In this Issue - Diamondpriceofdiamonds.org/priceofdiamonds-newsletter-Dec-2013.pdf · ~ Diamond...

December 2013 Volume 3 Number 12

Where the world comes to find out about diamonds

Newsletter

In this Issue

We feature Diamonds.net. This is Martin Rapaport’s website and face of his Diamond Organisation.

GIA’s three step on buying diamonds Plus much more and all our regular features!

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Price of Diamonds

Newsletter of the Price of Diamonds website

Price of Diamonds Newsletter December 2013 Edition

Editor in Chief Michael Moore

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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 mate-rial 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 pub-lished 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 understand-ing that the publisher, editor and contributors are not engaged in rendering any legal, financial, psychologi-cal or any other professional service and is offered for information purposes only. If any legal, financial, psychological or any other professional advice or as-sistance is required, the services of a competent pro-fessional person should be sought. The reader is sole-ly responsible for his/her own actions. Copyright © 2013 By Technical Author Services Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All copyrights and trademarks belong to their respec-tive owners

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Where the world comes to find out about diamonds

~ Editorial ~

Dear Reader, This month we feature Diamonds.net as the Diamond Dealer of the month. This is a well known figure in the trade, Martin Rapaport, with his own diamond empire almost stretching across the globe. Martin has been instrumental in setting standards for the diamond industry globally. Wishing you a very happy holiday season and a flourishing and prosperous 2014! There will be no January issue and the first issue of the year will be in February 2014. Michael Price of Diamonds

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Price of Diamonds

~ Diamond Dealer of the Month ~

Diamonds.net

W ho are Rapaport Diamonds.net is the website of, Mar-

tin Rapaport, a diamond dealer and somewhat of a crusader in the diamond industry.

Martin Rapaport is the founder of the Ra-paport Diamond Report. This has become the ‘authority’ on the price of diamonds through-out the world. He is a member of the World Diamond Council as well as the board of Jew-elers for Children and an early proponent of the Kimberley Process.

He is also the host of the Rapaport Interna-tional Diamond Conference which is held an-nually in new York and serves as an industry forum between the various parties in the dia-mond business such as the jewelry industry, governmental agencies, and various diamond industry interests.

Martin Rapaport began his career in the dia-

mond business as a cleaver and rough sorter in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1975 he began bro-kering rough and polished diamonds in New York City and in 1978, he created the now famous Rapaport Prices List.

He has since created many other businesses but all relating to the diamond industry, in-cluding the electronic trading network for traders RapNet and INDEX, and diamond-related news in print and web formats.

Martin Rapaport is now somewhat of a legend within the diamond industry, and is often rec-ognized for his characteristic signature bow tie.

Rapaport Products and Service One of the most salient products to come from Martin Rapaport is the Rapaport Dia-mond Report in originated in 1978 and which has been well positioned now as the de facto standard authority baseline for pricing whole-sale polished diamonds. The fact that dia-monds now cost considerably less is mainly attributed to the Rapaport Diamond Report

Most of the diamond business agreements and dealer sales these days are based on the Ra-paport Diamond Report or Rap or List prices.

Some people argue whether Rap set the dia-mond price or simply reports them. It is a fact that since the report was issued the price of diamonds has dropped but it does not make a lot of difference these days. The fact is, every dealer and diamond merchant uses Rap.

In the trade Diamond dealers ask, “how much back?” Asking for the price per carat, or worse still, the price of the stone shows you are a beginner. Only at the last stages of hag-

http://priceofdiamonds.org/2006/12/16/kimberley-process-certification-scheme


Price of Diamonds

gling would you work out the stone cost if it was say $5013 you might demand “OK, round it to $5K!”

To view the Rapaport Diamond Report, you have to be a diamond dealer and you have to pay for the privilege of course. Virtually every dealer works from this list these days. The list are copyright and these copyrights are strictly enforced.

Rap lists diamonds in separate grids of carat weight, with prices in $100’s per carat in rows from D to M for Color and separate columns for each Clarity grade (including SI3 which is a split of SI2 and I1).

Subscribers receive weekly updates of round prices and a monthly update including fancy shape prices (in the center pages of an in-formative magazine). Price rises are printed bold and rare falls are in bold italics.

Use of Rap has evolved over time. Diamond Traders tend to establish discount levels by agreement between cutters, dealers, retailers and e-tailers dependent on various criteria such as payment terms, volume etc. Cut, Fluores-cence and other features such as Symmetry and Polish are not included on the list resulting in some big variations in discounts.

Last Word on Rapaport Martin Rapaport’s impact within the industry has been profound and resulted in a marked change in the attitude towards diamonds as well as affecting the price of diamonds in the long term.

His commercial price guides have made ma-nipulation of prices more difficult in the dia-mond industry, and are considered, by many as a step toward commoditizing diamonds. In fact Neil D. Reiff once commented that Rapaport is “destroying” the diamond industry with trying to commoditize diamonds, and that his price

guide no longer reflects the wholesale value of diamonds as they are sold, instead, influences what those prices are before they go to market. Rapaport has countered this with the statement that diamonds are not unique, as De Beers marketing claims, and are subject to the same laws of supply and demand as anything else.

In fact, Martin Rapaport is an open advocate of commoditizing diamonds. He tried once in 1982 by filing out a contract proposal to the New York Commodities Exchange to create a diamond commodity market. The effort failed, he claimed, because the “diamond industry didn’t want price transparency.” He is current-ly writing a new proposal and believes it will only be a matter of time before the idea suc-ceeds, as long as a sufficient criteria of stand-ardization is created. Rapaport has said that diamonds are “definitely a commodity.”

“You buy and sell them for cash. They’re a natural resource with limited supply; they’re well defined; they’re certified; they’re ana-lyzed, graded, tradable around the world.”

Martin Rapaport has been likened to an affable and bubbly version of Bill Gates. A genius with an economics background, he grew up in a diamond family and rose to fame by report-ing wholesale diamond prices during the 1979-80 commodity boom when 1.00ct D Flawless reached a dealer price of $36,000 (twice to-day’s list price).

He has since built a substantial diamond infor-mation and service business, and like Gates, he is loved and hated but never ignored.

The Rapaport Diamond Report and The Dia-mond Price Report are trade price market anal-ysis and indicator tools of HIGH CASH ASK-ING PRICES. Price reports do not factor in higher prices for better proportions and finish or lower prices for poor proportions / cut, etc.


Price of Diamonds

Diamond & Jewelery Shows in 2013

DECEMBER Dubai International Jewellery Week Dates: 04/12/2013 - 07/12/2013 4 Days, Wednesday To Saturday Location: Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, Dubai CONTACT DETAILS: Nadeera Jayaratne Telephone: +971-4308-6477 Email: [email protected] Website: www.jewelleryshow.com/ KGJS Kerala Gem & Jewellery show Dates: 06/12/2013 - 08/12/2013 3 Days, Friday To Sunday Location: Le-Meridien Convention Centre, Cochin CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +32-3-2335313 Fax: +32-3-2336503 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kgjs.in Best Adornments of Russia Dates: 11/12/2013 - 15/12/2013

5 Days, Wednesday To Sunday Location: All-Russian Exhibition Centre, Moscow CONTACT DETAILS: Mr. Alexey Poltavsky Telephone: +7-812-303-9876 Fax: +7-812-320-8090 Email: [email protected] Website: eng.rjexpert.ru/content/view/214/195/ Jaipur Jewellery Show Dates: 20/12/2013 - 23/12/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Chamber Bhawan, Jaipur, Raja-sthan, India CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +91-141-510 4776/7 Fax: +91-141-510 4666 Email: [email protected] Website: www.jaipurjewelleryshow.org

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The Price lists are designed for diamond in-dustry professionals. Not for customers or clients.

So in all diamond situations, if you are buy-ing diamonds always remember to do your due diligence.

Many stores who claim to sell “at or below Rap” or “a percentage under New York Wholesale”, diamonds priced below the market, are simply offering poor quality dia-monds, ‘makes’ or dogs that the regular trade can’t move. The Also watch out the vendor who misrepresents the quality of an uncertified diamond. There is never a guar-antee with an uncertified diamond. Keep in

mind that certified diamonds always cost more than uncertified diamonds.

When it comes to the price of diamonds, you get what you pay for which means you don’t get what you don’t pay for!

If you have bought any diamonds, diamond jewelry or other products from dia-monds.net, please feel free to leave your feedback on the quality of service and prod-ucts including any diamonds.net online com-plaints and special attention or service given by diamonds.net online.

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mailto:[email protected]

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Price of Diamonds

GIA Three Steps Advice on Buying Diamonds

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has issued a three step process for anyone wanting to buy the best diamond of their choice.

Step 1 The GIA advises, is to choose a qualified jew-eler. “Choose your jeweler as you would choose your doctor, lawyer or any other pro-fessional. Ideally your jeweler will be a GIA Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) or a GIA Accred-ited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.). In addition, look for affiliations with jewelry industry groups and professional associations. A knowl-edgeable jeweler will clearly explain the “4Cs” of diamond quality and will encourage you to compare diamonds to suit your price range.”

Step 2 The second step is to learn the “4Cs” of dia-mond quality. The key to a diamond’s value is its rarity and no two diamonds are alike. Rarity is determined by a diamond’s unique charac-teristics as measured by the 4Cs: Carat (weight), Clarity, Color and Cut. Using these criteria, a small diamond of exceptional quality

will likely be more valuable than a larger dia-mond of lower quality.

• Carat: Diamonds are weighed using metric carats. A carat weighs roughly about the same as a small paper clip. Just as a dollar is divided into 100 pennies, a carat is divided into 100 “points.” This means that a diamond of 50 points weighs 0.50 carats. But two diamonds of equal weight can have very different values depending on the quality as expressed in their clarity, color and cut.

• Clarity: Created by nature, most diamonds contain unique birthmarks called “inclusions” (internal) and “blemishes” (external). Diamonds with few birthmarks are rare – and rarity translates to cost. Using the internationally recognized GIA Diamond Grading System, diamonds are given a clarity grade that ranges from flawless, to diamonds with more prominent inclusions.

• Color: Colorless diamonds are extremely rare and highly valued. Most are nearly colorless with yellow or brown tints. The GIA Diamond Grading System uses letters to represent col-ors, beginning with D (colorless) and ending at Z (light yellow or brown).

• Cut: While diamonds come in many different shapes, from round brilliants to hearts, pears and marquise, cut has to do with the propor-tions. The well-cut diamond uses light to cre-ate brilliance, sparkles and flashes of fire.

More information on the four “Cs” can be found from the links on the left.

Step 3 Finally, the GIA advice for step 3 to ask for an independent diamond grading report. that states, “For the ultimate peace of mind, ask your jeweler to provide an independent dia-mond grading report with your diamond. The


Price of Diamonds

~ Diamond Quotes ~

Nicole Richie “True friends are like diamonds – bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in

style.” ? Nicole Richie

“Having been engaged rather a lot of times, Zsa Zsa Gabor was asked whether a

lady should give back the ring. Her answer? "Of course dahlink, but first, you take out all the diamonds.”

? Zsa Zsa Gabor

most widely used and respected reports are those issued by the independent GIA Labora-tory, who provides reports on the world’s most important diamonds. A professional jeweler can arrange to have your diamond graded and even have a personal message or unique GIA Grading Report number laser-inscribed onto the diamond’s outer edge, called the girdle.”

To this could be added.

Keep the purchase secure. One should have one’s diamond appraised and insured. Ac-cording to the GIA a diamond grading report can act as a gemological blueprint of a dia-mond. This is, in effect, an independent as-sessment of its quality. An appraisal mentions the monetary value on the diamond.

It is also a good idea to buy a loose diamond and have it set into a ring afterwards. It is eas-ier to grade the stone that way and also tends to be cheaper as well.

Lastly, always, always, always get a receipt. A diamond buyer should always ask for a re-ceipt and also ask for a 30 day guarantee al-lowing the buyer to return the diamond or ring for cash if it is found to be not up to scratch.

These GIA steps on buying diamonds are im-portant and can save a lot of money on the price of diamonds for the diamond buyer.

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Price of Diamonds

~ Diamond News Around the World ~

IMPORTANT! Buyers beware. There are persistent re-ports that large amounts of synthetic lab grown diamonds are being mixed with nat-ural diamonds in parcels of melee and pointers. Make sure you know your jewel-er and insist the phrase “natural, untreat-ed diamonds” is included on all invoices. Calls for Transparency The Indian gem and jewellery industry re-cently was presented with a proposal by the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS), through which jewellers across metro cities require to issue certicards for every piece of jewellery sold by them. This does evoke a positive re-action to build consumer confidence and is another effort towards transparency. The BIS has been making large efforts to ensure hall-marking is further improved in the industry. While hallmarking, or other alternative means to achieve transparency are important, they will be accepted if they are easy to implement and if they serve in benefiting all. So far the BIS certicard proposal has received industry criticism as each card requires a jew-ellery photograph and unique identification mark, also in that undoubtedly the end con-sumers will have to bear the higher cost bur-den of the certicard. The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) called it being ‘cumbersome’, ‘expensive’ and ‘time

consuming’. Also, the proposal is restricted to metros and not Pan-India, leaving out the large number of jewellery retailers. The issues makes one think that while the goal is crucial, the means to achieve the goal are more important. As such, if the certicards prove to be a burden to implement, jewellers may refrain from hallmarking altogether, de-feating the entire purpose. Policies are im-portant for discipline, but need to be imple-mented in a manner that is conducive for the good of all. Source: Diamond World De Beers Production +21% De Beers Group reported that diamond pro-duction jumped 21% year on year to 7.731 million carats for the third quarter that ended on September 30. Debswana's diamond pro-duction surged 24% to 5.446 million carats, while production in Canada increased 50% to 485,000 carats. Namdeb's diamond produc-tion rose 6% to 445,000 carats and De Beers Consolidated Mine production was 9% higher at 1.355 million carats. In summary, rough diamond production rose in large part due to the restoration of De Beers operations at the Jwaneng diamond mine in Botswana, following a slope failure incident in June 2012. Production from the Snap Lake diamond mine in Canada was also significantly higher due to increased mining volume. Debswana's diamond production, however, was impacted by the Orapa plant's maintenance and lower grades. Production at Venetia continued to improve following a pit flood earlier in the year. For the first nine months of 2012, De Beers production has improved 11% year on year to 22.026 million carats. Source: Rapaport


Price of Diamonds

China's Jewelry Sales Rise The National Bureau of Statistics of China re-ported that retail sales rose 13.3% year on year to $339 billion (CNY 2.065 trillion) during the month of September. Retail sales for January through September in China have surged 12.9% year on year to $2.8 trillion. The data revealed that consumer spending on ''gold, sil-ver and jewelry'' in September skyrocketed 18.2% year on year to $3.6 billion. Consumer spending under that metals and jewelry cate-gory has risen 29.6% for the first nine months of 2013 to $37 billion. Swiss Watch Exports +9% Swiss Watch exports grew 8.5% year on year to $2.1 billion (CHF 1.9 billion) in September, according to the Federation of the Swiss ?Watch Industry.? An additional working day in September as well as an increase in exports of steel, platinum and gold watches impacted the rise in exports in value terms during the month. Exports of wristwatches rose 8.3% to $1.982 billion, while the number of units shipped fell by 4.3%. The value of other products grew by 28% to $51.6 million. Exports to Hong Kong rose 10% to $406.2 million, while exports to the U.S. grew 17% to $229.5 million. Exports to China continued to lose ground and fell 3% to $139.8 million. Pure Gold's Eid Sales Jump Pure Gold Jewellers observed a 20% increase in gold jewelry sales during the Eid Al Adha festive season, though it did not provide a hard total. Firoz Merchant, the chairman of Pure Gold Jewellers, stated that even with a surge in gold jewelry sales during the festival period, diamond jewelry sales remained the same as last year. Pure Gold Jewellers offered a 70% discount on its contemporary range of Pure Diamonds col-

lection for Eid Al Adha and offered chances to win a certified diamond solitaire on purchases of gold or diamond jewelry. Merchant added that the retailer is now preparing for ''the rush'' expected for the Indian festival of Diwali and Dhanteras, the auspicious day when South Asian customers buy jewelry. Retailers Win With Jewelry + Gifts Independent jewelers who identify and posi-tion themselves as a retailer of ''jewelry and gifts'' could enhance their retailing position, according to the latest Unity Marketing resort titled "A Declaration of Independents." Unity Marketing's president, Pam Danziger, said that retailers should strive to describe their store not around the things they sell, but around the experiences they deliver to the customer. Danziger found that among the 350 independ-ent specialty retailers surveyed, most defined themselves either primarily or secondarily as a "gift store." However, how they identified the store had a dramatic impact on revenue. "In our survey, we found that stores that identify themselves primarily as gift stores bring in less than half the revenue as those who see them-selves only secondarily as gift stores," ex-plained Danziger. "While those who identified first as gift stores had average revenue of around $600,000, those who identified second as gift store brought in $1.3 million," she said. The survey noted, stores that described themselves as jew-elry plus gifts, home furnishing and gifts, and/or fashion and gifts performed much better than retailers that described themselves pri-marily as a gift store. Tiffany Redesigns Online Channel Tiffany & Co. redesigned and relaunched its tiffany.com channel with interactive pathways to explore the brand's heritage and prominence just in time for Christmas season. The new


Price of Diamonds

tiffany.com website features high-resolution visuals and video and it enables customized searches by category, designer, price, materi-als and gemstones. The jeweler expanded its informational portfo-lio online by highlighting quality standards, the 4Cs and how it sources gemstones, while respecting and upholding human rights and responsible environmental practices. The site's new sections focus on the brand's evolution as a preeminent jeweler, features the Blue Book, the workshop above the Fifth Avenue flagship store, a timeline of the company's history and stories of real-life couples who recall-on film and in photographs-the thrill of the brand. Forevermark Launches in Australia Forevermark launched the brand in Australia with retailer partners, including Diamonds In-ternational, Musson and Percy Marks in the cities of Brisbane and Sydney. Forevermark also extended an existing partnership with Canada-based Forevermark diamantaire, Crossworks Manufacturing, to now include Australia. Crossworks engaged Australia-based Storch & Co. to oversee local distribu-tion.

~ In Short ~ Vice-President of Socialist Republic of Vi-etnam attends 33rd International Gemmologi-cal Conference. Also Dr. Jayshree Panjikar presents copy of the Abstract Proceedings Varda Shine to leave De Beers in January 2014. Paul Rowley to succeed Shine as Execu-tive Vice President of GemEx NL Platinum and diamond jewellery take on Di-wali festivities. Jewellers and consumers look at new options beyond gold Blue Nile’s net sales up 10.1% in Q3. U.S.

engagement net sales rise7.1% Gold price in China drops below London for the first time in 2013. The price of London settled gold bounced to $1,348 per ounce Tuesday morning BSE Sensex crosses all-time high Touches 21,293.88, following a rise in FII flows Investors now have a chance to bet directly on diamond mining as the Russian government moves to spin off a 16 percent stake in Alrosa Diamonds worth $100,000 stolen in New Jer-sey. A jewellery retailer in a township in New Jersey was conned by a team of thieves GIA and Paspaley Pearling Company conduct pearl expedition in Australia. Gather unprece-dented Pinctada maxima samples CIBJO President addresses conference at 2013 Yerevan Jewellery Show. The show is a plat-form to promote Armenia’s jewellery industry Titan’s net profit up 3.6% in Q2. Company says growth was low keyed TBZ – The Original launches platinum jewel-lery collection for festive season. Includes pieces of minimal expressions of mythological or ancient icons of love Anmol Jewellers launches jewellery collection inspired by Indian temples. The collection marks the festive spirit of Dhanteras Ranka Jewellers launches Platinum Love Bands - Endless Love collection. Celebrity couple Ayushmann Khurrana and wife Tahira unveil the collection De Beers partners with Somo for 'For You, Forever' iPad service. ‘For You, Forever’ in-


Price of Diamonds

store tool allows the end consumers to com-pare different styles of rings IDE displays Rio Tinto's large rough dia-monds. The most outstanding diamond that Rio Tinto showcased was an extra ordinary 74-carat gem Tara Jewellers opens showroom in Lucknow. Plans retail expansion to reach 50 showrooms in 37 cities Fiera di Vicenza plans participating in inter-national eeents. Will participate at events in United States, Armenia and the United Arab Emirates Dominion seeks to expand Ekati diamond mine. The Jay-Cardinal Project involves the development of the largest diamondiferous resource in North America

Import duty on polished diamonds may rise to 5%. The hike in the import duty is being implemented in order to protect the interests of small scale diamond manufacturers Gemesis Diamond Company Unveils Fancy Pink Lab-Grown Diamond Collection. These pink diamonds have all the brilliance, quality and color of their mined identical at an ex-ceptional value Alrosa raises $1.3 billion. The ministry had hoped to get $13.44 billion from sales this year, but reduced its expectations Leibish possesses seven pink diamonds of-fered at the Rio Tinto’s Diamonds Tender. Leibish & Co. now possesses seven of the 64 lots offered at Rio Tinto's Argyle Pink Dia-monds Tender in Australia.

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Price of Diamonds

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 apprais-al is a written estimate of the approximate re-tail 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 character-istics (such as cut, clarity, carat, symmetry, etc.) only. Blemish A scratch or abrasion on the surface of a dia-mond. 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 in-crease 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 Ameri-can Brilliant, is a 58-facet round diamond,

This shape and faceting arrangement is de-signed 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 eve-ry carob seed weighs exactly the same. Clarity Clarity is the term given to indicate the purity of a diamond. Most diamonds have minute im-perfections and the clarity is the way of grad-ing the purity depending on the number of im-perfections the diamond has or does not have. Cloud A cluster of very small inclusions inside a dia-mond 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 compris-es the table, and the star-, bezel- and upper-girdle 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 dia-mond more easily damaged or chipped.


Price of Diamonds

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 in-clude 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 crystalliz-es 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 fac-ets 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 ex-pensive 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 en-tering a diamond is divided up into the spec-trum. 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 ema-nates 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 cir-cumference of a diamond. This is where a jew-elry setting holds the diamond in a ring. Good Cut Diamonds cut with acceptable, but not perfect,


Price of Diamonds

proportions. They generally have very good brilliance and fire and make excellent jewelry. Ice A colloquial word for diamonds, much favored by Hollywood in movies about gangsters. Ideal Cut Ideal Cut diamonds are usually more expen-sive 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 percent-ages and table percentages that some people feel produce a "perfect" balance of fire and brilliance). They almost always have the high-est grades on polish and symmetry as well, in-dicating 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 inclu-sions 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 occur-ring 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 yel-low by limonite, and so was called "yellow ground." Deeper workings encountered less

altered rock, undecomposed kimberlite, which miners call "blue ground. 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 magnifica-tion; any flaws not detected under this magni-fication 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 manufac-tured in a laboratory. It is virtually indistin-guishable 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 shal-low otherwise light will leak out and the dia-mond will lose fire and brilliance. Peridotite Any of a group of igneous rocks having a granite like texture.


Price of Diamonds

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 dis-tinguish between polish grades. Poor Cut Poorly cut diamonds with proportions and fin-ish 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 car-ats.A carat is .2 grams. A gram of diamond would be a massive 5 carats. Very large in dia-mond 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 sub-stance often used as a substitute to genuine dia-monds. It is a carborundum substance and easi-ly told from diamonds due to being heavier than diamonds.

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