Where the world comes to find out about diamonds. Newsletter. February 2013 Volume 3 Number 2

Transcription

1 Where the world comes to find out about diamonds Newsletter February 2013 Volume 3 Number 2

2 Where the world comes to find out about diamonds Newsletter of the Price of Diamonds website Price of Diamonds Newsletter February 2013 Edition Editor in Chief Michael Moore Advertising Technical Author Services Pty Ltd The PRICE OF DIAMONDS NEWSLETTER Is the Newsletter of the Price of Diamonds website and is available by subscription only. This Newsletter is provided subject to the condition that it shall not be circulated in any form without the publisher s cover and acknowledgement of the material contained herein and is not to be sold, hired or otherwise disposed of for any fee or consideration other than by prior arrangement. It may be distributed online and passed along only in its current form and with the above proviso. Comments and articles published in the Price of Diamonds Newsletter are not necessarily the opinions of the Publishers or Editors and are offered solely for information purposes only. This publication is designed to provide accurate and informative information only in regard to the subject matter covered. This publication does not purport to offer any professional advice of any legal, financial or psychological service and is sold with the understanding that the publisher, editor and contributors are not engaged in rendering any legal, financial, psychological or any other professional service and is offered for information purposes only. If any legal, financial, psychological or any other professional advice or assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. The reader is solely responsible for his/her own actions. Copyright 2013 By Technical Author Services Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Dear Reader, ~ Editorial ~ Welcome to the February Edition. We have some more information about buying diamonds in this issue as well as our regular diamond dealer review. Also some information about Garnets, a much misunderstood stone, in our reviews of gemstones. Happy reading! Michael Price of Diamonds In this Issue Editorial 2 Diamond Dealer 3 Diamond Events 7 The Garnet 8 How to buy Genuine Diamonds 11 Glossary 14 All copyrights and trademarks belong to their respective owners ~oo00oo~ 2

3 ~ Diamond Dealer of the Month ~ A Diamond is Forever W ho are A Diamond is Forever? The website, adiamondisforever.com is the site of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC). The Diamond Trading Company is a subsidiary of and the marketing arm of the famous De Beers SA Diamond Company, owned by the Oppenheimer family and Anglo American. De Beers supplies around half of the rough diamonds from its mines in Botswana, Namibia, South America and Tanzania. The Chairman of the Diamond Trading Company, is Nicholas F. (Nicky) Oppenheimer, the Managing Director, Varda Shine and the Executive Director for Finance and Administration is Mike Page. The Diamond Trading Company is located in 17 Charterhouse St. London. Its Diamond is Forever Program is an advertising campaign launched and promoted by the Diamond Trading company. Diamond Trading Company Description The Diamond Trading Company Ltd (DTC) is the sales and marketing jewel of diamondmining giant De Beers SA. De Beers sort, value and cut around 40% by value of all the rough diamonds in the world through their offices in London, Kimberley in South Africa as well as their joint government operations in Botswana and Namibia. After sorting and valuing the diamonds, the company sells the gems to clients, referred to in the trade as sightholders. On the marketing side, the DTC promotes diamonds to consumers through such programs as the well-known A Diamond Is Forever advertising campaign and FOREVERMARK inscription. The FOREVERMARK inscription, is a symbol and unique identification number, and is placed on the table facet of the diamond using some highly advanced proprietary technology. It is 1/20th of a micron deep, equal to approximately 1/500th of the thickness of a human hair. It is invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with a special viewer at FOR- EVERMARK retailers. According to the website, The technology used for inscribing the FOREVERMARK symbol and unique identification number is unique and proprietary to the De Beers Group. It allows for fast and accurate inscribing on the table of the polished diamond. The FOREVERMARK Viewer makes use of special illumination and magnification techniques, providing two views of the stone and the FOREVERMARK inscription without revealing its internal characteristics. Each diamond with the FOREVERMARK has a Certificate of Authenticity which provides an assurance that the diamond is genuine, natural and has not been altered or treated by any artificial means. This Certificate also authenticates that the De Beers stone was mined, cut and polished in an ethically, socially and environmentally responsible way. The FOREVERMARK Certificate of Authenticity includes details of carat weight, shape, date of inscription, the unique individual identification number as well as an actual image of the microscopic inscription on the diamond. 3

4 The FOREVERMARK is also registered as a private company incorporated in England and Wales. The website is The website is primarily designed to position diamonds as timeless and everlasting. Also that diamonds are valuable and the right thing to buy or have for a woman. De Beers are continuing cultivating diamonds as being the De Beers also now have many stores opening up around the world. They already have many in Japan, China and the rest of Asia. Now starting to open up many stores in the US and the UK and eventually will cover the world with their own stores, thus improving their revenue and decreasing their costs moving stones from mine to customer. Who are DeBeers Diamonds DeBeers are probably the most well known diamond miners and producers on the planet and they have probably influence the price of diamonds more than any other company. The DeBeers group of companies is based in Johannesburg in South Africa and has been synonymous with Diamonds for over a century. Price of Diamonds DeBeers Mining According to Wikipedia, "De Beers Mining takes place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. Mining in Botswana takes place through the mining company Debswana, a joint venture with the government of Botswana. In Namibia it takes place through Namdeb, a joint venture with the government of Namibia. Mining in South Africa mining takes place through De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), a partnership with the broad based black economic empowerment partner, Ponahalo Investments. In Tanzania it occurs through a partnership with the government of Tanzania, 75% owned by De Beers, 25% by government. In 2007, De Beers is expected to open its first mine in Canada (called "Snap Lake", located in Canada's North West Territories)." DeBeers Sales and Marketing DeBeers has its own sales and marketing arm. This is a company called the Diamond Trading Company (the DTC). DeBeers sells almost half of the worlds rough diamonds through this marketing arm. History of DeBeers It was founded by Cecil John Rhodes and Charles Dunell Rudd in In the 20th Century the Oppenheimer family became the major shareholders and with Sir Earnest Oppenheimer and his Son Harry and grandson Nicky all being Chairmen of the company at one time or another. DeBeers, these days, is a collection of companies. They are, collectively responsible for around 40% of the worlds diamond production by value. De Beers is active in every category of diamond production from the mining of diamonds right through to sales to retail and online with the DeBeers chain of outlets. This is almost half of the world rough diamond (rough diamond are those from the mine and before they are polished for sale to jewelry manufacturers and diamond dealers around the world). However this includes diamonds produced by the Russian company, Alrosa, which DeBeers has an agreement. That agreement is due to expire at the end of 2009, unless of course it is renewed. If it is not then Alrosa will become a direct competitor to DeBeers. The rough diamonds sold by DeBeers through their arm, DTC, are purchased by the world's leading diamantaires known as Sightholders. Sightholders buy tailored assortments or "parcels" of rough diamonds from a blended 4

5 "mix" of diamonds from the various mines. These clients are chosen following assessment against a set of objective selection criteria according to their ability to add value to diamonds as well as their audited adherence to the DTC's Diamond Best Practice Principles, which cover business ethics, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the industry's System of Warranties, labour standards, health and safety as well as environment. De Beers have actively promoted diamonds as being symbolic of eternity and love, and therefore the ideal jewel for an engagement or wedding ring. Their famously successful advertising campaigns have included such measures as, showing diamonds as wedding gifts in popular romance films, publishing stories in magazines and newspapers which would emphasize the romantic value of diamonds and associate them with celebrities, employing fashion designers and other trendsetters to promote the trend on radio and, later, television and even enlisting the British Royal Family to directly promote diamonds. The slogan "A Diamond is Forever," invented by N. W. Ayer, is one of the most successful slogans in marketing history. Its purpose is to ensure women are dissuaded from selling the diamonds they have received and thereby preventing a secondary market. The result of this is that retailers sell diamonds at a high price without any competition from a secondary market, and it also allows De Beers to maintain control of the diamond trade at wholesale level. The company has enjoyed a near monopoly on the diamond industry for many years until discoveries of diamond deposits outside of De- Beers control reduced their world share to around 60%. Potted History Sir Ernest Oppenheimer was, by all accounts, a man not to be messed with. He was born in Freiberg, Germany, to a cigar merchant, and found himself in London at the age of 17 working in a diamond brokerage house. Dunkelsbuhler & Company liked what they saw in the boy, who was a hard worker and a pugilist by nature. They sent him to South Africa, to the embankments of the Kimberley Hole to represent them. Sadly for them, he wasn't interested in representing anyone but himself. He looked around, and set off to find the biggest guy in town from whom to wrest a company. That fellow was Cecil John Rhodes. In 1902, diamonds were discovered in a rich pipe of kimberlite that came to be called Cullinan. The resultant mine and its owner, Sir Thomas Cullinan, were different, mostly because they refused to sell to the reigning cartel, a little company called De Beers Consolidated Mines. De Beers was lorded over by Cecil John Rhodes, who effectively ran the diamond industry as a personal fiefdom, controlling 90% of the market. Rhodes was backed by the Rothschild family, and the company originally represented a consortium of Rhodes and Barney Barnato's holdings. Over the years, the company created the diamond brand, fixing prices to such an extent that something with no value, outside of specific industries like glass cutting, became a sound investment and a luxury product.. It so happened that Cullinan Mine started digging up their own shiny baubles, shunning De Beers for Ernie Oppenheimer, late of Dunkelsbuhler & Company. De Beers viewed this as an unwelcome development, and it indeed signalled the beginning of the end of the company's first era. For Cullinan soon equalled De Beers in production and, adding insult to injury, in 1905 (three years after Rhodes' death) mined the biggest rough stone ever found. The Cullinan Diamond in its uncut form weighed 3106 carats, over half a kilogram. This was serious bling, which today might have found its way into L'il Wayne' teeth, but was then 5

6 chopped into the Great Star of Africa, and used to tart up His Majesty's royal appurtenances. Ernest Oppenheimer's wealth and power shot into the stratosphere. In 1917, he started up the Anglo American Corporation, backed by J.P. Morgan. Ten years later, after buying himself a seat on the board of De Beers, he put Cecil John Rhodes' remaining legacy in a chokehold, and squeezed until it cried "Uncle." Ernest Oppenheimer; Harry Oppenheimer That, in a nutshell, is how Oppenheimer came to own one of this country's emblematic companies. Once under the Oppenheimer ambit, De Beers really started getting nasty. The CIA made an unsubstantiated complaint that Oppenheimer restricted rough diamond sales to the United States during World War II. Every other diamond producer was forced to sell their goods through the De Beers channel. If they refused, De Beers simply flooded the market with their product, duly sinking them. The company was notorious for purchasing and stockpiling diamonds, trickling them into the market in order to control prices. The diamond industry was a genuine cartel, run by one company, dominated by one family. When Frances Gerety of N.W. Ayer and Son coined the phrase "A Diamond is Forever," it was game Price of Diamonds over. De Beers and diamonds became synonymous. It had to end, and it did. By the year 2000, De Beers were reduced to owning 40 percent of the market. Their cartel had been smashed by developers in Russia, China and Canada. They were now in bed with the Namibian government for 50 percent of Namdeb, and the Botswana government for 50 percent of Debswana. And yet, they still dominated, if not in terms of market share, then by a form of Spock -like mind control over their contemporaries in the industry. Kimberley Process According to DeBeers, "Every diamond in De Beers Diamond Jewellery is conflict-free and child labor free. De Beers is aware of the problem of conflict diamonds and has taken measures to guarantee that no conflict diamonds enter its supply chain or its jewellery." DeBeers participates in the Kimberley process. See Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. More about DeBeers is available at priceofdiamonds.org/debeers_diamonds.shtml ~oo00oo~ 6

7 Up and Coming Diamond & Jewelery Shows in 2013 Istanbul Jewelry Show March CNR Expo Center Istanbul, Turkey The Istanbul Jewelry Show will be held at the CNR Expo Center in Istanbul, Turkey. It will bring together professionals related to jewellery industry from Middle & Near East, Russia, CIS Nations, Eastern Europe and the Northern Coast of Africa. The event will display various products such as silver jewelry & households, diamonds, semi precious, precious, pearls, synthetic stones machinery, equipment, fine gold jewelry and fancy gold jewelry. The show will witness a huge number of attendees which will figure up to 30,000. In this show, many exhibitors are going to participate from all over the globe to showcase their latest products. The Istanbul Jewelery Show will invite participation from more than 1,100 exhibitors. The event will be hosting top most experts related to this sector sharing ideas and skills with the attendees. ~o0o~ Precious Metals, Diamonds & Gemstones Summit 2013 April 2013 (No final dates as yet) Ironmongers Hall London, United Kingdom Objective Capital s Precious Metals, Diamonds and Gemstones Investment Summit brings together London s financial community with precious metals producers. The Precious Metals, Diamonds & Gemstones Summit is dedicated to Precious Metals, Diamonds & Gemstones issues such as: jewellery markets, investment, mining, gold and platinum and more. ~o0o~ 20th Malaysia International Jewellery Festival Spring Edition Friday,19 Apr 2013 To Monday,22 Apr th Malaysia International Jewellery Festival 2013, Spring edition (MIJ 13) will host over 250 Jewellery exhibitors from more than 20 countries and regions include Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Italy, India Sri Lanka, Cambodia, etc. MIJ 13 will be held exclusively at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on 19th-22nd April This international business platform will be a precious opportunity for manufacturers, retailers, and entrepreneur to expand their business globally and achieve higher profitability. MIJ Exhibition Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ~oo00oo~ 7

8 The Garnet The word Garnet comes from the Latin, 'granatus' meaning grain. This is a possible reference to the pomegranate fruit which has seeds of a similar shape size and color to some garnet stones. Although many people think of garnets as green garnets are in fact, usually red in color but can also be found in a number of other colors including purple, orange, yellow green brown and even black. Even colorless crystals of garnet have also been found. In the 1990s a color change garnet blue to red/ pink material was found in Bekily, Madagascar. However these are extremely rare. In daylight the color can be shades of green, beige, brown, gray and rarely blue which then change to a reddish or purplish/pink color in incandescent light. These garnets are composed of a mix of spessartine and pyrope, as are Malaya garnets. The color change of these new garnets is often more intense and more dramatic than the color change of top quality Alexandrite garnets which sell for many thousands of U.S. dollars per carat. It is expected that blue color-change garnets will match Alexandrite prices or even exceed them as the color change is often better and these garnets are much rarer. The blue color-change type is mainly caused by relatively high amounts of vanadium. The garnet is a beautiful stone that has been in use since the Bronze Age and is the birthstone for January. Possibly the most famous green Garnet is Tsavorith or Tsavolith, another Grossularite. Tiffany's in New York re-named the stone which had been discovered in 1967 by British geologist Campbell R. Bridges in North-East Tanzania. The emerald-green stone was named after its occurrence near the famous game park Tsavo-National Park. Tsavorith is of a vivid light to velvety deep green and, like all other garnets, is of strikingly high brilliance. The garnet group of minerals show crystals with a habit of rhombic dodecahedrons and trapezohedrons. They are nesosilicates with the same general formula, X3Y2(SiO4)3 in which the X site is usually occupied by divalent cations (Ca, Mg, Fe2+) and the Y site by trivalent cations (Al, Fe3+, Cr). The chemical elements in garnet include calcium, magnesium, aluminium, iron2+, iron3+, chromium, manganese, and titanium. Garnets show no cleavage and a dodecahedral parting. Fracture is conchoidal to uneven; some varieties are very tough and are valuable for abrasive purposes. hardness is , specific gravity is , lustre is vitreous to resinous, and they can be transparent to opaque. The name "garnet" comes from the Latin granatus ("grain"), possibly a reference to the malum granatum ("pomegranate"), a plant with red seeds similar in shape, size, and color to some garnet crystals. 8

9 Garnets are most commonly red in color but can be found in a variety of colors, including purple, red, orange, yellow, green, brown, black, or colorless. The lack of a blue garnet was remedied in 1990s following the discovery of color-change blue to red/pink material in Bekily, Madagascar but these stones are very rare. Color-change garnets are by far the rarest garnets except uvarovite, which does not come in cuttable sizes. In daylight, their color can be shades of green, beige, brown, gray and rarely blue, to a reddish or purplish/pink color in incandescent light. By composition, these garnets are a mix of spessartine and pyrope, as are Malaya garnets. The color change of these new garnets is often more intense and more dramatic than the color change of top quality Alexandrite which is frequently disappointing, but still sells for many thousands of U.S. dollars per carat. It is expected that blue color-change garnets will match Alexandrite prices or even exceed them as the color change is often better and these garnets are much rarer. The blue color-change type is mainly caused by relatively high amounts of vanadium (about 1 wt.% V2O3). Six common varieties of garnet are recognized based on their chemical composition. They are pyrope, almandine or carbuncle, spessartite, grossularite (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series; 1. pyrope-almandine-spessarite and 2. uvarovite-grossularite-andradite. Garnet is the birthstone for January, and has been used since the Bronze Age. Buying garnets is a fairly simple matter. There are just a few guidelines to keep in mind. Firstly buy from a reputable dealer, either online or in your own city. Find the best possible dealer you can. They have more to lose selling fakes so of course do not. This does not mean buying from a 'chain' jewelers. It means sourcing out a real dealer in garnets and that can also mean doing some research to find out who is the best. As with diamonds, due to the rarity and beauty of the garnet there are many fakes on the market and it pays to know something about garnets and how to tell the real from the fake. The garnet should be clear with no or invisible inclusions (bubbles within the stone caused when it was first formed) or flaws. Examine the stone for the cut. Does the surface reflect light evenly? Check for any scratches or marks on the surface of the stone. It is a good idea to examine two or more garnets together. That way you can select the stone you like the most. Lastly keep in mind that if the stone is "cheap" it is most likely not a real garnet. Some garnets are more valuable and therefore more pricy than diamonds so you can end up paying many thousands of dollars for a really fine garnet. So it pays not to just take on trust the first 'garnet' you are offered by the local jeweler. Try to look at several at the same 9

10 time. Do a comparison. Also check the setting, is it a claw setting or a paste or glued in? You need to see the back of the gemstone also so it should be a claw setting, especially for a ring. What sort of metal is the garnet set in. 9 karat gold or higher? It should be at least 14 karat gold or pure platinum. Garnets look splendid in any setting and can really set off the metal it is set in. Check the stone for cracks, scratches and that it is a good symmetrical cut. All good quality garnets should be accompanied by a certificate from an independent gemological laboratory. If it does not have this ask for one and if the dealer will not give you one (simply offers his own perhaps) then go elsewhere. Unlike diamonds, which can show of their beauty even when small, say below a carat. garnets really need to be at least one carat or more to display their splendour to the best advantage. The bigger you can afford on your budget the better. ~oo00oo~ 10

11 How to Buy Genuine Diamonds You don t need to know ALL about diamonds in order to ensure you are buying genuine diamonds and not fakes. However, there are some diamond scams or cheats that occur sometimes and it is best to be aware of them. There is no substitute for educating yourself about diamonds and understanding how they are graded and what the most common ways of tricking consumers into buying poor quality diamonds art a high price or even fake diamonds sold as real. Here is a list of the areas to look out for. Sometimes a jeweler will tell you that the diamond you are looking for is a, This is a blue-white diamond. This might sound nice but it is an old term and not used much these days. The term bluewhite refers to the fluorescence that results in natural light, which contains ultraviolet wavelengths. Blue fluorescence can actually makes a colorless diamond look a little oily or milky in sunlight and decreases its value. With stones that have a faint yellow color, a moderate amount of fluorescence will make it look whiter as it will cancel some of the yellow. So ignore the term blue-white when used by a jeweler. It is said to impress and does not necessarily describe a good quality stone. Price of Diamonds Jewelers often list total carat weight of a ring and not the center stone separately. This can be a problem as the center stone is generally of a higher quality than the surrounding smaller stones. If the carat weight of the center stone is proportionately less than the additional smaller stones which are often of a lower quality. This can mean the value of the center stone is less than implied and this can make a difference a thousand dollars or more. In addition you cannot properly compare the carat price of a diamond in a ring with another diamond in another ring this was as you don t know the actual carat weight of the diamond. This can be crucial as a larger diamond of the same weight as the total weight of 6 smaller ones say is proportionately worth much more. The value of a one carat diamond is worth much more than the total weight of 6 smaller diamond of the same quality. For instance, if you have one G/VS2 diamond weighing 1.00 carat, it might be worth about $5,500. But 10 smaller G/VS2 diamonds totalling 1.00 carats might only be worth about $1,800. Smaller stones are also usually of poorer quality as it is the bigger stone people look at and rarely do people consider the smaller stones in a ring. The way to over come this is to ask for the weight of the center stone in writing. If the jeweler will not give it, go elsewhere. Discounts and sales. In a nutshell if a jeweler can sell a diamond at half price then he has marked it up far too 11

12 high in the first place. It usually means that the actual value of the diamonds for sale is much lower than even the sale price and therefore the quality is also. Ask to see a certificate from an independent gemological laboratory and see what the jeweler says. If he says, huh? or it is not needed for this particular diamond, go elsewhere. You get what you pay for and if you pay for cheap diamonds you will get exactly that. If you go to a store to buy a specific diamond you have seen advertised and are then told when you get there that, That diamond has been sold but here is a great one. Don t buy. This is called the Bait-and-Switch and quite common in many stores. It is illegal but difficult to monitor and so many stores will get away with it. Do you notice that all jewelery stores have heaps of white light? This is to show of the diamonds in the best possible manner. This is fair enough, every jeweler wants to show off his wares in the best possible light. But some go a little further. Some light bulbs have strong ultras violet wavelengths and these tend to make most diamond fluoresce blue. Of course this is artificial and the easy answer to this is to take the diamond outside in natural light and look at it there. Then you will see the true color of the diamond. Again, always ask for a certificate from an independent laboratory and if the jeweler will not supply one, then goodbye jeweler. Another reason for getting a proper certificate is that some jewelers engage in the popular art of grade bumping. Here they will state that the diamond is of a higher grade than it actually is. This can make a difference of a thousand dollars or so to the price of a diamond. In part two of Buy Genuine Diamonds there are more points to watch for when you venture forth to buy that diamond you have always been wishing for. There is something called the Fraction System. Here you need to be careful also and make sure Price of Diamonds you are getting exactly what you are paying for. You look at a diamond and the tag states it is a 3/4 carat diamond. Looks fine and the price seems right. However the FTC allows jewelers to round off diamond weights and guess in what direction they round them off! A diamond labelled as a 3/4 carat weight diamond may actually weigh anywhere between.69 and.81 carats. This can be a lot of money as, apart from anything else, the price of a diamond leaps up exponentially with the increase in weight. For example you might buy a diamond that has been rounded down to.69 carats when it is advertised as.75 carats (3/4 carat). If a diamond of G/VS2 is worth about 2,100 dollars but you bought a diamond you thought was.75 carats and paid 3000 dollars you will have lost 900 dollars. Imagine your surprise when you come to get the stone valued at some date in the future! You need to get in writing the exact weight of the center diamond and if they profess being unable to do so then I suggest you leave the store and go elsewhere. Many dealers will give an in house appraisal of a diamond they are selling. You don t hire a fox to guard the hen house and you don t expect to get an appraisal in your favor from the dealer selling, you a diamond. In all cases you should get an appraisal from an independent gemologist or appraiser. Some diamonds have flaws and you should ask a jeweler to take a diamond out of a setting to show you the underside or the area when the prongs hold the diamond in place as that will be where any flaws are present. You might consider a small flaw does not matter but it does when it comes to the value and the price of the diamond. Diamonds in rings sometimes turn and that sudden black spot you notice is not new but was previously hidden by the Claws or prongs. Another thing to watch for is altering the grading of diamonds on certificates. This is most 12

13 rare as certificates from gemological laboratories are usually laminated to prevent such activities. Check the edges of a laminated certificate. If the edges look like they have been tampered with then walk away and do not buy that diamond as it is quite possibly lower grade than stated on the certificate. Fake certificates are also obtainable. These come from similar sounding names to existing laboratories but are actually fake and the laboratory does not really exist. An official local gemologist certificate is most likely owned by the jewelery store you are thinking about purchasing from and so is hardly likely to give an impartial assessment of the stone. Don t accept certificates from labs with familiar-sounding names like Gemological Institutions of America (instead of Gemological Institute of America), or American Gemological Services (instead of American Gemological Society). If it is not from the true GIA, AGS or EGL gem labs as described on other pages of this site, don t believe it. Check the yellow pages in your country to find the real gemological laboratories in your country. That is not to say that the smaller jewelers are not selling the genuine article. Just that you have no way of verifying that without a proper certificate. Sometimes a dealer will ask you to leave a deposit while you take the diamond for an appraisal elsewhere. This is fine provided that you get a written guarantee that the deposit is refundable if the appraisal does not satisfy you and you return the diamond. If this is refused. Leave the shop. Also ensure that the exact measurements of the diamond are written down also including the weight, color and clarity on the agreement form. Always compare prices yourself. Do not accept the compare price charts and list prices of the dealers. These are couched in such a way as to make their diamonds look cheaper. In fact genuine diamonds are all very much the same price. The only way a dealer can offer you a cheap diamond is they are disguising the quality of the diamond and it is less than you are told. Three other points to watch for, although not so common these days. Make sure it is a genuine diamond and not a moissanite. Again a proper genuine certificate describing the diamond will help here. Some diamonds have a fracture and this is filled by melting a type of crystal into the surface fractures of a diamond. This is fine but this should be stated at the time of sale and the price reduced accordingly. Be aware also that many laboratories will not give a certificate for fracture filled diamonds Lastly there is the situation where a diamond might be painted or chemically coated. This is a deceptive practice and involves just a tiny spot of purple or blue pain on the lowest tip of the diamond, also called the culet. Unless you look real close you my not detect it. It makes an inferior diamond look more like and expensive diamond so is something to watch for. A way of detecting this is to ask for the diamond to be ultrasonically washed in front of you. If the dealer refuses. Its bye bye dealer. The above are just a few points to watch for when buying genuine diamonds. There is no substitute for doing due diligence and understanding all about diamonds and the price of diamonds and their value. This way you can be sure you are buying genuine diamonds! ~oo00oo~ 13

14 Diamond Glossary H ere are some common words used in the Diamond Industry and in this newsletter. 4Cs Diamonds are graded and priced according to what is universally referred to as the "4C's". They are Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. Below an explanation of each of the 4Cs: Appraisal A valuation of property by the estimate of an authorized person. With diamonds the appraisal is a written estimate of the approximate retail replacement value of diamond jewelry, which may be used for insurance coverage or other purposes. It is not the same as a grading report, which evaluates a diamond's characteristics (such as cut, clarity, carat, symmetry, etc.) only. Blemish A scratch or abrasion on the surface of a diamond. Provided they do not interfere with the symmetry of the stone and do not interfere with light in the stone they are not considered important. Brilliance brilliance is the white light that is reflected through the top of a diamond. This can be increase by the diamond being cut to the correct proportions to take advantage of the reflection of light from the facets to the brilliance. Brilliant Cut A Brilliant Cut, sometimes called the American Brilliant, is a 58-facet round diamond, This shape and faceting arrangement is designed for maximum brilliance, sparkle and beauty and is perhaps the most popular shape. Carat Perhaps everyone know the term carat. The basic unit of weight for a diamond. A carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or one-fifth of a gram. It is said that the word is derived from the word carob. In early India the carob bean was used for measuring the weight of gems as every carob seed weighs exactly the same. Clarity Clarity is the term given to indicate the purity of a diamond. Most diamonds have minute imperfections and the clarity is the way of grading the purity depending on the number of imperfections the diamond has or does not have. Cloud A cluster of very small inclusions inside a diamond that give a cloud effect. Tiny clouds will not interfere with the flow of light, but large or numerous clouds can affect brilliance. Color Diamonds are traditionally thought of as white or clear. But diamonds in fact do have color and this can be graded. Crown The crown is the top section of a diamond, above its widest point, or girdle, that comprises the table, and the star-, bezel- and uppergirdle facets. Culet A facet on the very bottom of a diamond. It is best to have a small or medium culet. A large culet will make it look like there is a hole in the bottom of the stone due to leakage of light. Absence of a culet makes the point of the diamond more easily damaged or chipped. 14

15 Cut This describes the shape of the diamond. There are basically eight cuts of diamond. Round Brilliant Emerald Cut Princess Cut Heart Cut Oval Cut Marquise Cut Pear Cut Round Brilliant Some of the most popular diamond cuts include Heart, Emerald, Marquise (Oval with pointed ends), Oval, Pear, and Princess with the Round Brilliant (R/B) probably being the most popular. Depth % (percentage) The height of a diamond (measured from the culet to the table) divided by the width of the diamond. The depth % is critical to creating brilliance and fire in a diamond. A depth % that is too low or too high will cause light to leak out of the stone, causing the diamond to lose sparkle. Depth The height of a diamond (measured from the culet at the very bottom to the large table facet on the top). Diamond The simplest of all the gemstones consisting of pure crystallized carbon. A diamond crystallizes under enormous pressure deep beneath the earth's surface Diamonds can be from 1 to 3 billion years old--more than two-thirds the age of the Earth itself. Diamond is also the hardest substance known to man. In fact, it can only be cut and polished by another diamond. Despite its hardness, however, it is not indestructible. If a diamond is struck at the right angle, it can chip or break. Eye-clean A diamond that has no inclusions visible to the naked eye -- flawless to the naked eye. This is normally true of all diamonds with a grade of about SI-1 or higher on the clarity scale. Facet The polished flat surfaces on a diamond. For example, a round brilliant diamond has 58 facets including the culet. Fair Cut Diamonds cut to less than perfect proportions. They have been cut to maximize the weight of the stone instead of enhancing the brilliance and sacrifice fire and brilliance. The less expensive stones may have good and very good cuts but will not have the same brilliance and fire that people would expect from a diamond. Fire Fire is the colored light that is reflected from inside the diamond. Colored light reflected from within a diamond. As in a prism light entering a diamond is divided up into the spectrum. The better quality diamond with better proportions the better the 'fire' of the diamond. This is called "refraction" or "dispersion" in the diamond trade. Fluorescence A glow, usually of a bluish color, which emanates from certain diamonds when exposed to ultraviolet light. Two thirds of all diamonds fluoresce to some degree but how they do so depends very much on the type of ultra violet light they are under. Girdle this is the narrow band around the outer circumference of a diamond. This is where a jewelry setting holds the diamond in a ring. Good Cut Diamonds cut with acceptable, but not perfect, 15

16 proportions. They generally have very good brilliance and fire and make excellent jewelry. altered rock, undecomposed kimberlite, which miners call "blue ground. Ice A colloquial word for diamonds, much favored by Hollywood in movies about gangsters. Ideal Cut Ideal Cut diamonds are usually more expensive than all other cut grades. This is due to three major factors: 1) extra time and skill are required to cut to such precision; 2) they are in great demand, and perhaps most importantly, 3) more of the original rough diamond must be sacrificed to achieve ideal proportions. Ideal Cut diamonds are also round diamonds that are perfectly proportioned (having depth percentages and table percentages that some people feel produce a "perfect" balance of fire and brilliance). They almost always have the highest grades on polish and symmetry as well, indicating the great care taken in the overall fashioning of the stone. These diamonds have had the finest craftsmanship to maximize the beauty of the diamond. Inclusion An impurity within a diamond, such as a spot or irregularity in the crystal structure of the stone. These can include a cloud, a fracture, another diamond inside the bigger one, liquid, etc. Inclusions can either be visible with the naked eye (usually SI-3 clarity and below) or visible only under magnification. Fewer inclusions means a finer clarity grade, increased rarity, and increased value. Kimberlite Kimberlite is a mica peridotite and a source of rich deposits of diamonds. The deposits occurring at Kimberley, South Africa were the first recognized and the source of the name. The Kimberly diamonds were originally found in decomposed kimberlite which was colored yellow by limonite, and so was called "yellow ground." Deeper workings encountered less Loupe A loupe is a small magnifying glass used to view gemstones. Usually 10x, or ten-power, magnification. The FTC requires all diamond grading be done under 10-power magnification; any flaws not detected under this magnification are considered to be non-existent by some dealers. Make Make describes the quality of the finish and proportions of a diamond. A good make will have proportions that maximize brilliance and fire. A poor make will decrease sparkle and fire due to the loss of light as it travels through the stone. The cutter is responsible for the make of a diamond as he is the one that cuts it to achieve the maximum brilliance and fire. Mohs Scale The Mohs scale is a table of relative hardness that ranks a mineral's strength and durability on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being talc and 10 being diamond. Developed over 100 years ago by Frederic Mohs. Moissanite Moissanite is silicon carbide and is manufactured in a laboratory. It is virtually indistinguishable from diamonds and it takes a real expert with special equipment to be able to tell the difference. Pavilion This is the bottom half of a diamond, from the lower girdle to the culet tip at the bottom. The pavilion should be neither too deep or too shallow otherwise light will leak out and the diamond will lose fire and brilliance. Peridotite Any of a group of igneous rocks having a granite like texture. 16

17 Point A measure of diamond weight. One point equals 1/100th of a carat. A diamond that weighs 0.50 carat is said to weigh 50 points. Polish A grade given to the external finish of a stone. The polish grades are from poor to excellent. Good polish is crucial for maximum brilliance of a diamond, but it takes a trained eye to distinguish between polish grades. Poor Cut Poorly cut diamonds with proportions and finish that make them look relatively lifeless to the eye. Such stones are ok for industry but not for jewelry. Sparkle The 'sparkle' of a diamond is the combination of fire and brilliance. The light that reflects out of a diamond as it moves. Sometimes called "scintillation" by older dealers. Stones A word for diamonds and other precious gems. Symmetry A diamond should by symmetrical. Symmetry is the grade used to describe the uniformity of the cut of the diamond. This can range from excellent down to poor. The un-symmetrical a diamond is the poorer will be the quality of light through the stone. Table The top or large flat face of the diamond is called the table. It should be in proportion to the rest of the diamond to gain the best fire and brilliance. Tourngat Diamonds cut to fit very strict requirements for depth percentage and table percentage. These outstanding proportions maximize fire and brilliance in the diamond. Also a region of northern Quebec. Weight the weight of a diamond is measured in carats.a carat is.2 grams. A gram of diamond would be a massive 5 carats. Very large in diamond terms although the actual diamond is physically small. Wholesale Wholesale prices are listed PER CARAT to show this price difference. For instance, a 1/2- carat round brilliant diamond of G/VS2 quality may sell for $3,600 per carat ($1,800 for the stone), whereas a 1-carat stone of the same quality would likely cost $6,300 per carat ($6,300 for the stone) because it is twice the size and more rare. Zirconia Also known as Cubic Zirconia, this is a substance often used as a substitute to genuine diamonds. It is a carborundum substance and easily told from diamonds due to being heavier than diamonds. ~oo00oo~ 17