Cleaning Diamond Jewelry in 5 Minutes - How to Put Some Bling Back Into Your Life!

How can such an important project bring out so many different methods? Over the years, I've heard quite a few ways of putting the bling back into your diamond jewelry. Some of the methods were good, some were ineffective, and some could be damaging to your diamond jewelry. Now with the Internet, all of this "information" about cleaning diamond jewelry gets spread around faster and farther. I will give you the fastest, easiest, and safest way to clean diamond jewelry.... and this is based on many years of experience.

Three important elements are needed when cleaning diamond jewelry- heat, a cleaning agent, and some pressure. We will get into the "how to" in a minute, but first a very important basic has to be covered.... this is a method for cleaning diamond jewelry only.... diamond rings, diamond earrings, etc. Rubies and Sapphires generally would also be OK.... but NO emeralds, opals, pearls, rhinestones, coral, shell, amber, ivory, costume jewelry, etc.

OK... let's get started!

You will need to have a coffee cup or a bowl filled with some water. Place the cup or bowl into the microwave and zap it for a couple of minutes. Remove it from the microwave; it will be very (boiling) hot, so be please careful! Place a bit of dish detergent in with the water; the general ratio is about 10 parts water to 1 part cleaner. You could experiment on the proper ratio or use a different type of household cleaner, however whatever cleaner you do use please read the ingredients to be sure that it does not contain bleach. Now, you have a container of very hot water, with a bit of cleaner/detergent in it, and you can carefully place your jewelry into the hot solution.... again, please be careful!

Now you will have to let this sit for a bit.... I did actually find an additional cleaning diamond jewelry tip on the Internet that could come in nicely right now! You will need a shot glass of Vodka, an 8 oz. glass, some ice, and some cranberry juice... mix all of them together, have a few sips, and just relax for 5 minutes while you are busy cleaning diamond jewelry at home!

Once the temperature of the cleaning solution has dropped low enough to be able to touch it (without saying a bunch of bad words!) you can now start to use a soft toothbrush to dislodge some of the more stubborn build up of dirt. Do not scrub! Be gentle.... you should use the bristles of the toothbrush in more of a pushing motion to get the bristles along the sides and under the diamonds. Being too excited about cleaning your diamond jewelry could cause a prong or two to loosen and a diamond could fall out of it's setting!

Next you will want to rinse off the soapy cleaning solution to see how it looks. Do not, repeat, DO NOT rinse your jewelry over an open drain, NEVER! If a diamond has become loose it could end up taking a one-way trip through your plumbing system. Instead have a much bigger bowl or container with clean water in it to be able to rinse away the soapy cleaning solution. Pat your diamond jewelry with a clean cloth and let dry.

Congratulations...

You now have earned your "cleaning diamond jewelry" merit badge! This cleaning diamond jewelry system will work especially well if you do it on a regular basis. You should go to your local jewelry store every 6 to 12 months in order to have your diamond jewelry cleaned and inspected. This is especially a good thing to do in early November.... so you can be at your "blingiest" for the holidays and while you are at the store it will give you a chance to update your wish list! This is a fast, easy, and free process that most jewelry stores are happy to do for you. Once this thorough cleaning has been performed at the jewelry store, a monthly cleaning of your diamond jewelry at home will be a snap.

By Bud Boland

Why Choose Brilliant Cut Diamonds For Your Diamond Jewelry?

Round brilliant cut diamonds present a lot of possibilities when it comes to jewelry design and jewelry making. Since these are usually the most common diamond cut around, they can easily be set in many different kinds of jewelry settings. You can see why they are the easiest to set as well as why they are one of the most popular diamond.

Most Number of Jewelry Have Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds

There are a lot of jewelry types that have diamonds as the gem of choice in them, and the usual cut that you can find being used in these jewelry are often brilliant cut diamonds. The reason behind this choice might be because of the way that these diamonds are easily cut from raw stone or because of the wide range of possibilities that round cut diamonds present when being used in jewelry making.

The round cut diamonds being used in jewelry may be the central stone of the piece or may be the surrounding smaller stones that help make the piece stand out. These diamonds may also be used in combination with other popular diamond cuts, like the oval cut or the pear shaped cut, in jewelry designs that combine the brilliance of the round diamond and the unique shapes of the other cuts.

Another reason why these diamonds are often the kinds of diamonds that are being cut out of raw diamonds is because of the brilliance and sparkle that the symmetrical shape of the round cut diamond has. It also produces less waste when cut in this manner and is the classiest and most elegant of all diamond cuts. You can have these diamonds alone on any piece of jewelry and still have it look elegant and precious due to its simplicity.

The Right Cut for Your Precious Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds

These round brilliant cut diamonds are often chosen for jewelry like engagement rings, earrings, and bracelets due to the fire that these stones emit. The fire that these diamonds emit is often the product of superior craftsmanship by the gem cutter who crafted the stone from its raw form into the round gemstone you now see.

A diamond's cut determines the way it will look in jewelry and how it will sparkle and shine. If the cut is too shallow, the diamond tends to lose the light through its sides, making it look dull and lackluster. If a diamond's cut is too deep, the light simply travels through it, making the stone look dark and dead.

The right cut for diamonds-or for any diamond, for that matter-should be one that lets natural light or any light bounce back at the person looking at the gemstone. The best cut that does this for round brilliant-cut diamonds is usually the very rare ideal cut. This kind of a cut helps the stone exude the most brilliance and fire by reflecting all of the light it captures back out.

This is a pretty difficult kind of cut to find and can cost a lot due to the difficulty in crafting it. The next best cut for round brilliant cut diamonds is the premium cut that reflects majority of the light that the diamond absorbs back out at you. This costs slightly lesser than the ideal cut but is the most recommended by jewelers as the next best choice for a diamond cut.

By Clara Ghomes

Top 10 Mistakes of Buying Diamonds

Diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hex octahedral crystal lattice. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. It is the hardest known naturally-occurring mineral. It is possible to treat regular diamonds under a combination of high pressure and high temperature to produce diamonds (known as Type-II diamonds) that are harder than the diamonds used in hardness gauges.

Below are some mistakes we usually commit when buying diamonds.

1. ASSUMING ALL DIAMONDS OF THE SAME COLOR, CLARITY, AND CUT GRADE ARE THE SAME

2. ASSUMING LABORATORY GRADING IS ALWAYS ACCURATE AND UNIFORM TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS.

3. ASSUMING COLOR AND CLARITY ARE THE MAJOR DETERMINANTS IN PRICING A DIAMOND

4. ASSUMING THAT CHOOSING A SPECIFIC COLOR AND CLARITY GRADE AND THEN SHOPPING FOR THE LOWEST PRICE WILL YIELD THE BEST DIAMOND

5. ASSUMING ALL DIAMONDS ARE WELL CUT

6. ASSUMING THAT A DIAMOND CAN BE PURCHASED "BY THE NUMBERS" ALONE

7. ASSUMING THAT EXTENSIVE SHOPPING WILL LEAD TO A BARGAIN PRICE ON A DIAMOND

8. ASSUMING COLOR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC ASSUMING CLARITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC

9. ASSUMING A DIAMOND CAN BE BOUGHT CHEAPER...

10. ASSUMING A DIAMOND CAN BE BOUGHT WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE

Diamond clarity is a quality of diamonds relating to the existence and visual appearance of internal characteristics of a diamond called inclusions, and surface defects called blemishes. Clarity is one of the four Cs of diamond grading, the others being carat, color, and cut. Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or another diamond crystal, or structural imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. The number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond. A clarity grade is assigned based on the overall appearance of the stone under 10x magnification.

By Mayline C. Homecillo

Buying Diamonds As a Hedge Against Inflation

You're shopping for a diamond pendant or perhaps considering purchasing a pair of anniversary rings so that you and your spouse can mark an important milestone in your marriage, Diamonds are not only beautiful, but they can also hold their value, something today's savvy consumer is well aware of.

One question you may have, especially as you survey the topsy-turvy global financial markets, is whether diamonds can be a good investment for the long term. Well, that answer isn't as simple as you might hope, because there are a number of factors which determine whether a diamond or diamond jewelry will be worth substantially more money several years down the road.

Though some of what I will share with you is theory, there are a few things to consider before making a diamond purchase especially when doing so as an investment. Please read on and we'll explore how you can protect your diamond investment:

The Bigger, The Better - Jewelry broker, Martin Rapaport whose personal price list is used as a standard for wholesale trade in polished diamonds, mentioned earlier this year that the decline in the value of the dollar, in which diamonds are priced, has increased investment in diamonds as a hedge against inflation. But, the recent run up in value of the dollar is easing diamond prices, suggesting that current market volatility may make such investing a risky proposition for most people.

Heirlooms and Collectibles - Some investors stay away from the big diamonds market, unable to keep up with the big guys who have a lot of cash on hand. Instead, these people frequent estate sales for family heirlooms and collectibles in search of that special diamond wedding band or pair of pearl drop earrings from another era. Dealers scour the market for the best deals, make needed repairs, and turn around and sell their finds for a profit.

Designer Jewelry - The jury is out on the long term value of designer jewelry, particularly on trendy pieces which tend to lose their appeal within a few short years. Keeping that in mind, most of the top designers embody both trendy and classical themes to develop lines of jewelry that will look great ten, twenty, even fifty years or longer provided they are kept in very good shape. Designers such as Danhov and M. Geller are prized today and have what it takes to bring much long term value for buyers.

What You Love - Of course, most buyers purchase their diamond jewelry with one thing in mind: what they love. This is the most important consideration when making any jewelry purchase that you really like what you want to wear. Buying jewelry with an eye on its long term value is fine, but that shouldn't ever supplant your desire for a particular pair of diamond earrings, a silver ring, pearl drop earrings, or some other personally valued accoutrement.

So, can buying diamonds be a good hedge against inflation? Perhaps if you have a lot of money, the expertise to select the right kind of diamond, and have the intestinal fortitude to weather the vagaries of the marketplace, then that answer might be yes.

For everyone else, finding the right diamond jewelry at affordable prices can provide for you just the right blend of value and desirability, something no one can put a price on except for you.

By Bryan Peter

Biggest Diamond

In mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. It is the hardest known natural material and the fifth-hardest[citation needed] known material after aggregated diamond nanorods, ultrahard fullerite, and rhenium diboride.

Diamonds are specifically renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities; they make excellent abrasives because they can be scratched only by other diamonds, borazon, ultrahard fullerite, rhenium diboride, or aggregated diamond nanorods, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain their lustre. Approximately 130 million carats (26,000 kg) are mined annually, with a total value of nearly USD $9 billion, and about 100,000 kg (220,000 lb) are synthesized annually.

The name diamond derives from the ancient Greek adamas (±´¬¼±Â; "invincible"). They have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India and usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history.

Popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of increased supply, improved cutting and polishing techniques, growth in the world economy, and innovative and successful advertising campaigns.

Diamond windows

are made from thin diamond membranes and used to cover openings in lasers, x-ray machines and vacuum chambers. They are transparent, very durable and resistant to heat and abrasion.

Diamond speaker domes

enhance the performance of high quality speakers. Diamond is a very stiff material and when made into a thin dome it can vibrate rapidly without the deformation that would degrade sound quality.

By Mayline Saya-Ang