Choosing and purchasing a diamond is an important process. With so many facts and information about diamonds, it is difficult to remember everything. To make things easier for you, we have provided this Baokha web page that is devoted entirely to consumer diamond education.

[Diamond Facts] [Caring for Your Diamond]
[Certification of Diamonds] [Diamond Grading Reports]

Diamond Facts

A Brief History

With the exception of South Africa (river diggings, "dry" diggings, or mines) diamonds are all found in gravels and conglomerates derived from basic igneous rocks. Alluvial diamonds were known in India as early as about 400 B.C. Most of our knowledge about diamonds comes from the writings of a French jeweler and traveler, J.B. Tavernier, who visited a number of Indian mines between 1630 and 1668. The most famous were at Kollur, for this is reputed to be the source of the Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light). This colorless diamond was reduced from its former 186-carat old Indian cut to a 108.93-carat oval brilliant. It is one of the principal treasures in the British Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. The 45.52-carat dark blue diamond known as the Hope Diamond, undoubtedly one of the world's most celebrated diamonds, is also from Kollur. Despite the legends surrounding the Hope Diamond, Harry Winston, a New York City jeweler, purchased the famous stone from the estate of Edward B. McLean, (former owner of the Washington Post) in 1947, and presented it to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC where it is now on permanent display.

Facts

CUT: The round brilliant is the most popular cut. It usually displays the diamonds qualities to the greatest potential, and is therefore the best "investment" cut. The cut of a diamond and the proportioning of a cut influence the "fire" of the diamond. The Tolkowsky cut (standard American cut) provides the most vivid fire with the least loss of brilliance. There are a few faulty cuts to watch for, such as sloping table, off-centered culet, broken or chipped culet, poor symmetry, and extra facets. Within the popular fancy shapes such as pear, marquise, or emerald cut, certain deviations in proportion result in the bow-tie, or the butterfly effect. The more pronounced the bow-tie, the greater the degree of incorrect proportion.

COLOR: The color grading system introduced by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is used extensively in the diamond trade. The GIA classification progresses from the letter D (an absolute water clear, colorless, exceptionally fine) through the alphabet to the letter Z (getting progressively yellow). The D stones are becoming very rare, and a significant premium is paid for them. The colors D, E, F can all be grouped as very fine. G and H may be referred to as "fine white." These grades are all considered to be very good.

CLARITY: The major clarity grading system in the United States is the GIA system, which grades the stone for its imperfections--both internal (inclusions) and external (blemishes). Flaws can be white, black, or colorless. FL (flawless) is the grading given to a stone that has no visible flaws internal or external when examined under 10-X magnification. IF (internal flawless) is the grade given to a stone with no inclusions and with only minor blemishes. VVS1 and VVS2 may be translated to mean very very slightly included. VS1 and VS2 have very small inclusions; their flaws will not be visible except under magnification. SI1 and SI2 are slightly included; their flaws are easily seen under 10-X magnification. The I1 and I2 imperfect grades are given to stones in which flaws can be seen with the naked eye. Essentially, the position of a flaw affects a diamond's grading and value.

CARAT: Diamonds are sold by carats (cts). The carat is a unit of weight: 1/5 of a gram. The price of diamond does not increase proportionately. Note also that the price per carat for a fine stone weighing 96 points (there are 100 points to a carat) is much less than the price for a stone weighing one carat or more.

IMITATIONS: Diamond imitations include some stones that are very soft, such as Zircons, GGG (a man made simulation), Fabulite (a man made diamond simulant also known as Wellington Diamond), and glass. Some diamond look-alikes are more durable. This includes colorless synthetic spinel, colorless synthetic sapphire, colorless quartz, YAG (man made), and CZ (cubic zirconia, also man made). CZ is the best diamond simulation made to date.

Caring for Your Diamond

Although very highly prized as a gem, the diamond is plain crystallized carbon (Carbon, C). Ordinary carbon is the most common substance on earth, found in all living things, plants as well as animals. The diamond is the hardest of all natural substances. This resistance to abrasion gives the diamond its unsurpassed wearability, its brilliance and its dispersion (fire). However, a diamond can be chipped or broken if hit hard enough from certain angles (cleavage directions); and if the girdle has been cut too thin, the diamond can be chipped with even the modest blow. It is important to remember that even though "Diamonds Are Forever" a diamond does scratch another diamond.

Certification of Diamonds

A certificate or report fully describes the diamond, not only being genuine, but all the important information such as color, clarity, grade, exact weight, cut, proportion, etc. Given the significant difference in cost that can result from a grading error, we strongly recommend that a grading report from GIA be obtained prior to purchasing your diamond. Unfortunately the confidence of the public in certified diamonds has given rise to the practice of counterfeiting and altering Diamond Certification Reports. While you can be relatively sure that certified diamonds sold by reputable, knowledgeable, and ethical jewelers are what they claim to be, there are some dealers who are seizing the opportunities to prey on the unsuspecting.

The best way to protect yourself against fraud and misrepresentation is product knowledge. Shop around for a fair market value, ask the right questions, and never allow yourself to be intimidated into "trusting" anyone. A trustworthy seller will have no problem giving you the information you request IN WRITING.

Diamond Grading Reports

While limited knowledge may result in a costly mistake, an understanding of what is on the grading report and what it ALL means will enable you to ask the right questions and to make valid comparisons to receive what you paid for, but never . . . less.

Look for these factors when reading a Diamond Grading Report:

When you find a diamond that is lively, beautiful, and affordable, it is probably a good purchase for you. After all, happiness is when you are ready and able to purchase a diamond ring for the love of your life.

For further questions or comments please call us at 703-893-0313, or come in and visit us at our store location in McLean, Virginia. Please click here to retrieve our address & driving directions.

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