Browsing the Internet I have come to a website www.argylediamondinvestments.com.au that has caught my attention because it is a compilation of those that have recently become fashionable, and that review the evolution of diamonds.
The diamond is pure carbon turned into crystal after millions of years of formation. The diamond is bright, and reflects white light. When acting as a prism, it also concentrates and refracts the light and, when shining with reflected and refracted light, flashes and can be seen at a great distance.
Diamonds are almost as old as Earth itself. Most of them are formed due to pressure conditions and extreme temperatures that occur at great depths in the earth’s mantle, and reach the surface through the magma of volcanic eruptions.
The famous four characteristics
The four characteristics that determine the quality and price of a diamond are:
- Carat (weight)
- Color (color)
- Cut (size)
- Clarity (purity)
When it is decided to maximize size instead of beauty, the stone usually loses brightness, dispersion and fire, so beauty should always triumph over size in all cases but of course, to taste the colors!
The brilliant cut stone usually has 57 or 58 facets that reflect the light in every way, to end up coming out through the crown as if it were fire. There are several types of sizes. The best known are the marquise, emerald, princess, square, heart-shaped, pear, oval or triangular carvings. The most popular sizes are the round ones that make the brilliance of the diamonds shine, the square ones, which visually increase their size, and the emerald or rectangular types that are considered the most sophisticated.
Carat is the measure of diamond weight. The origin of the name “carat” comes from the ancient Indian tradition of weighing diamonds with carob beans because these are very homogeneous in terms of weight. Subsequently, the Greeks adopted these measures. To them is due to the word “ceration” (four grains), which the Arabs translated by “qirat”. A diamond of one gram in weight equals five carats, which is already a “huge” size for a diamond.
But not only will the weight determine the value of a diamond. The color, size, purity and balance are the main characteristics to determine the value of this stone. A carved diamond, the whiter, the prettier, scarcer and more valuable it is. The size of the diamond always determines its shape. What are valued are three things: the depth, width and uniformity of each of its facets.
What are impurities?
Impurities are a natural part of the diamond, although there are defects that can occur when the stone is being handled during carving or polishing. It is said that a stone is “clean” if, when examined with a ten magnification lens, no internal faults (clouds, feathers or pinheads), or external imperfections (scratches, perforations or stings) are distinguished. A truly clean diamond is extremely rare, and hence its price. Two stones of equal weight can vary greatly in price due to the differences between qualities.
Most diamonds are white or colorless, although many contain yellowish or brown tones. There are also blue-white ones (very rare, and valuable). The best way to see the real color of a diamond is by observing it diagonally on a white background. Transparent diamonds are cheaper if they have yellowish hues, while pink or blue diamond’s can be noticeably more expensive visit www.argylediamondinvestments.com.au for all colors, reds are the rarest and most valuable. These diamonds, very rare, come mostly from Australian mines, and are known in slang as “Fancy Color.”
