About Diamonds and Gems

About Gems and Diamonds

About Diamonds and Gems - The 6C's of Diamonds

Carat:

One carat is equal to 1/5 of a gram in weight

For diamonds under a carat, each carat is divided into 100 points. For example 0.75ct. = 75 points, 1/2 ct. = 50 points.

Clarity:

Diamonds form under tremendous heat and pressure giving them distinguishable internal and external characteristics. These qualities help gemmologists separate natural diamonds from synthetics and stimulants, and serve to identify individual stones.

Inclusions and blemishes are the two types of clarity characteristics. Inclusions are characteristics within a diamond while blemishes are on the surface of the diamond.

Colour:

Most diamonds used in jewellery are near colourless with tints of yellow or brown. Colour grades are determined by comparing each diamond to a master set. Each letter grade represents a range of colour and is a measure of how noticeable the colour is.

Cut:

A polished diamond's beauty is affected by its relationship with light and how light reflects off of the surface, how much enters the diamond, and how the light returns to your eye.

The result is a compilation of three qualities.

Brightness is the white light reflecting from the surface and interior of a diamond.

Fire is the Coloured flashes that can be seen in a diamond.

Scintillation describes the sparkle of light you see, and the overall pattern of bright and dark areas when you look at a diamond face-up.

A diamond's proportions affect its performance. This affects its beauty and overall appeal. Diamonds with ideal proportions optimize the interaction with light, and have good brilliance, fire, and scintillation.

About Rings Sizes

Ring size is not the same as one's finger size; this is perhaps the first law of ring sizing to remember. A professional jeweller can determine your proper ring size using a set of steel gauge-rings, which are known as "ring-seizers". These come in narrow and wide widths, therefore be conscious of that fact when being measured. Also, be aware that you must first judge how your fingers change over the course of the day, and what work you are performing on a day-to-day basis.
All the aforementioned can affect the results using gauge rings Other methods, such as measuring the finger with a strip of paper, or slipping the finger through pre-cut "measuring holes", are inaccurate. It is advisable to visit several jewellers at different times during the day. For a more accurate reading, one may measure one's finger at the end of the day, when it is at its largest diameter. Also, it is better to have recorded data of ring measurements taken from rings that fit, if one wears rings.

Other factors that can affect ring size include: the menstrual cycle, temperature, humidity, water-retention and exercise. The best strategy for any ring-lover is to purchase good callipers that measure inside diameters. A tightly-callipered measurement should then be taken of various rings that fit; these should be noted and the corresponding size recorded. The MANDREL, the tapered ring-measuring rod, should be regarded as only half-accurate.

Different jewellers will employ the mandrel in different ways. For instance, one jeweller may use the mandrel and take an edge-of-the-ring reading; others will take the measure that corresponds to the largest finger the ring can fit. It is best for the consumer to know and be firm about finger dimensions, because every jeweller or ring seller will think his/her method the "best" ring-measuring method. It has often been suggested that the entire world switch to using inner diameter (the diameter of the finger) as the only size-number standard. A wider band can be worn more loosely. Large knuckles/hands should wear a slightly loose ring, while slimmer knuckles/smaller hands will require a tighter ring. Some rings can be re-sized, but many cannot. Rings made of titanium or tungsten steel; stone-set rings with complicated or precise mountings, extremely thin/wide rings cannot be re-sized A good way for a "rough-and-ready" measurement is to find a ring that is just smaller than the second knuckle of the finger. This way the fit is comfortable but will not slide off the finger.
The method of trying on a ring and shaking the hand violently, to see if the ring comes off, is inadvisable and not very accurate. Furthermore, every ring size chart will vary slightly in its standards. This always occurs unless one company has copied another company's size chart. Even the ISO, ring smiths and jewellers’ use different sizing standards, assigning different numbers to the same measurements. On one chart a diameter of 20.65mm may equal a size 10 3/4; on another chart, a similar number, such as 20.62mm, may read out as size 10. It is wise to keep all of the above firmly in mind when ring shopping.

If ordering from catalogue or internet, always demand that the seller provide the inner diameter of a ring.

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