Antique Engagement Rings

For centuries, diamonds have been evaluated using the four Cs: cut, clarity, color and carat. However, recent innovations have allowed the addition of a fifth C: created. Thanks to innovations in modern chemistry and physics, it is now possible to create jewel-quality stones. Created diamonds are free of the defects and inclusions that are present in most mined stones.

The first C, “cut,” refers to how the diamond has been cut by a jeweler. Even the most beautiful gem starts out as a rough stone with no facets. The way in which a gem sparkles and reflects light is dependent on how the facets are cut into it. The cut is one of the largest determinants of a stone’s value. An excellent cut can turn a the right raw gem into a stone worth thousands or even millions of dollars, while a poor cut may ruin even an excellent gem. Since a cut cannot be undone and gemcutting takes years to master, the value of the cut cannot be underestimated.

The next two Cs, “clarity,” and “color” are determined by impurities in the gem’s crystal structure.  Small mineral deposits that appear as darker spots in the stone, called inclusions, are common.  Inclusions do not necessarily ruin a gem; very few mined stones are given a grade of “flawless,” and those few are incredibly expensive.  Only the lowest clarity grades feature inclusions that are easily seen by the naked eye, and a good cut can help to conceal small inclusions and bring out the best of the stone. 

The purest of diamonds have no tinge of color.  “D” denotes colorless, and the grading goes all the way to Z for light yellow.  The further down the alphabet you go, the less desirable and thus, less expensive, the stone becomes.  However, the right concentration of mineral impurities within the stone can be a good thing!  These can create the rare colored, or “fancy,” gems that feature attractive colors, including vibrant and intense yellows, pinks, champagnes and even deep blues like the famous Hope Diamond.  The more vibrant or deep the color, the more valuable the gem becomes. Very few gem-quality mined diamonds achieve the “fancy” grade.

The final C used to grade mined stones is carat size.  Carat denotes the weight of the stone, regardless of its dimensions, and is a standardized measure equal to .2 grams.  During the 1800s, a few rare gems of over 100 carats were discovered in remote South African mines.  However, most gems used in jewelry range from .25 carats to 5 carats in size.  The largest stones in this range are quite rare and very expensive.  Carat weight increases a gem’s price 10-20% for each step in size difference.

The fifth C, “created”, only applies to man-made stones. These cultured diamonds are produced in a lab by accelerating the natural processes which create gems.  Man-made gems are free of inclusions because they are created under controlled conditions.  However, most of them have vibrant colors that rival the most desirable and rarest mined “fancy” gems.  They are indistinguishable from natural stones in their chemical makeup and optical qualities, and can be cut just like mined stones to provide the same luster, brilliance and scintillation.

Cultured gems are also created in first-world laboratories and minimize the ecological impact of mining and the social impact that comes from the sale of so-called “blood diamonds.” With all of these advantages, from quality to social concerns, it’s not surprising that man-made diamonds are quickly becoming very popular.

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Whether to pick out a diamond or a moissanite is actually a matter of selection. Moissanite is gorgeous, noticeable jewelry and is budget-friendly. Moissanite and diamonds cannot be told separately without the original Model 590 Charles & Colvard, Ltd. tester. The most important distinction between diamonds and moissanite is that of manufacturing applications. A diamond has a well-known value as ‘anvil material’ that moissanite does not have due to its inbuilt elasticity below extreme heat environment. Moissanite is unbalanced at heat exceeding 400 degrees and is quite unreliable at temperatures reaching 1000 degrees. Moissanite also has so-called “”shear stress”" properties. After further expansion in the industrialized procedure, it is potential that moissanite will go with diamond’s business worth. Presently, diamond is still the greatest for industrial-grade hardness. Cut, clarity, color, and carat establish diamond status. A diamond certification is provided for each diamond and includes grades for each of the four Cs as acknowledged by a gemologist. Cut refers to the substantial cut, not the form of the diamond; it affects the brilliance of the diamond. If the cut is too thin or too deep, the refraction of the beam detracts from the radiance. Not that only the round diamonds have the perfect quality. Clarity appraises the cleanliness of the diamond. Generally diamonds involve various flaws, called inclusions. All except the exceptional flawless diamonds consisting of inclusions of unstable numbers and sizes. The cleanliness of the diamond is measured. Clarity grades the appearance under 10X enlargement. Highest grades include F (flawless- you’ll never see this), IF (internally flawless, you’ll never afford it), VVS1-VVS2 (very, really faintly flawed-this is a hardly more sensible), VS1-VS2 (very faintly flawed), and SI1-SI2 (faintly flawed). All excluding the VS1-VS2 and SI1-SI2 diamonds contain fault that are too small to see or barely observable under 10X magnification. Color suggests the absence of color in diamonds. The best diamonds are neutral, which allows them to suck up and display more light, allowing more brilliance. White diamonds range from ice white to light yellow. Color is graded on a scale from D-Z, with D-grade diamonds being colorless and Z-grade diamonds containing the most color. Carat refers to weight. Very big diamonds are uncommon so the price rises exponentially over arithmetically according to carat weight. Moissanite is a sincerely occurring crystal which occurs in such small amounts and sizes as to be uncommercial. The intensity of a precious stone is formed by the cut. A diamond in its physical shape for instance is really unimpressive. Give it a right design and use the diamonds natural refraction of light and it is stunning. Fire refers to the ability of the stone to refract light back out in colors. The light energy disperse into their previous spectrum colors and that is what gives the jewel its special character. Luster is the amount of light reflected back from the surface of the jewel. Infrequency is logically clear. It is the availability of the precious stone. Moissanite rival or surpass diamonds just roughly all forms. In exact it has superior brilliance, fire and luster. The only category in which it doesn’t outperform diamonds is hardness. It is slightly softer than diamond, but only very faintly, and is harder than all other stones. Jewelers can make a great effort to tell the dissimilarity between diamonds and Moissanite. In 1999 the US imported 23.4 million carats (karats) of diamond and only .07 million carats of Moissanite. There are other diamond surrogates obtainable such as cubic zirconia or even glass. Moissanite outperforms all these estimably. Moissanite is not really a diamond surrogate though. If you are thinking of diamond jewelry then moissanite has to be considered. It is a lot cheaper than a similar diamond. It is a great jewel. Many other stars have been seen wearing moissanite jewels in the last few years. Moissanite is the newest and positively one of the finest jewels stones available. Moissanite is here to stay.