Insuring Your Diamonds

Insuring a diamond takes a bit of thought, planning, and shopping around. Diamond insurance isn’t like purchasing car insurance. It is quite different. Depending on the state that you live in, there are basically three
different types of policies that will cover diamonds, and all insurance policies that cover diamonds are considered Marine type policies.
The first type of insurance policies for diamonds is an Actual Cash Value policy. If the diamond is lost or damaged beyond repair, the insurance company will replace the diamond at today’s market value, no
matter how much you paid for the diamond to begin with. This type of insurance policy for diamonds actually is not that common.
The most common type of insurance for diamonds is Replacement Value insurance. The insurance company will only pay up to a fixed amount to replace the diamond that was lost or damaged beyond repair. This does not mean that they will pay that amount – it means that they will pay up to that amount. In most cases, the diamond can be replaced at a lower cost.
The third type of coverage offered for diamonds is Agreed Value. This is sometimes called ‘Valued At.’ This type of coverage is very rare. In the event that the diamond is lost or damaged beyond repair, the insurance company simply pays you the amount that you and the company agreed upon. This is the best type of insurance to have, but it is rarely offered. If you can’t get Agreed Value coverage, Actual Cash Value
coverage should be your next choice.
Your rates will be determined by the value of the diamond, the type of coverage that you select, and the area that you live in. If you live in an area with a high crime rate, you can expect to pay more for your diamond
insurance coverage. It is important to remember that insurance agents are not qualified jewelers, and jewelers are not qualified insurance agents. It is best to get a certificate for your diamond, and to provide the insurance company with a copy of that certificate. This leaves the insurance company less room for arguments over the
actual value of the diamond.
Don’t rely on separate coverage to cover your diamond. For instance, if you diamond is stolen from your home, it is probably covered on your home owner’s insurance policy – but the diamond probably won’t
always be in your home, and once it leaves your home, there is no coverage.

Where Diamonds are Mined

Argye mine located in the Kimberley region in the far north east of Western Australia. Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s largest single producer of volume of diamonds.  However, due to low proportion
of gem quality diamonds it is not the value leader.  It does produce 90-95% of the world’s supply of pink diamonds.  
Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, located in Canada it is a very large mine.   It is located north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle on an island.  The island is connected by an ice road.  It is also an important part of the regions economy employing more than 700 people and producing more than 8 million
carats annually.
Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP Billiton and located south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada.  The Ekati is Canada’s first operational diamond mine.     Diamonds mined here are sold under the Aurias trade name   Authenticity is verified through CanadaMark service.  CanadaMark service is also
owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.
Baken diamond mine is located along the lower Orange River in South Africa.  It is owned and operated by Trans Hex.  The average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 carats.   In 2004, this mine produced a 78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was sold for over 1 million US dollars.
Merlin is the second of only two diamond mines in Australia.  No longer operating it was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker Resources, who has explored the possibilities of reopening the mine.  
Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine.  It us located 240 Km west of Francistown.  The mine is owned by “Debswana” which is a partnership between DeBeers and the government of Botswana. This mine operates 7 days a week.  It maintains pre primary and primary schools for its employee’s children.
There is also a 100 bed hospital and game park.  This mine began production in 1971 and is the oldest mine owned by the Debswana Company.
The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South Africa produced the largest gem diamond ever in 1905.  The Cullinan Diamond weighed 3,106.75 carats.  This mine also produced the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed 545.67 carats.  This mine is owned by the De Beers Company and was renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in 2003 in celebration of its centennial.

Dirty Diamonds?

A dirty diamond is one of two things: a rough diamond, or a diamond that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are uncut and unpolished – hence, they are dirty. But that type of dirty diamond will soon be
cut and polished and sitting in a beautiful jewel box in a display case. Then someone will purchase it, and before long, it will become a dirty diamond once again.
Diamonds become dirty. When you wash your hands with a diamond ring on, soap scum clings to it. When you put on hand lotion, it gets grease on it. Shower with your diamond earrings or necklace, and again,
you get soap scum. In one short day, your brand new diamond could be dirty!
Purchase an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner the same day that you purchase your diamond jewelry, and use it every single day, without fail. The clarity of the diamond changes when the diamond is dirty – it loses its
sparkle. By taking one minute each day to clean your diamond jewelry, you can avoid this, and your diamonds will never be dirty!

Synthetic Diamonds

The first synthetic diamonds were produced by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic diamond is basically a rock that has the durability, refractive index and hardness of a natural diamond – but it is made by man.
A synthetic diamond should not be confused with stimulant diamonds, such as glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.
Although the technology for synthetic diamonds came into play in 1954, no synthetic diamonds were ever seen on the market until the 1990’s. This was due to the fact that it took many years for General
Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that could compare with the quality of a natural diamond – and when they figured out how to do it, they found that it cost more to produce a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and cut natural diamonds.
Finally, a small company by the name of Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to produce synthetic diamonds that were of the same quality as natural diamonds, at a cheaper price. Today, Gemesis produces
synthetic white diamonds, and colored diamonds as well. These diamonds sell for about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond, but there is a shortage of them, and they are hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic
diamonds are rarer than natural diamonds!

Selecting a suitable Diamonds

Diamonds are graded for certification by laboratories using grading criteria. Four of these criteria are critical to understand when making a diamond purchase or investment. Known as the “Four C’s” these criteria are:
color, cut, clarity and carat.
Color is the result of the composition of a diamond and it does not change. When a jeweler is describing the color of a diamond they are referring to the presence or absence of color in white diamonds. Because a
diamond with no color allows maximum light to pass through, colorless diamonds are preferred for their sparkle.Cut refers to a diamonds reflective quality. Most diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The brilliance of diamonds is heavily dependent on the cut. The different angles and the finish of a diamond determine its ability to reflect light and cause its brilliance and fire.
Remember that the cut of a diamond can have an impact on its durability as well as its beauty. Some cutting faults can make a diamond prone to breakage. A diamond that is cut too thin can also cause light to
leak out of the back and the diamond will lose some of the sparkle and appear not to shine. So, as you can see the Cut is probably the most important of the Four C’s.   
During the formation process, inner flaws, or inclusions occur in most diamonds. The number and size of these inclusions determine what is referred to as the clarity of a diamond. Diamonds that are clear create more brilliance and therefore are rarer and highly priced. To be considered“flawless”, a diamond must have no surface or internal imperfections visible upon being viewed by a skilled diamond grader using 10 power magnifications.
Carat is the unit of weight by which diamonds are measured. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams. A carat is divided into 100 segments called points. 150 points would equal one and a half carats.
When you go to the store to make that all important diamond purchase, do not be shy!  Ask questions, get the answers needed to make an informed purchase. Shopping for certified diamonds enables you to make an
informed selection. Knowing the “four C’s” allows you to comparison shop and purchase the best diamond at a fair price.  But, before making a purchase, shop around and decide what shapes and styles really appeal to you. Enjoy your diamond for years to come!

To Smudge A Fake Diamond

In this world of advanced technology it is almost impossible to simply look at a diamond and determine whether it is real or not – especially if you don’t know much about diamonds. There are some steps that
you can take to avoid buying a fake diamond,however.
First, only deal with reputable jewelers, and when you find a reputable jeweler, stick with them. Avoid buying diamonds or other jewelry from jewelers that you have never dealt with before in the past. Ask to see the
certificate for the stone. If no certificate exists, walk away.
Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake diamonds, such as zirconias, are usually set in low quality metals. Take a close look at the stone. Fake diamonds are not durable – natural diamonds, on the other hand, are the
most durable stone on the planet. Look for scratches or nicks.

After purchasing a diamond, take it to another jeweler for appraisal. In fact, take it to two or three other jewelers for an appraisal to make sure that the appraisals are all fairly close. If you find that you have purchased a fake diamond, you may be accused of making a switch when you return to the store
of your purchase; therefore, it is important to have a certificate for the diamond. No two stones are alike.

How to Sell A Diamond

There are many reasons why you may want to sell a diamond that you own. Perhaps you’ve gotten divorced, or you are strapped for cash. The reasons why don’t really matter – getting the best possible price is what
counts! The way to obtain the best price for the diamond is to not be in a rush. Slow down, and carefully consider all of your options – there are many.
First, have the diamond appraised. In fact, have it appraised by two or three jewelers to get an accurate idea of the diamonds value. Tell the appraiser that you want the Rapaport Value. This is the wholesale value of the
diamond, and it basically tells you the highest price that you can sell your diamond for. If your diamond has no certificate, you should consider getting a certificate from GIA. This may help you get a better price for the
diamond as well.
First, try to sell the diamond yourself, to people you know. Friends and family members may be interested. If you don’t have any luck with friends or family members, you should turn to outside sources. Absolutely
avoid pawn shops! A pawn shop will only offer you about 10% of what the diamond is worth! Also avoid offers of selling the ring on consignment. There are many things that can go wrong, and there is no shortage of
diamond scams – even in well known jewelry stores.
If the diamond is important, you should strongly consider auctioning it off through one of the famous auction houses, such as Christie’s or Sotheby’s. If it isn’t what is considered an ‘important’ diamond or a high-end diamond, you should try to sell it to an individual using classified ads, or even eBay. However, selling to an individual that you do not know could put you in danger – especially if the diamond is worth a lot of
money.
Your final option should be a jewelry store. It is vital that you not let your diamond out of your sight while in the jewelry store – you might find that the diamond you walked in with is not the same diamond that you walk
out with! The jeweler will try to tell you that your diamond is of poor quality or low weight. Inevitably, there will be some problem with the diamond. This is where your appraisal and/or certificate will come
in handy.
If the jeweler is fair, they will offer you between 60% and 80% of the value of the Rapaport Value. Do not accept anything less than this. Again, do not let the diamond out of your sight until you have been paid for it.

How to Clean your Diamonds

Through our day to day movements our diamonds get smudged and soiled.  Even when we are not wearing them, they collect dust.  Lotions, soaps, our natural skin oils, can cause film and grime on diamonds
and inhibit their brilliance. Want to keep that Brilliance and Shine?   Diamonds require cleaning so that maximum amounts of light can refract fiery brilliance. Remember that all it takes is a few minutes and a little care to keep that diamond as fiery as the day you first saw it.
You can use an small soft brush such as an eyebrow or lip stick brush and soap and water to clean your jewelry.  Simply make a bowl of warm sudsy water with a mild detergent and place your pieces in the
mixture.  Then brush the diamonds with the soft bristles of the brush while they are in the suds.  You will need to make certain that you rinse them clear of the suds after cleaning them.  You can use a small kitchen
strainer such as a tea strainer to contain them while rinsing under warm water.  Use a lint free cloth, or a jewelry polish cloth to pat them dry.
If your diamonds are in need of a stronger cleansing, you may want to soak them for 30 minutes in a solution of half and half water and ammonia.  Once they have soaked for 30 minutes, remove them and gently brush the mountings with a small brush.  Then replace the pieces to the solution and swish them around in the mixture before removing them to rinse and pat dry.  
If you find your self too busy to be mixing soaps and ammonias, many department stores sell liquid jewelry cleaners.  Most are kits, with everything you need included.  You need to read the labels to determine the one
that is right for your diamonds and other jewelry. Read the complete directions and follow all the precautions.
And if you find yourself more the “high-tech type”, even in your diamond cleaning routine, there are multiple ultrasonic cleansers on the market.  These machines use high-frequency to create a cleaning motion.  All machines are not the same, so please read the instructions before using.
Only you can choose the cleaning method right for you.   But, it is essential to keep your jewelry clean to keep it brilliant and sparkling.  Between cleaning, try not to touch your clean diamonds with your fingers or
handle your jewelry by its edges. This will help maintain its shine and brilliance for longer periods.

How to Care for Your Diamond

Caring for a diamond takes more than occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever, but they can be damaged if you are not careful. By learning how to properly care for your diamond, you will ensure that your diamond is indeed forever.
First, you should take your diamond jewelry to a jeweler once a year. Have him check the mountings and prongs that hold your diamond in place. Have him make any needed repairs. This will prevent your diamond from falling out of its setting and becoming lost.
Diamond jewelry that is not being worn, or diamonds that are loose should be stored in a fabric lined jewel case, or in a jewelry box where it can be kept separate from other jewelry. Each piece should have its own
compartment. This will keep diamonds from becoming scratched, and it will also keep your diamond from scratching other jewelry as well.
Remove your diamond jewelry when doing physical work. Diamonds can be chipped and scratched easily. Also avoid allowing your diamond to come into contact with bleach or other household cleansers – this
can damage or change the color of the settings and mountings, and it may even irreversibly change the color of the diamond!

How Diamond Prices Are Determined

Pricing most products is quite easy. Determine how much it costs to make the item, how much it costs to market that item, and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more. Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t
quite that simple. There are many factors that are considered when diamonds are priced.
Diamond prices are determined first by adding the cost of the rough diamond, the cost of cutting the diamond, and all other costs necessary to turn the rough diamond into a marketable diamond. Depending on the importance of the diamond, an independent company may be called in to certify the grade of the diamond based on color, cut, clarity, and weight.
At this point, the diamond becomes more expensive each time it changes hands, until it finally reaches a retailer, where the price is raised a bit more. Before reaching the retailer, however, the diamond must travel
from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to the independent grading company, and then to the Primary market. Once it has reached the primary market, it will be purchased by diamond dealers and wholesalers, and from there it will be sold to retailers.
As you can see, the earlier you can purchase a diamond in the process, the lower the cost of the diamond will be – but not the value. The value is based on what the diamond will sell for in the market place – through a retailer.
If you own a diamond, and you have no idea how much it is worth, you can have it appraised, but the phrasal may not be accurate. You will be better off obtaining a certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute of America. With the information on this certificate, you can use a cutter’s guide to accurately determine what your diamond is worth.
There are also many diamond price calculators available. These can be found on the Internet, and many diamond dealers use these as well. You must realize, however, that before you can accurately price a
diamond, without a Diamond Grade Report, you need to know quite a bit about diamonds, such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight – and how each of those aspects adds to the value of a diamond, or decreases the value of the diamond as the case may be.
Again, you will be better off if you get a Diamond Grading Report on the diamond, and use that information to look up the price in one of the guides that the diamond cutting industry uses. This will give you the most accurate value of the diamond in your possession, or of the diamond you are considering purchasing.

How Diamonds Are Mined

We seldom think about how the diamonds we wear came to us. Natural diamonds, as opposed to synthetic diamonds or fake diamonds, are mined from the earth. There are currently two methods of mining diamonds: Pipe Mining and Alluvial Mining.
When pipe mining is used, the diamonds are extracted from the earth through volcanic pipes. These are not man-made pipes. These are natural pipes in the ground. Shanks are put into the ground next to the pipes, and
tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of the pipe. The diamonds are not sorted out at the mine. Instead, huge rocks that are full of diamonds are brought out of the mine and moved to a screening plant for separation.
The Alluvial mining method is done in riverbeds and on beaches. Walls are built to hold back the water and the sand on the bank or beach is moved with a bulldozer until the level of earth that diamonds can be found in
is reached. Again, the diamonds are not sorted here. Instead, the sand that contains the diamonds is bulldozed into trucks, and taken to screening plants.

How Diamonds Are Cut

In their most natural form, diamonds are – well – quite ugly. They have no luster or shine, and in fact, look like nothing more than broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and then polished before it actually becomes a
thing of beauty.
Diamonds are cut with saws, into round shapes. From the rounded shape, other shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes – but the shape is less important than the quality of the cutting that is being done. If the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light, and it will not sparkle and shine very well. Each facet of the diamond must be
carefully cut into the geometrical shapes that allow the diamond to sparkle and shine, then the entire diamond is cut into a specific shape, such as an emerald cut or a princess cut diamond.
Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into a dop, which resembles a cup with another diamond – only a diamond is strong enough to smooth the edges of another diamond. Once the diamond has been cut and shaped, and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it is polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing wheel.

Famous Diamonds

Among the most well known diamonds is the Hope.   This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian.The legends of the ill-fortune and curse bestowed on the possessor of the Hope
Diamond are many.  This diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky

110-carat rough.
The Dresden Green stands out among the natural colored diamonds. It is the largest green diamond in the world weighing 40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large and has a natural green color with a slight blue overtone.  These facts make it virtually priceless.

The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and weighs 9.01-carats.  This pink diamond was once owned by Louis XIII.

The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42 in the rough (metric) carats discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa.  The gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary
weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently, was the largest golden-yellow in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor  ( Mountain of Light )  is now among the British Crown Jewels.  This diamond weighs 105.60 carats.  First mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is graded as a naturally colored Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats. It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990.  Since this sale, it has been modified to a cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.

The Transvaal Blue is pear cut.  This blue diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal, South Africa.

The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered in the summer of 1963, in a South African diamond field.  This 198.28-carat fancy brown diamond appeared to be a light honey color in its rough state.  However,
after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt orange.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped 69.42 carat diamond.  Cartier of New York purchased this diamond at an auction in 1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next day Richard Burton bought the diamond
for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the "Taylor-Burton”.   In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor put the diamond up for sale.  Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500 each to view the diamond to cover the costs of showing it.  Finally, in June of 1979, the diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.
PPPPP

Diamond Scams

When it comes to diamonds, there are numerous scams to avoid. Most scams are minor, but there are some major ones that come up from time to time concerning the buying and selling of diamonds. Scams occur simply because most people who buy diamonds – for whatever reasons – don’t know that much about diamonds. Therefore, they are easily fooled.
A common scam that most jewelry stores participate in is the Carat Total Weight scam. The tag on the piece of jewelry, usually a ring, only states the total carat weight of all diamonds in the piece, instead of listing the
total weights separately for each diamond. This leads consumers to believe that the main diamond in the piece is actually bigger than it is. Ask what the total carat weight of the center stone is. Also beware of fractions. Jewelry stores are allowed to round off diamond weights. This means that if the jeweler tells you that it is a ¾ carat diamond, it is probably between ½ and ¾ carat – but closer to ¾.
Jewelry stores often run ‘fluorescence’ scams to varying degrees. Referring to a diamond as a blue-white diamond is such a scam. A blue-white diamond sounds very unique and special, but in fact, this type of
diamond is of lesser quality – even though the jeweler will try to make you think you are getting something special. Jewelry stores also like to show their diamonds in bright lights. Lights make diamonds shine. Ask
to see the diamond in a different, darker type of lighting as well.
Some truly unscrupulous jewelers target those who want appraisals on diamonds that were given to them as gifts or that were purchased elsewhere. They will try to tell you that the diamond is worthless, or worth less
than it actually is worth – and offer to take it off your hands or trade it for a much better diamond, along with the cash to make up the difference. This is called low balling. Get a second, third, and even a forth opinion
before taking any action.
Another common dirty trick is to switch the diamond you have chosen and paid for with one of lesser quality and value when you leave it to be set in a piece of jewelry, or leave a diamond ring to be sized. The only
way to avoid this is to do business with one trustworthy jeweler. Avoid jewelers that you have not done business with in the past.There are many more scams that jewelry stores commonly pull on unsuspecting
consumers. Just use your best judgment, and purchase your diamonds with the utmost care and considers.