Can Diamonds really be Colorful?

Even if you have never been shopping for diamond jewelry, you have probably heard about the four Cs used to classify diamonds—clarity, cut, carat and color. These collective metrics are used throughout the world to determine the value of individual diamonds, with diamonds exhibiting the most desirable combinations of clarity, cut, carat weight and color rising to the top as the most universally unique and highest valued gems.

Clarity refers to the extent of inclusions, or natural features such as fractures present in the diamond that originated from its formation deep within the earth. A diamond’s cut describes the design and proportions of the diamond after it is crafted by a diamond cutter, an art form that manifests itself in the diamond’s outward appearance and brilliance. Carat is a concrete description of a diamond’s weight, with one carat representing a weight of 200 milligrams. Color is a diamond quality that generally refers to the extent to which a diamond is colorless. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has established a widely accepted color scale to rate diamonds falling in the normal color spectrum, which ranges from colorless to yellow. Diamonds which fall closer to the colorless end of the color spectrum are generally considered more valuable than yellow or brown tinted diamonds of equivalent clarity, cut and carat weight. Intensely colored diamonds are the exception, their rarity and beauty making them extremely valuable and exotic despite being far from colorless.

Although many people perceive all diamonds to be colorless, true colorless diamonds are extremely rare, and thus the most valuable on the GIA color scale. A majority of diamonds commonly used in jewelry such as engagement rings and eternity rings have a tint of yellow or brown, placing them in the normal color range. Though slight variations in the color of diamonds are to be expected, the difference among various shades is usually indistinguishable to the untrained eye.

While diamonds in the normal color range are the most common, diamonds form within the earth in an array of colorful hues. Diamonds in vibrant colors such as pink, yellow, green and blue, called fancy colored diamonds, are highly sought after by diamond connoisseurs and jewelry consumers alike. The rarity and splendor of such exotic diamonds contributes to their high value, and is the reason that colored diamonds are often attractions at museums and exhibits. The famous and fabled 45.52 carat Hope Diamond on display at the Smithsonian Institution since 1958 is a prime example, requiring dedicated security measures and personnel of its own.

Like white diamonds, the value of a fancy colored diamond is determined in part by the collective value of its four Cs. However, the color attribute becomes a more significant dynamic in the valuation of a colored diamond. Rather than being evaluated on its lack of color, a colored diamond is valued based on the quality of its hue, intensity and consistency.

About the Author: Ian Maher is the CEO of Maliere, a leading provider of eternity rings, diamond rings, platinum rings and gold rings. For more information, please visit www.Maliere.com.

White Gold in Jewelry

White gold is a wildly popular metal for use in all sorts of jewelry, and makes a stylish choice for wedding rings, engagement rings and eternity rings. Yet, if you have ever seen a solid gold bar, you probably noticed that pure gold has a vibrant, deep yellowish-orange tint. So where does white gold come from? Actually, there is no such thing as white gold! Gold in its purest form is exactly the color the name suggests—gold.

By the early 1900s, jewelers had developed the advanced techniques required to make jewelry from platinum. Platinum, being highly durable and a stunning silver-white color, became a superior option to the silver that had been widely used to accentuate diamonds. The rarity of platinum, however, contributed to its high value, making this beautiful silver metal unaffordable to most. White gold began to fill the public’s insatiable demand for a shiny silver yet sturdy metal for jewelry.

The purest form of gold, 24 karat gold, is not often used alone in jewelry manufacturing because of its inherent softness as a metal. Instead, gold is commonly mixed with other metals to form an alloy, which is a combination of metals. However, simply mixing gold with another metal does not make it appear white. When metals are alloyed, a change takes place in the atomic structure which causes a change in the way the metal reflects light from different wavelengths. When gold is alloyed with one of the metals used to produce white gold, the metal takes on a silver-white hue, the characteristic color of white gold.

White gold can be produced by alloying gold with one or several other metals that have a “whitening” effect, commonly nickel, zinc, copper, or palladium. Nickel has been heavily used to produce white gold in the past, though the jewelry industry is transitioning away from its use partly because of the allergic reactions some people have to nickel. Palladium, a sister metal of platinum, makes an excellent constituent of white gold, though its rarity and high melting point make palladium expensive to purchase and tricky in manufacturing. White gold alloys are not limited to gold and another metal. It would not be uncommon, for instance, for white gold to be composed of a combination of gold, silver, copper and palladium.

White gold jewelry is often plated with rhodium, a white, reflective and very durable metal that is also related to platinum. This rhodium plating serves to strengthen and brighten the color of the white gold. Eventually, a rhodium plating will wear off, so there is a need to have rhodium plated white gold jewelry re-plated periodically. The amount of time before re-plating is needed depends on the amount of rhodium present and how harshly the ring is treated.

About the Author: Ian Maher is the CEO of Maliere, a leading provider of eternity rings, diamond rings, platinum rings and gold rings. For more information, please visit www.Maliere.com.

Guide to Engagement – What’s her Ring Size?

Couples go about getting engaged in many different ways. Some couples go shopping for engagement rings together, giving the woman the opportunity to select every detail of her engagement ring, while others skip the tradition of the engagement ring altogether. Still, many men want the thrill of a surprise proposal, complete with giving that special someone the perfect engagement ring. At the same time, the average man has not purchased a ring for his girlfriend until that monumental time comes, leaving him to wonder how to determine what size ring will slide perfectly onto her finger at that magic moment.

Sneakily figuring out a woman’s ring size may be simpler than you think. If she has a friend or sister who may know her ring size, you may simply ask. If you take this route, make sure the person you ask is trustworthy enough to keep the secret! But if asking someone is not an option, you can still determine her ring size without spoiling the surprise. First, take note that ring sizes are different for each finger, so be observant of which rings she currently wears on her ring finger. With a little crafty ingenuity, you can use a ring that she wears on her ring finger to determine her ring size without cluing her in on your plan. With these tips, you can surprise that special woman with the most magical moment of her life, paired with a perfectly fitting engagement ring.

Once you have scoped out the ring you will use to determine the size of the engagement ring, it is time to take action. What you do at this stage takes choosing the best course of action based on knowing your future fiancé. If she is absent minded and loses things often, you can likely slip that ring in your pocket, take it to the jeweler for measurement and return it unnoticed. But if she is emotionally attached to the ring or knows where it is at all times, you will have to determine her ring size in a more clever way. One option is to make an impression of the ring and take it to a jeweler who can determine its size. You may press the ring onto a block of clay, a bar of soap or any pliable substance that will hold the shape and size of the ring. Just make sure to remove any evidence left behind on the ring! Another option is to try the ring on yourself, and mark the place it reaches on your finger. Then, go to the jeweler and try to determine which size is the exact match.

Whatever approach you take, your future fiancé will certainly notice the effort and ingenuity that reminds her of why she wants to make the journey of life with you in the first place.

About the Author: Ian Maher is the CEO of Maliere, a leading provider of eternity rings, diamond rings, platinum rings and gold rings. For more information, please visit www.Maliere.com.

A Look at the Precious Metal Platinum

The beautiful silver-white platinum is a valuable precious metal that is sought all over the world. Its brilliance as well as its malleability, ductility and resistance to corrosion make platinum a highly popular choice for use in jewelry such as engagement rings and eternity rings.
Most people are familiar with the use of platinum for jewelry, but platinum has unique properties that have made it valuable for many purposes throughout history and still today.

Platinum is a member of the Platinum Group of Metals (PGM), which also includes Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Osmium and Iridium. The scarcity of platinum coupled with high demand makes it a highly valuable precious metal. Though all precious metals are rare, platinum is mined from the earth in lesser quantities than are gold and silver.

The use of platinum has confronted several obstacles throughout history. Platinum often exists in nature in dispersed particles combined with other metals and impurities, making platinum mining a difficult and capital intensive endeavor. Its high melting point, nearly double that of gold, made working with platinum practically impossible until a chemist named Schaffer developed a way to melt the precious metal. Scarcity has presented a continual challenge throughout history, though rarity is a contributor to platinum’s high value.

Though the history of platinum use is not nearly as lengthy as that of gold, this precious metal’s unique properties have made it a valuable commodity over the years. Being one of the heaviest, densest metals and exhibiting a distinctive resistance to oxidation and corrosion, people have found numerous uses for platinum throughout history. Jewelers and goldsmiths of the 1700s began to use platinum in jewelry, watch chains and cutlery. Though platinum has always faced the obstacle of scarcity, the 1800s saw a rise in platinum use as new techniques evolved for mining the metal. It was not until later when high temperature torches were available that jewelers could fully utilize platinum in jewelry making.

Today, the uses for platinum are ever increasing. Platinum’s effectiveness as a conductor of electricity has made it a highly useful material for electrical contacts and numerous industrial purposes. It is also a potent catalyzing agent used in the production of sulfuric acid and in petroleum refining. The medical and dental fields have also found many uses for platinum in specialized equipment. Platinum’s stability under conditions of high heat has also led to its use in components of jet engines and missiles. The applications for which platinum is becoming a mainstay is widespread and on the rise.

About the Author: Ian Maher is the CEO of Maliere, a leading provider of eternity rings, diamond rings, platinum rings and gold rings. For more information, please visit www.Maliere.com.