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The first step is to understand the 4 major
characteristics that determine the quality of a diamond. Next, you should know
what are the ideal conditions in which to examine a diamond.
- Diamonds should always be examined outside
of a setting
- The setting can conceal flaws and yellow tints
in the diamond.
- Use a magnifying glass
- You really need to have a magnified view of
the diamond to identify small flaws and tints. Use a professional
jeweler's magnifying glass (loupe) with 10 times magnification.
- View diamonds under fluorescent lighting
only.
- Other types of lighting can give a diamond an
artificially enhanced sparkle.
- Use a diamond boat.
- View diamonds placed upside down in a diamond
boat. A diamond boat is a very white piece of paper folded into the
shape of a trough. The whiteness of the paper allows you to see yellow
tints in the diamond more easily. Do not view the diamond on dark velvet
because the velvet will make the diamond look whiter and brighter.
How to examine a diamond
The first step is to understand the 4 major
characteristics that determine the quality of a diamond. Next, you should
know what are the ideal conditions in which to examine a diamond.
- Diamonds should always be examined
outside of a setting
- The setting can conceal flaws and yellow
tints in the diamond.
- Use a magnifying glass
- You really need to have a magnified view
of the diamond to identify small flaws and tints. Use a professional
jeweler's magnifying glass (loupe) with 10 times magnification.
- View diamonds under fluorescent
lighting only.
- Other types of lighting can give a diamond
an artificially enhanced sparkle.
- Use a diamond boat.
- View diamonds placed upside down in a
diamond boat. A diamond boat is a very white piece of paper folded
into the shape of a trough. The whiteness of the paper allows you to
see yellow tints in the diamond more easily. Do not view the diamond
on dark velvet because the velvet will make the diamond look whiter
and brighter.
Getting another opinion
Get the jeweler to give you a written guarantee of the
diamond's grading. Then get the diamond analyzed and graded by an impartial
third party gem laboratory such as the Gemological Institute of America or
the International Gemmological Institute.
Some common rip-offs
Here are some common ways in which diamonds are
misrepresented. Your best protection is to buy loose stones that are
appraised by an impartial gem laboratory.
- Under-carating
- Diamonds that are mounted in a ring
setting can have inflated weight ratings.
- Diamond treatment
- Fracture filling (sometimes called
"Clarity Enhanced") is the technique for covering up flaws. Dyes and
coats are also used to make the diamond look better than it really
is. A blue dye can disguise the yellow color of a diamond.
Gold Ratings
Karats tell you how much of a metal is gold. The
number of karats means how many parts out of 24 is gold. 24 karat means the
metal is 100 percent gold. 14 karats means 14 parts out of 24 is gold. The
other 10 parts is made up of other metal(s). Gold jewelry is marked with an
imprint of the number of karats and a k, for example, 14k can usually be
found on the inside of the ring band. Again go to a reputed jeweler when
buying gold to have a better chance of getting what you pay for.
Different types of metals used for
rings
Your ring can be made up of one of these metals or a
combination of them. For example, one popular combination is yellow gold and
platinum.
Gold
Gold does not always have to be yellow. By mixing
in other metals a gold alloy can be produced with white, pink and green
colors. Here's the composition of various gold alloys.
Gold Alloys
| Yellow gold |
Gold, copper and silver |
| Green gold |
Gold, silver, copper and zinc |
| Pink gold |
Gold and copper |
| White gold |
Gold, zinc, copper and
either nickel or palladium |
Platinum
Platinum is a popular choice for wedding and
engagement rings. This rare metal resembles white gold and silver, but
is more durable than silver, and can cost much more than gold because of
its scarcity.
Common types of settings
Prong
In this type of setting a set of metal claws hold
the gem in place. The Tiffany setting is a six prong setting.
Other styles of prong settings are four-prong, fishtail
and belcher.
Channel
This setting is used for mounting a series of
small gems of the same size in a row.
Pavé
With this type of setting a group of small gems
are set together in a cluster so that no metal shows between them. This
setting is also referred to as a cluster setting.
Ring Insurance
You should add the ring as a household possession
to your homeowner's or renter's policy. Don't wait. Why risk it after you
spent all that time and money?
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