|
|
| |
About Diamonds
- Virtually all natural diamonds contain identifying characteristics, yet many are invisible to the naked eye. Under the scrutiny of a jeweler's 10x-magnifying loupe or microscope, natural phenomena -- called inclusions -- may be seen. These are nature's birthmarks, and they may look like tiny crystals, clouds, or feathers.
- 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 that are cut too deep or too shallow lose light that spills through the side or bottom. As a result, poorly cut stones will be less brilliant and beautiful -- and certainly less valuable -- than well cut diamonds higher on the Diamond Quality Pyramid.
- 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.
|
|
|
About Gold
- Ease of Workability - Gold has the best working qualities of any metal, thereby making it the ideal precious metal for fine jewelry whose designs are meant to reflect and appeal to so many different personalities.
- 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.
- 18 karat gold is still very soft and not ideal for everyday wear, 14 karat gold is ideal for bridal jewelry as it is durable yet soft enough to allow the jeweler to create fancy settings such as channel and invisible settings.
|
|
|
| |
About Gemstones
- While most people think of garnet, they picture the dark red bohemian garnet. You may be surprised to learn that garnets are found in every color, except blue.
- Of the more than 3,000 minerals found on earth, only a small percentage qualify as "gemstones" due to their beauty, durability, color and rarity.
- The majority of gemstones are crystallized minerals. (Important exceptions: pearl and coral are animal origin; jet and amber are vegetable.)
- There are several factors that determine the value (and price) of a gemstone: color, cut, clarity and carat weight.
|
|
|
Other Cities:
San Antonio
Baltimore
Houston
St. Louis
Milwaukee
Savannah
Yonkers
San Francisco
Denver
Alexandria
Miami
Brandon
Cape Girardeau
Lafayette
|
|
Contact Lenses: Contact Lens Discount,
Mission Insurance,
Mission Computer Stores,
Mission DirecTV
|
| © 2004 Jewelry-N-Diamonds.com |
|
