Gold and Diamond Jewelry – What a fabulous way to say I Love You in gold
Over the past five years, Ive changed the way I buy and give gifts. Once upon a time, I bought needed gifts. I then progressed to should have gifts. Then I gave you get it any way gifts. All of this obviously came from my theory about what others needed, wanted, or had to have no matter what.
Im past all these internal theories related to gift giving. I now look for gifts from the heart. Ive found that it is such a beautiful thing to find a special charm to add to the lovely gold charm bracelet I gave my daughter several years ago. Im adding charms that tell a story of our lives together.
Last year I decided to add these mementos in a special gift basket that I make for each of my children and my niece. I found lovely gold charms created by a craftsman who only sells them at fairs. He takes gold coins, actual coins from other countries, and cuts them into beautiful patterns. Since I appreciated his gold coins, as well as, the jewelry he made with diamonds, he spent some time talking to me describing his craft.
He actually agreed to make me several more pieces. I was truly appreciative since he does not do orders. He is a one of a kind craftsman who willingly shared his time and artistry with gold with me. These beautiful gold coins were a wonderful addition to last years gift basket.
I have not found the perfect I Love You gift for this year but Im sure I will.
There are a lot of people that will not know what moissanite is. In fact if anyone offered to give them a piece of moissanite they would probably turn them down. Moissanite is quite simply a jewel and this jewel contains properties that other jewels do not have. If you have a piece of jewellery with moissanite then it is highly likely that that moissanite is mined. This is because if anyone was to try and create moissanite in a laboratory then it would take 104 years to complete this process.
Moissanite is a beautiful jewel and discount moissanite will look even better when you purchase it. Moissanite is usually compared to diamonds and there are many diamond vs moissanite websites. The main fact is that whenever someone mentions diamond vs moissanite the moissanite jewel will always win. Diamonds are still the strongest substance known to man but moissanite is the second closest. Also a diamond vs moissanite heat resistance test will show surprising results. A diamond will catch fire and then vaporize at 1100C. However moissanite will still be fully intact at this temperature and it will still look just as gorgeous as the day it was originally created.
Other diamond vs moissanite tests show that due to the high temperature moissanite can withstand it is easier to cast moissanite in place and so any jewellery can get the perfect design that they are looking for. Also diamonds are prone to heat damage when a jeweller is repairing these diamonds. However with moissanite the chances of moissanite becoming damaged are less likely when the jeweller is performing repair operations. During a house fire moissanite has a high chance of surviving. Even though the temperatures can be extreme moissanite has a greater chance of surviving compared to a diamond. This will mean that you are less likely to loose this precious jewel during a house fire.
It can be very tough to find discount moissanite anywhere. This is due to many reasons and just on of these reasons is because moissanite has only been available to jewellers for a few years, so this is still an exclusive piece of jewellery. One reason why people like to buy moissanite is due to the fact that moissanite is lighter then a diamond and you could forget that you are wearing a piece of jewellery that has an exclusive jewel in there. In a few more years the chances of finding discount moissanite will be a lot higher then the chances that exist today.
Diamonds girls best friend! Why do girls love diamonds? Why are they so precious? Is it because of their beauty and exquisiteness? Talk about buying. Purchasing a diamond can test the nerves of even the most astute buyer – what do you look for? What do the terms mean? What makes one diamond worth more than another?
When you get in the diamond shop and attempt to buy one, but do not know what the different between this one and that one. Even though those two have the same size and carat, the price can be completely different. Why? Here is a simple guide to the essentials of diamond grading.
Understanding these terms will help you discuss with the dealer the features most important to you, ensuring you get the very best diamond for your money. Diamond appraisers look for four qualities in a diamond when discerning its value. Commonly called the ‘4 Cs’ they are: Cut, Clarity, Carat and Color.
CUT
There are 2 big aspects of CUT.
1. Quality of cut – affecting the brilliance of the diamond – the other refers to the actual shape of the diamond.
2. Shape – Diamonds are available in many shapes. Some of the more common are; round, oval, pear (teardrop shaped), heart, princess (square shaped), Emerald (rectangular shaped), marquise (football shaped) and round. Of all the shapes available, round diamonds are the shape most capable of being cut to exude the greatest brilliance. The brilliance is determined by the ability of the diamond to reflect light. A quality cut diamond will have facets angled to reflect the greatest amount of light. Beware of diamonds cut to maintain a higher carat weight while sacrificing the cutting of a good angle as this will dramatically reduce the brilliance.
CLARITY
Diamonds from natural sources are subject to individual flaws including trace minerals and scratches. A diamond without such characteristics is called flawless and is the rarest kind. While these flaws are often not visible to the naked eye, they affect the light reflecting qualities of the diamond which affects the overall brilliance.
Diamond clarity is classified as follows: Flawless, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, SI1, SI2, SI3, I1, I2 and I3.
CARAT
Carat is the measurement of the weight of a diamond. One carat may also be referred to as ‘100 points’. This means that a half carat would be listed as ‘50 points’ and so on.
The larger a diamond is the more costly it becomes. Since the larger diamonds are much rarer the cost will go up significantly with each increase in size. A one carat diamond will be more than just double the cost of a half carat, however, a ring with multiple diamonds that have a combined weight of one carat will be cheaper than a single stone of that weight.
COLOR
There are many diamond colors which called fancy diamonds. But the mostly found diamonds will be rated on an alphabetical scale from D to Z. A typical ‘white’ diamond should be as colorless as possible – a rating of ‘D’ being the rarest and most desirable. When choosing a colorless diamond it is best to stay within the D-J range or the diamond will have a yellow cast which lessens the value. The less natural color the diamond has the more colors will appear in the flashes reflected in the prism.
‘Fancy’ diamonds (diamonds with a rating over Z) come in a variety of shades and include some famous diamonds such as the Blue Hope diamond.
When decide to buy a diamond, please keep in mind of these 4 Cs as a factor of buying consideration. It takes years to gain a specialty in this area. Therefore, at least you should point out whether which features are of greatest importance to you and with a little knowledge select the diamond that will hold the greatest value and sentiment for your budget.
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 dont know that much about diamonds. Therefore, they are easily fooled.
Jewelry stores 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. Jewelry also 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.
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 carat diamond, it is probably between and carat but closer to .
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.
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.
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 consideration.