What Exactly is a Diamond?

Timeless. Forever. These are just a few of the many words used to describe one of the world's most infamous stones - the diamond.

Derived from the Greek word "adamas" which means "invincible", diamond is the only known mineral that is composed of a single element. Diamonds are completely made of Carbon which is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. High pressure and temperatures, ranging from 900 to 1300 degrees Celsius deep underground near the Earth's core, liquefy then crystallize carbon atoms into pieces of rough diamond. Eventually, over extremely long periods of time, these rough diamonds are pushed towards the earth's surface, usually through volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and other geologic events. This is why rough diamonds, called octahedrons, are usually found in riverbeds and mines.

For the untrained eyes, a rough diamond would be easily mistaken for a piece of broken glass. However, a diamond is far from a piece of glass as it is one of the hardest substances on the planet. Although it can break, it can only be scratched by another diamond.

A diamond needs to be carefully cut and shaped to bring out its beauty and brilliance. The diamond's brilliance refers to its ability to radiate magnificent colors when tilted back and forth. The surfaces of the diamond, called facets, act as a prism to achieve this wondrous display of fire.

Over the past century many have debated the "correct" formula required to achieve the maximum brilliance in a polished diamond. In the next few articles we'll discuss the fascinating history of this remarkable stone.

Timeless and forever. No other stone shines as bright as a sparkling diamond.

By Eli Zabib

A Diamond Lineage

Diamond history is said to begin in India at least 3,000 years ago. The polishing and processing of diamonds is still predominantly done in India. The ancient Greeks provide the source of the name "diamonds" from the Greek word "adamas". The artistry and craftsmanship involved with setting precious stones goes back thousands of years, and has been passed on to the artisans of today.

There is one amazing diamond lineage that can be traced back to the time of Moses in the Bible. Some time around 1500 B.C., the ancient Israelis made their exodus from Egypt. As depicted in the Charlton Heston movie, The Ten Commandments, the Law was given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. In addition to the list of commandments, there were many instructions given to Moses regarding how the new nation would be organized.

The nation was divided into twelve tribes, according to the twelve sons of Israel. One tribe, made up of the descendants of Levi, was appointed to be a tribe of priests. The Levite who would be the High Priest was the only one who could approach the Ark of the Covenant to make sacrifices on behalf of the nation on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

The High Priest was given a special set of garments to wear, which contained many precious stones. In the book of Exodus, Chapter 28, jewelers and gem cutters from the tribe of Levi were commanded to fashion the priestly outfit to exact specifications. Included in the "uniform" was a breastplate on which were set twelve precious stones. The jewels were arranged in four rows of three. The third stone on the second row is a diamond. The gold and gemstone craftsmen were given the responsibility to fashion all of the precious metal and stones involved in ancient Israeli worship ceremonies.

One of the leaders today in the design and sale of champagne or chocolate diamonds is the LeVian family of jewelers. According to their posted history, Mr. A. LeVian founded the company in the United States in 1950 after immigrating from Persia. It was in that ancient land where he inherited a storied and famous trade from a long line of family jewelers who trace their lineage directly to the tribe of Levi.

Chocolate diamonds are birthed in the geologic history of the earth, but their human history is also a tribute to their staying power. Though their wild popularity may be relatively new, they are one of the least transient things on earth. Chocolate diamonds, relatively speaking, are indeed forever.

By Kenner Beckley

Brown Diamonds Look Great on You

Who wears chocolate diamonds? How about: Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Bhumibol Adulyadej Mahitalathibet Ramathibodi Chakkrinaruebodin Sayamminthrathirat Borommanatbophit. That is the full title to the King of Thailand (easy for you to say). King Bhumibol (for short) was presented the world's largest faceted diamond in 1997. The Golden Jubilee, as the stone is called, weighs 545.67 carats. It is officially graded as "fancy yellow-brown". Chocolate, or champagne diamonds have been worn by royalty and people in authority for centuries. Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the chief minister of France, was a collector of these stones.

Nowadays, check any "red carpet" event and you are likely to see some gorgeous brown jewelry on display from some of the best jewelry designers in the world. Jennifer Lopez wore a combination of shades of champagne and peach diamond earrings to the Academy Awards. Both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress winners in 2007 wore champagne diamonds. Helen Mirren featured a 62-carat brown and white diamond brooch while Jennefer Hudson wore a champagne diamond on her right hand. Previous Academy Award winner, Hillary Swank, wore a 20-carat champagne diamond in her hair.

It is no exaggeration to say that Hollywood is infatuated with chocolate diamonds. Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Cate Blanchett, Jessica Simpson and Halle Berry have all been seen with dazzling chocolate diamond arrangements. E! reporter, Maria Menounos, captured everyone's attention wearing a gown embroidered with 2,000 champagne diamonds. A set of gold and champagne diamond earrings were recently worn by Eva Longoria and E! News host, Giuliana Rancic. Singers Kathleen "Bird" York and British pop star Natasha Bedingfield have been seen with champagne earrings and necklaces respectively. The feelings extend across the globe to Japan where the movie star, Mari Natsuki, is a collector of chocolate diamonds.

Everyone, from carriers of the most luxurious high-end jewelry to the local mall retailer, is embracing the hottest jewelry fashion on the planet, champagne or chocolate diamonds. Because of the unique color design options and blending with earth tones, there is room for unlimited design creativity and variation. The affordability of chocolate diamonds allows for price points to be dependent upon the artistry of the design and not just the value of the stones themselves. This creates greater selection and accessibility on the part of purchasers from one end of the economic scale to the other.

By Kenner Beckley

How Diamond Prices Are Determined

Whether you are a diamond jewelry store owner or you are a consumer looking for the right diamond jewelry for your loved ones, knowing how diamond prices are determined will always be an advantage.

When it comes to pricing most products, it is quite simple. By determining how much is the cost price and how much it costs to market the product, and mark the total up by at least 15% to 30% or more to earn profits. Pricing diamonds is not quite as simple as pricing other products. There are many factors that need to be considered before launching them to the market.

The first thing that diamond prices are determined is by adding the cost of the rough diamond, the cost of cutting the diamond and all the other cost to turn a rough and unrefined diamond into a marketable diamond. After turning it into a marketable diamond, the company may need to call an independent company in to certify the grade of the diamond based on its weight, clarity, cut and colour.

As diamond changes hands, it becomes more expensive. When it reaches the retailers the price is again increased a little bit more. As you can see from here, before a diamond reaches the retailer, it must travel from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, then to the individual grading company, and lastly to the primary market. From the primary market, jewelry store owners and retailers will then purchase the diamond and sell it to the consumers. Therefore, the earlier you can purchase a diamond in the process, the lower the cost of it will be.

If you have recently just bought a diamond and do not know how much does it worth, you can send your diamonds for appraisal, but take note that the appraisal may not be accurate. A more accurate way to determine the price of your diamond is to obtain its certificate and use the cutter's guide to determine a more accurate worth for your diamond.

You can also surf the Internet and locate many diamond worth calculators. Before you can calculate the worth of your diamond using those calculators, you need to know the cuts, clarity, colour and weight of it. With this information, the calculator will be able to determine an accurate worth of your diamond.

Again, the best way to determine the price of a diamond is to get a Diamond Grading Report and use the information in it to look up the price in one of the guides that your diamond cutting industry uses. With the right worth in mind, you will be better informed about the value that you have paid for the diamond in your possession, as well as of the diamond jewelry that you are considering purchasing.

By Cheow Yu Yuan

Diamond Buying Tips

Many people do not know what they are looking for when they set out to buy a piece of diamond jewelry, especially if it is their first time buying an engagement ring or a present for a loved one. It can be an overwhelming and intimidating process, going into retailers, looking at all of the different, delicate, expensive pieces. You've probably braced yourself to pay more than you want to, but you would like to avoid paying too much. The first thing is to remember not to buy a diamond simply because it looks like it costs much less than the other pieces in the store.

Just because it's a diamond doesn't mean it's valuable. In fact, much of the diamond's value simply comes from the demand and mystique associated with it. There are several extremely low-quality pieces of diamond jewelry that are advertised for twenty bucks and worth less than five. Similarly, just because something is advertised as "on sale," doesn't mean that it's the best price or the best diamond piece out there. Best value diamonds have an essential jewelry combination of quality and price, both of which should have equal influence in your decision.

If the person you are buying the jewelry for has absolutely fallen in love with a piece that you and your family most certainly cannot afford, be firm. As the salesperson if there are any other pieces like it or research online, but don't spend money you don't have and can't get over a piece of jewelry. Be an intelligent shopper. There are hundreds of millions of beautiful pieces of diamond jewelry in the world, the one expensive one that appeals most at the time is neither the best nor the only on out there. You can keep it in mind as something to save up for, but practice discretion.

Just because the store has a certificate for a certain loose diamond or piece of jewelry doesn't necessarily mean that it is high quality. Many official reports on a gemstone are written in such a way that only professional gemologists and dedicated gem collectors can understand what they mean. The certificate being presented to you can say that the diamond is the poorest quality that a diamond can be, or it can say that it is a beautiful example to diamonds everywhere. You wouldn't know though.

If you are trying to buy a piece of jewelry made with a non conflict diamond, keep in mind that while the diamond certificate is an extremely good indication as to the cleanliness, it is possible to bypass and forge such documents. The certificate is as much of a guarantee as you can get, but shipments of blood diamonds sometime slip into the shipments of non conflict diamonds. In addition, while the 4 C's (Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight) are widely known and highly marketed, they are only a fraction of the variables that go into consideration when a diamond is being rated.

Do not have the 4 C's be the deciding factor in your diamond purchase. When you are looking at the cut of the diamond, keep in mind that it should not be too shallow or too deep. The perfect diamond will be able to reflect all of the light that it is exposed to. Diamonds with a heavier carat weight are more expensive than those with a lighter weight, but you do not want to buy a diamond that is too low quality. GIA diamond rings and other diamond jewelry are generally a safe bet, but you should be sure that you understand the certification.

Clearer diamonds are also more expensive, since they are the most attractive and light travels through them better than a slightly cloudier diamond. Color is determined on a letter scale. Diamonds rated between D and F are considered to be colorless, between G and J is close to colorless, but not quite. Diamonds that are between K and N have slightly yellowish hues. T and Z are light yellow. This is because yellow is the most common color found in diamonds. Many diamonds that appear to be colorless actually have a slight yellow tint. "Fancy" colors, which are not slightly yellow, can include vivid yellows, blues, and pinks.

By Allison Ryan