Diamonds have held a special place in the world of gems for over 3000 years. Each and every diamond is completely unique with its own personality special beauty. No other gem has the brilliance, fire and hardness of a diamond. Men have sought, fought and worshiped diamonds; they were thought to have magical powers worth dying for. The name diamond comes from the Greek word adamas, which means unconquerable. This made diamonds the gem of kings throughout the centuries. A diamond was a symbol of strength, courage, bravery and invincibility. It was also thought that diamonds would scare away the devil. It is diamonds hardness that has made it a symbol of power and strength thru the ages, but its rare beauty has also made it a symbol of love and romance. Diamonds where thought to be splinters of the stars that fell to earth or the tears from the Gods. It is the Ancient Greeks that first made diamonds a symbol of love. The first diamond engagement ring was given to Mary of Burgundy in 1477 by the Archduke of Austria Maximilian.
Diamonds allure and beauty has even changed the course of history. The Kohinoor diamond, known as the “Mountain of Light”, is said to have been found 5000 years ago and was worn by the hero of the Hindu epic Mahabaharata. The diamond changed hands many times over the centuries and eventually ended up in England where it was re-cut and now is in the queen’s state crown. Another famous diamond the Orloff, was a gift of love to Catherin the Great from Prince Gregory Orloff. France owner of the Regent (Or Pitt) but pledged it to Holland to fund Napoleons rise to power. He later reclaimed it and set it in the hilt of his state sward. And then there is the most famous of all, the Hope diamond. The Hope diamonds history is not clear until 1830 when Henry Phillip Hope brought the 45.52Ct. fancy dark blue diamond. The diamond had several owners when in 1911 it was sold to Evelyn Walsh McLean by Pierre Cartier, who may have invented the famous “curse” to help sell the exotic gem. None the less Mrs. McLean’s luck seemed to be cursed, she lost a son who was hit by a car, her husband divorced her and went insane, her daughter committed suicide and she was a morphine addict. When Mrs. Mc Lean died in 1947 the diamond was brought by Harry Winston who used the diamond to raise money for charity. In 1958 he donated the gem to the Smithsonian where you can see it today.
Diamond is pure carbon, the same as the carbon in a pencil. The only difference is how the atoms are bound. Diamonds have the simplest composition of all gems. Diamonds are also the hardest substance known. Only another diamond can scratch a diamond. They can, however, be chipped or cleaved with a sharp blow. Diamonds formed deep in the earth, billions of years ago, under the immense the heat and pressure that existed at that time in earth history. They are one of the oldest known substances in the earths crust about 3.4 billion years. Each and every diamond you see today is millions of years old. Volcanic eruptions forced the diamonds upward toward the surface where they are mined today. It take an average of about 250 tons of the diamond bearing rock known as kimberlite to find one one carat diamond. It takes a million minded diamonds in order to find a single one carat diamond. Of all the diamonds mined only 20% are gem quality. The rest is used in industrial applications.
A diamonds value is determined by the 4Cs: The Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. The 4Cs are never exactly the same on any two diamonds, every diamond is unique. The 4Cs are listed in descending order according to each Cs impact on the beauty and hence the value of the diamond.
Cut: The quality of the cut of a diamond is very important; it is what gives a diamond its unmatched brilliance and fire. There are three major components of cut; the diamonds proportions, its symmetry and its polish or finish. A well cut diamond just explodes with light and fire. A poorly cut diamond does not reflect light nearly as well and thus is often lifeless. The cut of a diamond is often confused with the shape of the diamond. No mater whether you prefer a round brilliant, oval, marquise, emerald, pear or princess cut it is the quality of the cut that unleashes the fire and brilliance that nature has hidden inside every diamond.
Color: A colorless diamond is treasured for its rarity and beauty. Some diamonds have a slightly yellow, brown to gray body color. Some feel this slight body color gives the diamond warmth. A diamonds color is graded by letters: D, E &F are colorless. G, H, I and J are considered near colorless. K, L & M are faint yellow. N to Z are diamonds with increasing strength of body color. Many do not know that diamonds beauty can occur in a rainbow of colors. A fancy colored diamond is a very rare and uniquely beautiful gem. Vibrant yellows, deep rich browns, greens, pinks, reds, light to strong rich blues, orange, purples and even black!
Clarity: The clarity of a diamond is its fingerprint. Many diamonds have, under 10x magnification, small imperfections or irregularities in the crystal that are called inclusions. The size, number, nature and position of these inclusions determine the diamonds clarity.
Carat Weight: The diamonds weight is the easiest of the 4cs to determine. One carat is based on the weight of a carob seed. The tiny seeds from a locust (carob) tree are amazingly consistent in weight. For thousands of years these seeds where used to determine a gems weight. Today a carat is a standard metric weight of 0.2 grams. A carat is divided into 100 parts called points. An example would be 0.50Ct. is fifty points or ½ a carat.
For 2000 years the only source for diamonds was India. Today major sources include Botswana, Russia, South Africa, Australia and Canada. Other sources include Namibia, Sierra Leone, Zaire, Brazil, China and India.
Diamonds are valued not only for their beauty but also their purity. Many diamonds are not enhanced; however there are some enhancements worth noting. Diamonds can sometimes have dark unattractive inclusions which are visible to the eye. These dark inclusions can be removed with a small laser beam, and then the resulting cavity can be filled with clear resins or a glass hard material to make it nearly invisible. This same method is also used to fill inclusions that brake to the surface of the diamond, making them less noticeable. The treatment is stable, unless the diamond is exposed to extreme heat or specific chemicals, which can remove the filling. Some diamonds color can also be improved by using a new high pressure high temperature treatment. The treatment is called HPHT and must be disclosed by a tiny inscription on the diamond. Diamonds can also be colored to many different hues by using extreme heat and irradiation. This enhancement is permanent. Most black diamonds are enhanced with this method. It is also important to note that all these enhancements affect the value of the diamond and should be disclosed.
It is diamonds durability and beauty that makes them an ideal symbol of lasting love. The famous advertising tag line “A diamond is forever” says it all. A diamond is the only gem that will look as good in 100 years as it does today, and a 100 year old diamond looks as good today as it did when it was first presented. With a little bit of care a diamond will radiate its beauty thru the generations. Diamonds are safe for steam and ultrasonic cleaners, they can be cleaned with commercial jewelry cleaner or a mild soap and water along with an old toothbrush to clean the setting as well. Always rinse and dry your jewelry after cleaning.
David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com
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