Mother’s Day Jewelry Gifts on Sale April 28, 2006
Posted by Jill Renee in : Diamond Jewelry, Jewelry, Press Releases , add a commentMother’s Day Jewelry Gifts on Sale at Danforth Diamond
All sterling silver jewelry and key rings are 25% off regular price for Mother’s Day at Danforth Diamond (http://www.danforthdiamond.com).
MIDLOTHIAN, VA (PRWEB) April 28, 2006
Danforth Diamond announces price reductions on their entire collection of sterling silver jewelry in time for Mother’s Day. Now through May 14, 2006 all sterling silver bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and key rings are an additional 25% off the already-low Danforth Diamond price. Please visit to view some of their featured Mother’s Day Jewelry.
Shopping online offers consumers the ability to compare products and prices with a click of their mouse. Danforth Diamond jewelry is already 40% off the retail prices found in jewelry stores and further reducing the sterling silver collection represents a significant savings for Mother’s Day gift buyers.
Jill Renee, president of Danforth Diamond, explains, “Having a Mother’s Day sale is a way to help people find the right gift for mom. We want to reward our loyal customers and introduce new customers to Danforth Diamond. The sale has been in progress since mid-April and has received positive feedback from returning customers as well as first-time buyers. “Our quality jewelry at competitive prices attracts Mother’s Day gift buyers and our helpful customer service is what makes them repeat customers, Ms. Renee says.
The Danforth family developed the Danforth Diamond website to offer high quality diamond engagement rings and jewelry online. Their Mother’s Day jewelry sale is a part of their commitment to giving customers a break from the high cost of traditional retail.
About Danforth Diamond
Danforth Diamond is an online retailer of fine jewelry with over 50 years in the jewelry business. Their website offers gold and silver earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings at prices better than consumers have come to expect without sacrificing quality. Danforth Diamond can be found online at http://www.danforthdiamond.com/.
Company Contact:
Jill Renee
http://www.danforthdiamond.com/
Phone: 877-404-7464
Press Release Contact:
Alyssa Duvall
http://www.bigoakinc.com/
# # #
Choosing Colored Diamonds – Fancy Diamonds April 26, 2006
Posted by Jill Renee in : Buying Engagement Rings, Diamond Jewelry, Diamonds, Jewelry , 1 comment so farIf you have been thinking about and wishing for a beautiful colored diamond read this article first! Colored diamonds are the next big trend in jewelry design. The spectrum of colors is as big as your imagination. Choosing what’s right for you can be overwhelming in today’s diamond market. This article will address a few important factors to consider when buying a colored diamond for yourself or a loved one. It is important to know the difference between colored diamonds that are formed naturally and ones that are man-made.
Natural colored diamonds are very rare and fetch very high prices. Colored diamonds that are formed in the earth by nature come from three sources. The first method is when a foreign element is introduced to the carbon material that a diamond is made from. For example nitrogen can cause a diamond to have yellow or orange hues while boron can make it blue. The second method by which diamonds get color is when pressure compresses the carbon and creates a red, pink or purple hue. Lastly, natural radiation deep in the earth generates diamonds with colors of green or blue. Green, red and purple diamonds are considered very rare and command huge prices. Indeed there are only six naturally formed red diamonds currently in the market. One can only imagine the prices these stones will fetch. Natural colored diamonds are so rare that there exist at least 10,000 colorless stones for each stone with color.
Colored diamonds can also be made in labs. There are a variety of methods used to color diamonds. Some of these stones are purely synthetic, meaning they were totally created in a lab. They are formed from carbon just like the real thing. However, these stones can be formed in a matter of weeks where as it takes thousands of years for natural diamonds to be formed. These type of synthetic diamonds are so similar to the real thing that only high tech equipment that can detect subtle differences in the crystal formations within the stone can detect that their fake.
Another man made method to produce colored diamonds requires a natural diamond that possesses an unattractive color. These stones are irradiated. Irradiation is a process in which a diamond is exposed to a source of radiation which will change the position of atoms within the stone, which will cause its color to change.
Treated or synthetic diamonds may look very appealing to the consumer because of the price and uniformity of color; however, these diamonds have no value to the serious buyer and have little resale value. Therefore, if you are purchasing a colored diamond for investment it is vital to obtain certification from the diamond seller. The certificate should come from a reputable laboratory and contain the origin of the stone and the natural origin of the stones color.
Grading colored diamonds presents another set of unique issues for the buyer. Colorless diamonds are graded on the 4 C’s: Cut, Carat, Clarity and Color. Colored diamonds are also valued based upon the 4 C’s but another factor weighs most heavily on the value of a colored diamond. This factor is based upon the hue and rarity of the color. Indeed a rare color of diamond will garner a much higher price than a colorless stone of many more carats. Colored diamonds have three characteristics by which they are graded. These are hue, tone and saturation. Hue refers to the dominant color of the stone, tone refers to the light within the stone and saturation refers to the intensity of the hue. Be sure to look for these factors in the diamond certificate.
Having knowledge about the differences between natural and synthetic colored diamonds will help you to choose the diamond that’s right for you. One thing is certain in today’s marketplace jewelry designer’s are using colored diamonds to create beautiful and unique designs that consumers will want to own.
What is the difference between diamonds, cubic zirconia and moissanite? April 3, 2006
Posted by Jill Renee in : Diamond Jewelry, Diamonds, Jewelry , add a commentDiamonds, Cubic Zirconia and Moissanite: How They Differ
By Jill Renee
Diamonds are known for their sparkle and brilliance making them popular in jewelry as their shine is unmatched by any other gemstone. Symbolizing eternal love, diamonds are popular in engagement rings and wedding jewelry. Because of their hardness, diamonds are also used to cut and wear away other substances and are used for industrial purposes in drills, saws and engraving tools.
The jewelry and industrial uses for diamonds created a demand for the stones and also prompted the creation of imitations which mimic the qualities of a diamond with some differences. Cubic zirconia and moissanite are two of these that are popular in jewelry.
Both are diamond simulants meaning non-diamond materials are used to create them and simulate the properties of a real diamond. Both are less expensive than a diamond and have their advantages and drawbacks.
Cubic Zirconia vs. Diamonds
Cubic zirconia (or CZ) has been used in jewelry since the 1970’s. Cubic zirconias are more reflective than glass or crystal so they sparkle like diamonds. A CZ is not as hard as a diamond but weighs more, a fact that does not lessen cubic zirconias appeal since traditional carat sizes are small enough that their weight isn’t perceived as greater. The majority of diamonds have inclusions, or flaws (these are measured by the Clarity component of the four C’s of diamond buying.) CZs are optically flawless and they are colorless, another characteristics that is found in few diamonds as most diamonds have some yellow shading to them.
Moissanite vs. Diamonds
Moissanite is the jewelry name for silicon carbide and was introduced as a gemstone in the late 1990’s. Moissanites are more refractive than diamonds meaning they shine more brilliantly making this one of the easiest ways to tell it is not a diamond.
A moissanite is not as hard as a diamond but is harder than a cubic zirconia and it weighs less than a CZ. Moissanites do have inclusions like diamonds and may have green shading to them.
Both cubic zirconia and moissanite have a close visual resemblance to diamonds – they offer the luster and fire of diamonds while being mostly colorless and can be cut in the same shapes as diamonds. In jewelry making cubic zirconia and moissanite are not as popular so they are harder to find in specific cuts and are not regularly found in jewelry stores or traditional online jewelry sellers.
DeBeers and Beyond: The History of the International Diamond Cartel March 28, 2006
Posted by in : Diamond Jewelry, Diamonds, Jewelry , add a commentDiamonds are forever
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.bold.gif
A gemstone is the ultimate luxury product. It has no material use. Men and women desire to have diamonds not for what they [diamonds] can do but for what they desire.1
To hear these words from a person who attributes his entire wealth and power to the trade of diamonds illustrates the peculiar nature of the diamond market: Jewelry diamonds are unjustifiably expensive, given they are not actually scarce and would fetch a price of $2 to $30 if put to industrial use. Still, by appealing to the customers’ sentiment, diamonds are one of the most precious luxury items and enjoy almost global acceptance. This fact is often attributed to the history of one company. DeBeers, founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1870. Debeers has been a highly successful and effective controller of the diamond market, having developed a unique purchasing and marketing cartel that has influenced prices in the market virtually undisturbed for almost a century. Lately, however, there are signs that more and more players seem ready to challenge DeBeers’ dominance, and ever since, DeBeers has struggled to keep the cartel intact.
Diamonds and the Cartel
For centuries, the only two countries producing diamonds were India and Brazil. Up to the middle of the 19th century, the world supply of diamonds was so scarce that even monarchs and noblemen found it hard to get hold of them. The idea of making diamonds available to the general public seemed unthinkable. When diamonds were first found in South Africa in 1867, however, supply increased rapidly, although the notion of diamonds as a precious and rare commodity remain to the present day.
Similar to the gold miners in California, diamond miners in South Africa tended to rush to the latest findings.2 As a matter of principle, diamond miners preferred to work by themselves. However, the scarcity of resourceful land and the need for a minimum of common infrastructure forced them to live together in limited areas. In order to fight off latecomers and to settle disputes, Diggers Committees were formed and gave out claims in a region. Each digger would be allocated one claim, or, at most, two.
Since digging diamonds on a larger scale was virtually impossible for individuals, small claimholders soon merged into larger ones. Moreover, equipment for digging, hauling the dirt up and pumping water out of the mines was purchased or rented by groups of miners, thereby forced to cooperate even more intensively.3 Cecil Rhodes was one of the first businessmen to rent out pumping equipment and soon realized that he had tapped a vast market potential. He reinvested the initial proceeds from equipment rental in acquiring claims. By 1880, he held a large enough share of diamond claims to justify a separate company purely concerned with managing the mines: thus DeBeers Mining Company was created. By 1887, the company was the sole owner of South African diamond mines.
Concurrently, Cecil Rhodes took control of the distribution channels through “The Diamond Syndicate,” an alliance of merchants in Kimberley who abided to Rhodes’ terms of business, recognizing that their own interests and DeBeers were compatible in that both aimed for high prices and a notion of scarcity.
You can read the rest of the story of DeBeers Diamond Cartel
Care for Diamond Jewelry February 6, 2006
Posted by Jill Renee in : Diamond Jewelry, Diamonds, Jewelry, Jewelry Care , add a commentDoes Your Diamond Ring Still Sparkle?
Care & Cleaning of Diamond Rings
We are often asked how to care for and clean diamond rings. We have to consider the diamonds, the ring mount, and any other stones apart from diamonds. Other Stones
On this page, we will limit ourselves to the care of the diamonds and mount, for information about any other gemstones, please refer to our A to Z of Gemstones page.
General Diamond Jewelry Care
Diamonds are extremely hard and durable, but there are things which can damage them, so it is important to know what to avoid. Diamonds can be broken by a sharp impact on a hard surface, so dropping a ring onto a concrete floor could cause the diamond to cleave, especially if it struck at precisely the wrong place. This is not very likely to happen, and diamonds are so durable, that you may get away with dropping it onto concrete 1,000 times without damage. We would not recommend the experiment! Rings do come in for a large amount of wear and tear when they are on fingers, and an accidental blow on metal or other hard surface could have a similar or greater effect than being dropped.
This sort of collision damage is more likely to wear or break the ring mount, so it is worth inspecting the ring carefully after any hard knock to ensure that any claws are still intact and the stone is tight.
One of the worst things for causing wear and damage to diamonds is allowing them to rub and knock against other diamonds. This will cause abrasion and chipping, particularly around the girdle of the stone. If you wear several rings next to each other, it is better if there is a metal to metal contact between them. Although this will cause wear, it can be repaired fairly easily. We do see a number of older ladies, who have acquired a number of rings over a long period of time, wearing two, three or more rings on one finger. We even had one customer who had seven diamond rings on one finger. They were all quite large, and the thought of the damage to the diamonds made us cringe. This particular little old lady knew that her enjoyment of her rings was more important than the cost of any damage to them.
A number of years ago, we sold a large cubic zirconia ring to a lady, who brought it back less than six months later with all three stones almost worn away and looking very dull. We replace it, but advised her not to wear against her other diamond rings.
Reasonable care should be taken not to catch diamond settings with filaments of thread, particularly strong synthetic threads which may bend claws, and loosen the stones they are meant to be securing.
It is worth having your ring checked by a jeweller occasionally for wear or damage to the settings, particularly with claw set rings. Of course, you can do this yourself, but most jewellers have suitable magnifying glasses which make close inspection much easier. If you notice a stone which is loose, this should definitely be checked by a jeweller as soon as possible.
Cleaning Diamond Jewelry
When jewelery is worn next to the skin, it will become covered and clogged in oily debris mainly composed of dead skin. Dust and grit become lodged in this. Wearing rings while washing up can also allow a greasy film to coat the backs of stones (diamonds just love grease!), and the inside of settings.
The main purpose of cleaning diamond rings is to remove all this greasy debris, and allow light to enter and leave the diamonds, restoring their sparkle. Nothing you would ever use to clean your ring is likely to damage the diamonds without damaging the mount, so we will describe how to clean the metal part of rings. The mount will normally be made of gold, preferably 18 carat gold, of platinum, or of a mixture of the two. Other gold alloys are not as suitable, for an explanation of this, please refer to our Durability of Gold Alloys page.
The Ring Mount
Most gold or platinum jewelery can be cleaned in warm soapy water, detergent is equally good. It can be gently brushed if necessary using an old tooth brush especially to remove debris behind the stones. It is better to avoid cleaning agents containing abrasives, including toothpaste. Some people swear by gin. All alcohol will dissolve grease, but this is a waste of good gin.
Gold Alloys
High carat alloys such as 18 carat and above, will not usually become tarnished, and will not be harmed by household chemicals.
Lower carat gold can be harmed by contact with chlorine based bleach and cleaning chemicals.
Chlorine can cause stress corrosion cracking in lower gold alloys of 14 carat and below, although it will be worse if the jewelery contains porosity through less than perfect manufacturing treatments. Because of this it is best to avoid cleaning your jewelery with bleach or other cleaners containing chlorine, and also to avoid wearing it when in contact with bleach.
Proprietary jewelery Cleaner
Most jewelers now sell tubs of “jewelery Cleaner”. Although it will clean your jewelery, it will not necessarily work any better than the warm soapy water we recommend above.
Ultrasonic Cleaners
jewelery manufacturers and workshops use ultrasonic cleaning tanks. In these, the actual cleaning is performed by the cleaning solution, usually a mixture of ammonia and detergent, the ultrasonics merely provide the agitation to speed up the process. Small domestic ultrasonic cleaners are now available, and many jewelery stores sell them as gift items. We are not convinced that they work better than soap, water and a brush.
Tarnish
Low carat gold alloys will tarnish or discolour through exposure to air. This tarnish is not removed by ordinary cleaning. To remove it will usually require the application of gentle abrasive to rub away the layer of tarnished gold. In jewelery workshops, acid may to used to dissolve the tarnish layer, but this is not practical at home.
The best way to avoid tarnish is to buy 18 carat gold jewelery, which hardly ever becomes tarnished.
Silver
It is unusual for diamonds to be set in silver as it is too soft to be used for diamond rings.
Repolishing
If jewelery with polished surfaces becomes matt and dull over long periods of wear, it can usually be repolished, but we believe that this is not really necessary. Items like diamond rings are bound to become scratched, but we believe that, particularly with high carat golds and platinum, the intrinsic colour of the metal retains its beauty even when scratched and worn.
Gemstone Settings
It is advisable to avoid cleaning stone-set jewelery in a hand-basin. If stones become loose in cleaning, they can easily become lost down the drain.
Right after cleaning is a very common time to discover that stones are missing. Occasionally careless cleaning can be the cause, but usually wear and tear over a period of time are the real cause, and the cleaning merely appears to be the cause. Damage and trauma to jewelery can occur in everyday use, and sometimes the stones are only held in their settings by a build up of grease. When this is removed by cleaning, the stones drop out.
Reprinted from http://www.24carat.co.uk/
