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We are heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras! February 28, 2011

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry , add a comment
Diamond Heart Necklace

Register to Win this Diamond Necklace!

We are joining the festivities and promoting the fun by kicking off our Mardi Gras Contest on Bourbon Street on March 8th, 2011. 

Anyone can participate and participants can easily register to win a Diamond Necklace, valued at           $357, by visiting danforthdiamond.com.  The contest will run for 40 days and 40 nights and the winner will be chosen on Easter Sunday!  Three Danforth Sales reps will be trucking thousands of royal purple beads down to New Orleans and handing them out on Bourbon Street to officially commence the contest on March 8th.  A medallion hangs from the strand of beads containing information about the contest and the Danforth Diamond Logo.  You can follow Kate, Emily and Doug on their journey to New Orleans through our blog at danforthdiamond.com/blog or look for them on Bourbon street! SEE YOU THERE! GET EXCITED!

Happy Chinese New Year! February 3, 2011

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The Chinese calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles and the New Year celebration correlates with the fifteen days it takes for the moon to transform from a new into a full moon.  It is said that the Chinese New Year is similar to the Western Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year packed into fifteen days.  These fifteen days of celebration will commence this evening with families feasting together while the new moon rises in the dark night sky.

Good Luck CharmAll over the world, people of Chinese and Vietnamese decent have prepared for this day with a diligent cleaning of the home in order to sweep away any ill-fortune that may have existed in the family.  They carefully prepare the home and several traditional meals to bring in good luck, happiness, and longevity.  The next fifteen days will be spent forgiving foes and visiting friends while the moon grows larger overhead.  Gifts of food, crafts, jewelry and good luck money are shared with children and neighbor alike.  Danforthdiamond.com offers a great selection of jewelry to add to your wish list! Check out the gold nugget earrings – they are my favorite!

This year we return to the luckiest zodiac sign of all, the year of the rabbit!  Those born in the year of the rabbit are articulate and talented, affectionate, yet shy.  Zodiac symbols provide a fascinating insight on oneself and offer a time for self reflection.  Still searching for gift ideas?  Offer someone the wish of good luck with a good luck charm from Danforthdiamond.com!  On the fifteenth day the celebration will culminate with the traditional Festival of Lanterns to ring in the Chinese New Year!  Children of all ages send hundreds of red and gold lanterns into the sky wishing one last time for peace and happiness to be brought to all in the New Year.

Giving a Diamond Its Color July 26, 2010

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry , 4comments

How Diamonds get Their Color

People should be forgiven for thinking that diamonds have no color and are brilliantly and sparklingly clear.  The truth is that this sparkling, transparency is sold and marketed by diamond merchants and jewelers and the idea that a diamond should have any color at all has been banished from the minds of many.  The truth is that almost every diamond has some color to some degree, and there can be a startling variety in the colors that are encountered in nature.

First of all, it is necessary to understand how a diamond is formed to be able to see how color variations are introduced by deformities in the otherwise, precise crystalline structure.  Diamond is formed from pure carbon at great depths within the earth’s crust where the pressures and high temperatures are extreme.  By heating and crushing the carbon atoms, they are forced into a compact atomic structure which is exceptionally strong and stable.  So strong is this atomic, crystalline structure that diamond is the hardest, naturally occurring material known to man.

This crystalline structure is also colorless with light being able to pass through the atomic lattice unhindered.  Pure diamond is indeed colorless, and there are some rare examples of them but expect to pay an exceptionally heavy price for them.  The fact is that during the formation process, Mother Nature ensures that there is plenty of opportunity for variation in how the crystal structure is formed and which will affect color variation in different ways.

The bulk of color variation in diamonds is caused by impurities being present when the diamond is formed from the carbon melt.

The most common color for diamonds is yellow or brown, and most diamonds you are likely to encounter for jewelry purposes will not be completely colorless but will have a yellowish-hue.  For most examples, there will be no discernible color or yellow-hue to be seen with the naked eye, however you may catch a tinge of yellow or a “dirtiness” to the tint of the stone.  The yellowing is created by the presence of nitrogen in the carbon forming the diamond, and because this atom is of a slightly different size to the carbon atoms in the crystal lattice of the diamond, this causes some distortion.  The physical distortion of the lattice-work in turn creates a distortion of the light passing through the stone, creating a yellow hue.

Other elements may be present such as hydrogen or boron (which will create a grey color), however it is not only impurities which create color variation.

Some diamonds are subjected to radiation sources when they are being formed or lying fully-formed in the earth’s crust.  The effect of radiation on the crystal structure is to excite the atomic structure which in turn gives off energy in the form of light and this is responsible for green diamonds.

A third cause of color variation is known as “plastic deformation” and this involves a warping of the diamond crystal lattice itself.  The precise arrangement of the carbon atoms is strained or in some instances, broken (but at the atomic level and not visible to the naked eye).  Plastic deformation creates the red and pink colors found in diamonds and in some instances, brown diamonds are created by this defect.

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Get it Right – The Importance of Ring Size May 25, 2009

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry , 1 comment so far

Buying and engagement ring is something that most people only want to do once in a lifetime. However, buying an engagement ring is a bit more complicated than buying a new pair of shoes or even a new car. Potential buyers have to get a firm grasp on not only the measured qualities of a diamond, but also the taste of the intended recipient. The buyer must then figure out how to make those two things meet at a cost which is within the buyer’s budget. To put it bluntly, there are a lot of variables to consider when buying an engagement ring.

Fortunately, many people are able to trust the knowledge of their jeweler, helping to mitigate potential unforeseen circumstances when shopping for an engagement ring. However, there is one variable which neither the jeweler nor guesswork should be used for: ring size.

This is a detail which seems too important to overlook, and yet many people do. One of the most common justifications given for simply estimating a future-fiancés ring size is the need for surprise and the willingness to “just have the ring resized later.” This logic has one rather significant problem with it – not all rings can be resized.

To understand why, it helps to know how rings are actually resized. First, it’s important to know whether the band is being made larger or smaller. For a minor enlargement, a jeweler can sometimes just stretch a ring. However, for major adjustments in size, a jeweler must actually cut the ring. To make a ring smaller, the ring is cut and a piece is removed. To make a ring larger, the ring is cut and additional metal is inserted into the band. The ring is then welded back into one piece, massaged back into a circle, polished to hide the cuts, and finally buffed to a shine.

In an ideal world, the process is quick and the results are not noticeable. However, this process obviously cannot be applied to all rings. Why not? Well, there are two critical flaws which can prevent a ring from being resized.

The first such flaw relates to ring’s metal. In order for a jeweler to insert new material to enlarge a ring, the jeweler must know exactly what metal, or blends of metals, that the ring is made of. For this reason, many antique rings, family heirlooms especially, cannot be resized. However, this can extend to white gold rings if the composition of the alloy isn’t known. Mismatching metals can result in spotted or stained rings. Even if metal isn’t being added to a ring, not knowing the composition can cause spotting or staining when the jeweler attempts to melt and buff the ring back to the correct shape.

The second reason why some rings cannot be resized comes down to the process of buffing and reshaping. Rings which have detail lines or contain stones around the band would cause design inconsistencies if metal was to be taken away or added. Stones could be damaged, lost, or destroyed, decorative lines and details smudged, blurred, or even smooshed beyond recognition, and the ring essentially ruined.

Yes, there are alternatives to resizing. A jeweler might be convinced to swap out a ring, if the ring had purchased new. Ring guards, a metal piece inserted into a ring to make it smaller by taking up space, can be used for rings that are too large. However, these are overlooking one very important fact – when you’re on bended knee looking up at the one who just became your fiancé, you want her to be able to wear the ring right away. And you want it to fit.

The ultimate lesson is that ring size isn’t something you should guess at, nor is it something that you should consider fixable at a later date. Finding a ring size discretely might not be easiest task, but seconds after you pop the question, it will certainly be worth it.

Jill Renee – This article is provided by DanforthDiamond.com a leading authority on wedding rings, engagement rings and fine jewelry. Danforth Diamond provides wisdom and advice to help you choose the right ring at the right price. Visit DanforthDiamond.com or call 877.404.RIN

The History of the Wedding Ring April 24, 2009

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry, Wedding Jewelry , comments closed

The wedding ring is the final gift a couple will give each other prior to marriage. Some might say that the very first gift a couple gives each other is a promise ring – which most consider a pre-engagement ring. Then as a couple gets more serious they then give engagement rings to each other.

Many couples look forward to the moment when they’ll slip a ring on their beloved. The look of love in their eyes, that moment when the ring is on their finger and they realize that they are theirs forever. What most don’t realize is that these moments with wedding rings have been happening for centuries. The meaning and symbolism behind a wedding ring is rich and as intricate as its own love story. It deserves to be told so that couples know exactly why they use wedding rings.

This wedding ring is a symbol and throughout time this symbol has stood for love, devotion and at times simply for an arrangement between families. The physical structure of the wedding ring has changed and adapted as different cultures have fashioned it into different forms to make it look beautiful. Some materials are more plentiful in different areas – and other materials or precious metals are considered to be more valuable in other areas. But the meaning behind the symbol has remained the same throughout time and over continents. “I love you” “I want to be with you forever” and “You are mine.”

A ring in its simplest forms is a circle: meaning ‘eternity.’ What more could every couple want than the pure desire to spend eternity together? Most couples choose to have a sentiment or romantic saying engraved inside their wedding rings. This makes that universal symbol so much more personal for each couple.

Symbols exist throughout our culture. Even the materials the wedding ring is made out of can be seen as symbols of love and devotion. Most wedding rings include diamonds. Diamonds are literally indestructible; they are the “forever” stone you want to select to represent your love. Rubies are another choice that represents love, passion and preciousness. While the wedding ring itself is seen as valuable – the symbolism of the wedding ring shows that your beloved is valuable to you. By giving them a valuable ring – you are showing the world just how valuable they are to you. In older days – you might also be protecting your ‘property’ (when women were considered property and possessions).

The wedding ring was worn in later times just as it is today, on the left hand, third finger. This is because of the strong-held belief that the vein in this finger travels directly from the heart. This belief was affirmed as women began wearing their wedding rings closer to their hand and then their engagement ring on that same hand – affirming this belief about this hand being so close to your heart.

Wedding rings have been worn in many traditions. While the traditions may be slightly different – the sentiment and meaning – to love, treasure and honor one another forever – remains very much the same. In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians, rings are exchanged not at the wedding service – but at the betrothal. The groom’s ring is gold and the bride’s ring is silver. In Greece rings are exchanged by couples as they are engaged they are worn on the left hand, fourth finger – and at the wedding they are switched to the right hand. In England, a wedding ring has traditionally always been exchanged. This appears to come from the long-standing belief that marriages were made as arrangements to exchange not just love and honor – but goods or property as well. This belief holds true for most European countries.

During World War II and the Korean War it became popular for men to wear wedding rings. This reminded them of the wonderful wife they had waiting at home for them. After these wars, men began to wear wedding rings to show their faithfulness, devotion and love. Now most men wear wedding rings in many cultures around the world.

Jill Renee – This article is provided by DanforthDiamond.com a leading authority on wedding rings, engagement rings and fine jewelry. Danforth Diamond provides wisdom and advice to help you choose the right ring at the right price. Visit DanforthDiamond.com or call 877.404.RING

Wedding and Marriage Advice January 5, 2009

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry , add a comment

As a wedding approaches, planning often becomes frenetic. Problems emerge that need to be resolved and time quickly slips away. Meanwhile, thoughts about life spent together after the wedding are placed on the back burner. Planning a wedding and reception can be stressful, even if you’ve delegated a majority of the tasks to friends. Plus, there never seems to be enough time to take care of everything. But, it’s still important to remember that once you return home from your honeymoon, life resumes. And this time, that life is intimately linked with your spouse.

Below, we’ll discuss the wedding and reception, including the choice between a big event or small affair. We’ll also provide some advice for enjoying the honeymoon and returning home to build a lasting marriage.

Big Wedding Or Small?

Big weddings have always been popular. Decades ago, it wasn’t uncommon for a wedding to draw several hundred people. Family, friends, distant relatives, and even minor acquaintances were invited to share the experience and celebrate the marriage. However, times have changed. While large events are still popular, smaller affairs are becoming common. They’re more intimate and are designed to draw the people who play a significant role in either partner’s life. Neither choice is the right one. Selecting between a big or small wedding is a matter of catering to each partner’s preference.

Managing The Cost

Weddings are expensive. Today, the average wedding costs $25,000. And the bigger the event, the more expensive it is. Also, more couples are contributing to that cost than ever. Before planning any part of the wedding or reception, the engaged couple should agree on a budget. Not only will this keep the cost under control, but it’s a great opportunity to practice fiscal responsibility together. Plus, by creating a budget, both partners can establish reasonable savings goals in preparation for the wedding.

Planning And Enjoying Your Honeymoon

Traditionally, the planning of the honeymoon has been the responsibility of the man. However, just as men have begun taking an active role in the planning of a wedding, both partners should work together to plan their honeymoon. That includes agreeing on a suitable destination, activities to enjoy, the duration of the honeymoon, and where to stay. Arranging the details together makes it a team effort and ensures that both partners will have a great time.

Building A Successful Marriage

Eventually, the honeymoon ends and the married couple returns home. That’s when life together truly begins. Most couples who have been married for decades claim that a successful relationship is built upon a few basic principles. They include a willingness to compromise, communicate, and support and respect each other.

Of course, developing these traits within the context of a marriage is easier said than done. This is especially true for newlyweds. Often, they’ve lived the majority of their life without having to rely upon a partner. Being married turns that lifestyle upside down. It takes time and patience to cultivate the qualities that make a marriage successful. When long-married couples talk about the amount of hard work involved in building a lasting marriage, this is what they’re referring to.

Love For A Lifetime

A wedding is always exciting because it holds the promise for a loving, lifelong marriage. Two people, once strangers, combine to form a single team. Over time, that attachment and commitment to each other continues to grow, making them all but inseparable. For some, having children and raising a family is a natural extension of that love and respect. For others, a life shared together without children may be preferred. In either case, from the wedding to the honeymoon and beyond, a lifelong union is possible.

6 Tips For Buying A Wedding Ring December 8, 2008

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry, Wedding Jewelry , 1 comment so far

Few men are experts on buying wedding rings. For most men, it’s a process of becoming educated quickly and then searching desperately for the right ring. The amount of money they’re expected to pay for the ring seems fluid, changing each year to accommodate retailers. At the same time, there’s a lot of conflicting advice. In an effort to help smooth the process, making it easier and less stressful, we’ll provide you with 6 quick tips for buying the perfect wedding ring.

Tip #1: Know Your Metals

In the past, most wedding rings were gold and had a golden tone to them. Yellow gold rings are still popular today, but there are other options available. White gold is becoming more prevalent because it allows the stone to stand out. On the other hand, platinum has become increasingly fashionable. It’s more expensive than yellow or white gold, but it’s also more durable.

Tip #2: Know Your Purity

If you plan to buy a wedding ring made from yellow or white gold, you’ll need to understand the purity of the metal. In most cases, gold rings come in 14k, 18k, and 24k. The greater the number of karats, the higher the purity of the gold. 24k gold is more expensive than 14k or 18k. It’s also softer and more prone to becoming scratched.

Tip #3: Know Your 4 C’s

Most wedding rings will have at least one diamond. The quality of the diamond is determined by what are known as the 4 C’s: cut, color, clarity, and carat of the stone. The stone’s cut is what allows the diamond to reflect light. The less color a diamond has, the more valuable it is. Clarity is a reflection of the diamond’s inclusions (or, flaws). And the number of carats is a measurement of the stone’s size.

Tip #4: Take Her With You

The wedding ring that you purchase for your partner will ideally last a lifetime. Many women have specific preferences for the style and design of the ring. Consider taking your partner with you. It may seem less romantic to do so, but it can help you avoid investing in a ring she doesn’t like.

Tip #5: Stone First

It’s likely that the wedding ring will become an heirloom, kept in your family for generations. If you’re struggling to afford an attractive ring, invest more in the diamond and less in the ring itself. The diamond often carries greater emotional significance over time.

Tip #6: Size It Properly

Even though having a ring resized is relatively simple, try to have it sized properly by the time you offer it to your partner when you propose. If possible, borrow one of her other rings and present it to the jeweler for sizing. A poorly-sized wedding ring won’t ruin your proposal, but a perfectly-sized ring will help make it flawless.

Investing In The Ring

A common rule of thumb for pricing wedding rings is to allocate two months’ salary. However, that’s an arbitrary figure. Instead, focus primarily on finding a ring that will match your partner’s style and preferences. While your budget will play a major role in the ring you purchase, other factors are more important. Use the 6 tips described above when shopping. If you do, you’ll be better prepared to identify the right ring, confident that your partner will be delighted with it.

How World-Class Jewelry Thief Was Caught October 9, 2008

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry , 1 comment so far

Since the Middle Ages, Antwerp has stood as the capital of the world’s diamond trade with specialists perfecting the art of cutting and polishing the precious stones. And due to the huge trade that flowed through the city, Antwerp was largely regarded as a pipe dream, the criminal version of the hitting the lottery and with about the same odds of success. Buried in the heart of the city, the Antwerp Diamond Center is locked down in all the right ways. Armed guards control who gets in and out. Movements are constantly covered by electronic surveillance. Keys are monitored. Goods are compartmentalized. Barricades control vehicle access. By all means, the Diamond Centre was the last place anyone wanted to steal diamonds, the stakes were too high.

The School of Turin

A group of largely Italian professional thieves, known as the School of Turin, decided that hitting the Diamond Centre was not only feasible, it was their goal. The group knew that with heightened security and the reputation that the Diamond Centre had, that security at the Centre was likely to have a major vulnerability – complacency. The extreme level of security also meant that the Antwerp Diamond Centre would be no simple smash and grab. No, it would take planning, a great deal of planning. Member Leonardo Notarbatol took an inside job as a diamond merchant, giving the School of Turin unprecedented access to the inside of the Antwerp Diamond Centre and the 160 security boxes of diamonds, jewels, and other riches that it contained. The rest of the team split themselves up and organized by specialties – safe crackers, alarm experts, getaway drivers. The plan started to shape up in a way that would make most Hollywood screenwriters jealous – the School of Turin was turning a job on the Antwerp Diamond Centre into Oceans 11 without the banter.

Breaking In

At approximately 7:00 pm local time, on Friday the 14th of February, 2003, the group known as the School of Turin was beginning the active phase of the largest diamond heist the world has ever seen. Notarbartolo reportedly had remained in the vault that Friday night when the security doors closed automatically at 7:00 pm. Several hours later, the elevator leading down to vault was purportedly used by three other members of the School. The motion detector at the foot of the elevator has already been disabled by an application of spray silicone, and the vault’s light detector had been rendered useless with a simple piece of tape.  With all of the prep work done, the School of Turin found themselves alone with the vault of the Antwerp Diamond Center.

Read the rest of this article about this amazing jewelry heist. Provided by Danforth Diamond, your engagement ring experts.

How a Diamond Ring is Made at Danforth Diamond September 16, 2008

Posted by Jill Renee in : Jewelry , 4comments

At Danforth Diamond, all of our engagement rings are made to order. A skilled jeweler crafts each and every engagement ring and you will see the difference in our product. Because of this, most of our engagement rings take seven to ten business days to produce. Watch the video below to see the Birth of Your Ring!

A Danforth Diamond Engagement Tale September 4, 2008

Posted by Jill Renee in : Destination Proposals, Engagement Rings, Jewelry, Proposing Marriage , add a comment

Every so often, Danforth Diamond recieves letters from customers who desire to share their engagement experience.  When we checked the Danforth mailbag in August, we came across this intriguing tale about a couple who became engaged on the Great Wall of China.  The contents of the letter have been reprinted below for your enjoyment. A close up of the ring is below, click the image to view the ring on our site.

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Mert and I are now officially engaged! After many pretend proposals, Mert this time pulled out a real ring and proposed to me on my 30th birthday on the Great Wall of China and OF COURSE I said YES! What an amazing day. Mert arranged a private tour of the Summer Palace and the Great Wall, both magnificent places in Beijing! I didn’t suspect a thing, figured it was all for my birthday! He played it cool the whole time.Â

mert-vanessa-just-engaged.jpgAlong our journey of the Great Wall, we reached the 18th tower (out of 20) and I didn’t want to go any further b/c it was hard already, & getting to the last 2 towers was going to be crazy, it was already hard to breathe as it was and we had a LONG way back. Mert and I climbed to the top of the tower, he gave me a hug and I felt his heart pounding like crazy and I said, “why is your heart pounding so hard…we’re definitely not going any further…” then he said “for a good reason”, then said some wonderful things that I will cherish forever and asked me to marry him and pulled out a GI-NORMOUS diamond that he’d been carrying around all day. We shed some tears out of shear bliss and excitement…there was barely anyone on the wall, the first sighting after the proposal was a group of people who turned out to be from NBC Utah…I screamed out “we just got engaged” and they congratulated us and asked if they could interview us for Utah tv…It seemed like all a blur, we told our story while they filmed. After she gave us a business card and we will be able to view it online!Â

I said, “why is your heart pounding so hard…we’re definitely not going any further…” then he said “for a good reason”

We then started our big hike back to the cable cars…they were closed…then we climbed down to the 6th tower, where the chair lift and slide (yes I did say a slide down the hill from the Great Wall, obviously which wasn’t there in the 5th century BC?) were also closed.Â

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We were beside ourselves…we would have to walk all the way down the hill down a trail…It had been such a long, exciting, and cardio-filled day and we couldn’t imagine going any further…did I also mention, we hadn’t seen a soul on the Wall for a hour or so…we sat down for awhile, caught our breathe and finally decided to tackle the hike down, then all of a sudden a sweet Chinese man popped his head out and said Ne Ho (Hello)..he worked at the chair lift/slide…we begged (with sign language since they didn’t speak english) and money to let us on either ride down, he asked this other guy..they said no…then long story short Mert showed his Olympic ID (which has gotten him and sometimes me in for free everywhere) and they did some convincing to the people at the bottom and finally they let us take the chair down! they didn’t accept our money…we were pretty thankful and what a beautiful ride down.

What a day, what a birthday, what an amazing life! We both feel so blessed to have met each other and thank God for each other every day!Â

Thank-you for sharing in our happiness!

What  a story!  You can check out the couple’s video interview on the local news here.  If you have a special engagement story you’d like to share, we’d love to hear it.  Email us at experts [at] danforthdiamond [dot] com.  And be sure to check out our collection of diamonds and engagement rings so that you can find the perfect ring to include in your story.