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About Diamonds

Diamond Information


Here are a few basic facts about diamonds, and an explanation of the grading scales, and terms used .Natural diamonds are formed within the earths surface when pure carbon combined with extremes of pressure and temperature are present. The resulting crystal formation  having unique qualities of hardness, with the ability to reflect and refract light.The diamond when faceted works like a light magnet, with a brilliance unmatched by any other stone.


Carat, Cut, Clarity and Colour

These terms are used to understand how diamonds are graded and their value is determined.


Carat

The term used for the weight of a stone, the size is also expressed as points, with 100 points equal to one carat i.e. 50 points is equal to a half carat stone or .50ct .


Cut or Make 

This  term applies to the shape, polish ,angles and symmetry of a stone. Stones are cut to maximise this gems natural ability to convert light into the brilliance, fire and sparkle we associate with diamonds.
However in the cutting process variables do occur and some stones end up reflecting more brilliance and fire than others.

A grading scale for The Cut or Make, of a stone is used with the following terms:    
                    
Ideal – Fine – Medium – Fair – Poor 

These terms, being self explanatory, are helpful when comparing stones and understanding the value given to one stone over another.


Clarity 

The formation of diamond crystals within the earth, results in a range of material which has uses from industrial cutting and grinding processes through to the finest gem quality stones.

Within this gem category, stones are graded by the flaws or marks contained within each stone and how much these marks detract from the attractiveness of the stone.

The grading system terms are as follows:

(Fl) Flawless
(VVSI-2) Very very small inclusions.
(visable only under a 10x magnification lense).
(SI-2) Small inclusions
(visable only under a 10x magnification lense).
(I1-3) Included.
(May be visable to the naked eye)

An important distinction  when purchasing your diamond is at what point these marks are visible to the naked eye and will affect  its attractiveness and restrict its ability to reflect and refract light.
Generally the grades I1-3 will have distinctive marks which may detract from the stone.


Colour

It is actually the lack of colour that is most desirable within a diamond, allowing the full brilliance and fire to be released from the stone.When colour is present it tends towards a yellow to brown hue within the stone.

The colour grading scale:

D E F     fine white,
G H I     white,
J K L     slightly tinted,
M N Z   tinted

That said, there are what are termed Fancy coloured stones having pink,bright yellow, red, green,and blue colouration.These stones can be very distinctive, beautiful and expensive. We hope this information is some help in the purchase of your diamond.
 

The Diamonds We Use

The diamonds we set into the jewellery on this website tend to fall into the middle grades for "colour" and "clarity".
In our opinion this simply represents the best value for money.
But we are always willing to give examples above or below these grades to give comparisons, and to come within your price or budget considerations.


Conflict Free Diamonds, Green Diamonds

With the recent controversy over the source of some diamonds we felt like we need to give our view on this subject.
Diamonds we supply come from one gem merchant who we have confidently used for the last ten years or more.This insures we and you the customer gets a consistently priced and quality product with no unwanted surprises. This supplier sells gemstones that comply with the so called, "Kimberley Process Certification Scheme" that was established in 2002 by the diamond industry, to avoid the incidence of "Blood diamonds" entering the gem market. However this "Kimberly process" is a voluntary scheme and because of the many stages a diamond passes through from mining to final sale, in our opinion does, not guarantee 100% clean non conflict gems.

We believe by keeping to a single supplier that we trust, we are doing our best within a system that is not perfect.
In the end it will come down to a personal decision. We advise customers, if they are adamant about purchasing and wearing a guaranteed "non conflict" gem, then created, man made stones such as Moissonite, Byron or Chattam created gems are available.

These gems are manufactured in a laboratory using the same elements and materials that the natural gems posses.There quality is often better than the naturally occurring stone and a lot cheaper.We are happy to supply you with more specific details, if this is an option you would consider.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
 

Should you require more specific information or have other queries, we are always happy to help.................   

Email : sales@pacifictreasures.co.nz

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Rick and Jenny Bromhead, design and make beautiful jewellery based in Northland New Zealand.

With our many years of experience within the jewellery trade, we have made many friends and satisfied many customers. Traditional, antique or the latest styles, we can take the time to create a piece of quality Jewellery Art for you.