. Inclusions that can be seen with the naked eye are graded I1 or I3.
- Fancy diamonds -- in well defined colors that include red, pink, blue, green and canary yellow -- are highly prized and particularly rare.
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About Gold
- Gold purity is measured by karats. Karat, sometimes represented as; "K" or "Kt." should not be confused with "Carat" which is the unit of measure for diamond and gemstone weight.
- When buying gold jewelry, always look for a Karat mark such as 14k, 18k stamped somewhere on each piece to ensure yours is real gold. Europeans sometimes stamp their gold pieces with 500 representing 14k or 750 representing 18k.
- Gold lasts, and lasts. Since it does not rust, tarnish or corrode, gold virtually lasts forever. An example of this incredible durability is witnessed in the gold coins found in sunken galleons centuries-old - they're as bright and shiny as the day they were cast!
- Solid gold as it is found in nature is 24 karat gold. Unfortunately, solid gold is far too soft for use in most jewelry and requires additional metals, called alloys to be mixed in to make it suitable for jewelry manufacturing. 18 karat gold has 18 parts pure gold and 6 parts alloy, 14 karat has 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts alloy and 10 karat gold has 10 parts pure gold and 14 parts alloy.
- Of all the world's precious metals, only Gold combines the four basic characteristics that make it a universally and eternally treasured possession.
- The naturally intense color and distinctive luster of gold combine to give this precious metal its unique and lasting beauty.
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About Gemstones
- Colors in turquoise range from sky blue (most desirable color) to blue green and apple green.
- White opal has a white or light body color with flashes of many colors. Black opal has black, dark blue, dark green or gray body color with vivid flashes of color such as red, pin, and bright green.
- There are several factors that determine the value (and price) of a gemstone: color, cut, clarity and carat weight.
- Sapphire, a variety of corundum, comes in all colors except red (the red variety being known as ruby), but is especially popular in deep blue.
- Amethyst is a variety of quartz, and comes in pale lilac to rich, deep purple shades.
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