Posts filed under 'Diamonds'
Men’s wedding rings usually have a ring evaluation and craftsmanship warranty. Wedding rings are also provided with a satisfaction guarantee. If the wedding ring is found defective in its craftsmanship, the suppliers will give back the product price. The customer must return the product within 30 days. The shipping or customs duties incurred during the return of the product must be paid by the customer. The suppliers will not repay the price of the product if the give back product is not in the original new and fresh condition, if the product is not found to be defective on inspection, if it is not returned within 30 days, if it is a custom made item or if the customer has bought the product from other suppliers. The original new and fresh condition means that there should not be any missing stones, any damage to the parts of the product, scratches, or marks.
Men’s wedding rings are usually in the form of simple wide bands unlike women’s wedding rings, which sport diamonds and gems. But nowadays men’s wedding rings also come with high quality diamonds, gemstones and metals. These wedding rings are categorized as gold wedding rings, diamond wedding rings, white gold wedding rings, two tone wedding rings, titanium wedding rings and Celtic wedding rings.
While selecting a ring, the customer can choose a ring thickness, select between platinum and gold or go for a wedding ring with diamonds or a ring with singular design. If the customer feels that the traditional plain gold wedding band is not sufficient, then he can consider a beaded edge or an engraved style. The customer can select a wedding band that is more expressive of his style and personality. A couple can also choose matching men’s and women’s wedding rings.
August 8th, 2006
What is the difference?
Gold as it comes out of the ground is a pure element that is yellow and relatively soft. That’s your “24 karat gold.” Many people like the yellow color of 24 karat gold, but the lack of hardness can be a disadvantage in jewelery, so it is alloyed with other metals. This affects the color in addition to the hardness. To make white gold, an alloy of palladium and nickel is added to the gold. Jewelers talk about other colors, too: add a little copper for a “pinkish” caste; if you want a “green” tint, add silver. Zinc is added to make the gold harder.
The “karat” tells how much alloy of other metals is used — 18k gold is 75% gold and 25% alloy, 14 karat has more alloy, etc. One might think that yellow gold would always be more expensive than white because it is “purer,” but that isn’t necessarily true. White gold can be more expensive because it’s harder to fabricate. A good gold “manufacturer” is judged by his or her ability to use the different alloys to achieve the qualities desired in jewelry. The head of a ring that holds a gemstone, for example, must be hard but also flexible, so the alloy is important there.
Just so you can really impress the girls at bridge tonight, 24k gold is 99.99% gold, 22k is 91.67% gold, and 20k is 83.33% gold. Those of such high karatage are most often used in Asia and the Middle East. Generally, 20k or higher is yellow in color. 18k is 75% gold and is the most common karatage in Europe. It’s also popular in America and can be yellow or other colors. 18k white gold made with nickel is very hard. 18k yellow gold is softer than its 14k counterpart. 14k gold is most common in the USA and can be yellow or other colors. 14k white gold is harder and used in prong settings. 14k white gold has a yellowish tinge and is often plated with rhodium (a platinum group metal) to give it a white appearance. 12k gold is 50% gold and is commonly used in class rings and can be other color. 10k gold is 41.67% gold and is common in promotional goods. It’s the lowest alloy that can be called gold in the US and it’s very brittle.
June 1st, 2006
Around two thirds of diamonds fluoresce to some extent under both artificial, and natural ultra violet or UV light. The bright rich purple type of lamp found in sun bed and pubs/clubs, is a typical artificial UV source. Sun light is of course a natural source of ultra violet light, and most diamonds that flouresce srongly will take on a bluish tint. This phenomena has consequences for colour grading because a strongly fluorescing diamond will appear to have a different colour when viewed in strong sunlight than it does when viewed under artificial light in your home.When blue flourescence is observed in colourless diamonds these diamonds are additionally described as JAGER, indicacating their property of fluorescence. Jager (from the South African Jagerfontein mine) is not to be confused with an old term for describing the best white diamonds. The Jager or ‘blue white’ colour, it was realised, was in fact a ‘D’ colour diamond which exhibited fluorescence and hence Jager is no longer used in this respect.
Diamonds with a slight yellow tint when mixed with the bluish glow from fluorescence may appear a better colour, or less yellow, than they are in artificial light. Colour grading is therefore performed under an ultra violet free source and then graded for fluorescence separately. We use white light of colour temperature between 5000/5500 Kelvin to colour grade. To examine fluorescence we use two forms of artificial UV light, mostly long wave UV (LWUV) producing radiation at 365nm and Short Wave (SWUV) radiation at 254nm (nm=nanometre or 0.000000001 metre). Most fluorescent diamonds are excited by long wave UV and just a few at shorter wavelengths.
In the GIA system two comparison Master stones are used and these are located at the borders between faint/medium and medium/strong. This permits five grades: NONE, FAINT, MEDIUM, STRONG and VERY STRONG. The strength is a direct comparison with the two master stones. Fluorescence is not always a good thing though. A few diamonds exhibit a yellow fluorescent glow which will make the diamond appear to be a colour grade worse in UV rich sunlight. Extremely fluorescent tinted diamonds exhibit a milky-bluish or petrol-coloured effect and are often termed ‘over-blue’.
December 30th, 2005
Diamonds shapes
Round Brilliant
This shape has set the standard for all other diamond shapes, and accounts for more than 75% of diamonds sold today. Its 58-facet cut, divided among its crown (top), girdle (widest part) and pavilion (base), is calibrated through a precise formula to achieve the maximum in fire and brilliance.
Emerald Cut
This is a rectangular shape with cut corners. It is known as a step cut because its concentric broad, flat planes resemble stair steps.
Princess Cut
This is a square or rectangular cut with numerous sparkling facets. It is a relatively new cut and often finds its way into solitaire engagement rings. Flattering to a hand with long fingers, it is often embellished with triangular stones at its sides. Because of its design, this cut requires more weight to be directed toward the diamond’s depth in order to maximize brilliance.
Heart Cut
This ultimate symbol of romance is essentially a pear-shaped diamond with a cleft at the top. The skill of the cutter determines the beauty of the cut. Look for a stone with an even shape and a well-defined outline.
Oval Cut
An even, perfectly symmetrical design popular among women with small hands or short fingers. Its elongated shape gives a flattering illusion of length to the hand.
Marquise Cut
An elongated shape with pointed ends inspired by the fetching smile of the Marquise de Pompadour and commissioned by the Sun King, France’s Louis XIV, who wanted a diamond to match it. It is gorgeous when used as a solitaire or when enhanced by smaller diamonds.
Pear Cut
A hybrid cut, combining the best of the oval and the marquise, it is shaped most like a sparkling teardrop. It also belongs to that category of diamond whose design most complements a hand with small or average-length fingers. It is particularly beautiful for pendants or earrings.
Popular diamond cuts include Heart, Emerald, Marquise (Oval with pointed ends), Oval, Pear, and Princess. There are unusual cuts appearing all the time such as the J C Millennium which is basically a Round Cut stone similar to the Round Brilliant, and the Radiant Cut which is an octagonal stone similar to an Emerald or Step Cut with upper girdle facets similar to the Princess Cut which is a square stone.
December 30th, 2005
