Been there, done that with gold, silver, platinum or even
diamonds? Longing for a distinct, �out o� the world� look that
will make you easily spotable in a multitude? Well, good news
for you! You�ve knocked on the right doors. Imitation diamonds
give you exactly what you are looking for. These diamond
alternatives set your personality ablaze. With an incomparable
flare, imitation diamonds set an aura of elegance around you.
Moissanite jewels posses the sheen of clusters of a million
stars put together, making them the best diamond alternatives
available today. Due to their easy availability, breathtaking
glimmer and apt durability, moissanite jewelry are the most
suitable alternatives to diamond rings. Let your shine do the
talking.
Various moissanite jewelry items enable you to look your
stunning best. Seize your chance to wear that drop dead gorgeous
look that promises to make several heads turn back for yet
another glance. Moissanite jewels are expedient to use,
exceptionally beautiful in appearance and do not look fake
unlike most other diamond alternatives.
What�s more, you can enjoy the gleam, glam and bliss of a
diamond at an astoundingly reasonable cost. Moissanite enables
you to embellish yourself with better than diamond at a price
less than that of a diamond. It is almost impossible to spot the
difference between a real diamond and moissanite. With more than
the beauty and appeal of a diamond, moissanite jewels are here
to stay for sure.
More About Imitation Diamonds
Moissanite stones were actually showered upon Arizona about
50,000 years ago by a meteorite. These are counted today among
the most fascinating jewels that are used all round the world.
Due to its limited supply and progressively increasing demand,
moissanite is artificially created in the laboratories.
Designed to serve as diamond alternatives, moissanite jewelry
adorns you to perfection. To feel and look special with a
striking patina, what better jewel than moissanite? Fascinate
those around you with these imitation diamonds as alternatives
to diamond rings. Why wait to make your mark!
Let the charm of moissanite lure your senses with the inimitable
beauty of imitation diamonds �go ahead, sizzle in style!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Real Or Simulated Diamonds � Can You Tell The Difference
When you buy a diamond, how do you really know if it is real?
Of course, if you deal with a reputable jeweler who has a reputation to uphold, your chances are pretty good that you will get the real thing. But if you come across a deal from a relatively unknown source and it seems too good to be true � it just may be!
You might think a fake is a fake, but just like anything else there are different qualities of simulated diamonds. Some are very inexpensive and easy to spot. A cheap cubic zirconia ring in a plated setting will probably look nice for a while but will soon lose it�s luster and any jewelry would be able to tell right off the bat that it is not an expensive gem. That�s not to say that these are no good � on the contrary � you can buy a very nice ring for around $20.00 and have it look gorgeous to the causal observer. It might last a year if you take care of it and that�s not bad for the price!
Other simulated diamonds can be quite expensive. Some are very high quality and set in platinum or 14K rings. These will cost you, but not as much as a real diamond in the same setting. These rings will last a long time and are a good value if you want the look but don�t want to spend the money. Most jewelers can tell the difference between a real diamond and even these high quality look alikes, but a new method has been developed that creates a diamond in the lab which is of such high quality that most jewelers will not be able to distinguish it from a natural diamond. These diamonds that will soon hit the market place will set you back about half the cost of the same size of a natural diamond.
So how do you tell the difference?
Since you need specialized equipment and training, the average person cannot tell the difference between a real and simulated diamond, unless it is of terrible quality. The best way to protect yourself when buying diamonds is to buy from someone you trust. The other thing is to educate yourself about the 4 C�s of buying a diamond so you will know what to look for when you do go shopping.
These 4 C�s � color, clarity, cut and carat weight are what determine the value of the diamond. You may pay less for a large diamond that does not have good clarity, cut or color then you will for a smaller diamond of better clarity, cut and color but is it really worth it? The answer is mostly a matter of personal preference but if you deal with a jewelry you can trust, he or she can guide you as to the best value for the money whether you decide to buy a real or simulated diamond.
Of course, if you deal with a reputable jeweler who has a reputation to uphold, your chances are pretty good that you will get the real thing. But if you come across a deal from a relatively unknown source and it seems too good to be true � it just may be!
You might think a fake is a fake, but just like anything else there are different qualities of simulated diamonds. Some are very inexpensive and easy to spot. A cheap cubic zirconia ring in a plated setting will probably look nice for a while but will soon lose it�s luster and any jewelry would be able to tell right off the bat that it is not an expensive gem. That�s not to say that these are no good � on the contrary � you can buy a very nice ring for around $20.00 and have it look gorgeous to the causal observer. It might last a year if you take care of it and that�s not bad for the price!
Other simulated diamonds can be quite expensive. Some are very high quality and set in platinum or 14K rings. These will cost you, but not as much as a real diamond in the same setting. These rings will last a long time and are a good value if you want the look but don�t want to spend the money. Most jewelers can tell the difference between a real diamond and even these high quality look alikes, but a new method has been developed that creates a diamond in the lab which is of such high quality that most jewelers will not be able to distinguish it from a natural diamond. These diamonds that will soon hit the market place will set you back about half the cost of the same size of a natural diamond.
So how do you tell the difference?
Since you need specialized equipment and training, the average person cannot tell the difference between a real and simulated diamond, unless it is of terrible quality. The best way to protect yourself when buying diamonds is to buy from someone you trust. The other thing is to educate yourself about the 4 C�s of buying a diamond so you will know what to look for when you do go shopping.
These 4 C�s � color, clarity, cut and carat weight are what determine the value of the diamond. You may pay less for a large diamond that does not have good clarity, cut or color then you will for a smaller diamond of better clarity, cut and color but is it really worth it? The answer is mostly a matter of personal preference but if you deal with a jewelry you can trust, he or she can guide you as to the best value for the money whether you decide to buy a real or simulated diamond.
About the Author
Lee Dobbins is owner and editor of Artisan Jewelry Online where you can learn more about the 4c�s of buying a diamond.
Feel free to reprint and distribute this article as you like but please do not change the article and you must include the resource box with all it�s active links.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Understanding Diamonds
A diamond is just pure carbon crystal. If you look at the chemistry of diamond, it is pure carbon. The arrangement of the carbon atoms differently makes it a unique gem. A diamond is considered precious from the ancient times and is popular for its strength.
How a diamond is formed?
Diamonds are formed in the earth thousands of years ago under extreme heat and pressure. This extreme heat and pressure in the earth transforms this carbon into crystals and colorless. Although diamonds are formed in the earth, the volcanic activities are thought to have brought them to the surface of the earth in the early days. Hence, these volcanic pipes are found to have diamonds in them. When some of the minerals mix with the carbon, the diamond takes some other color in it. Such diamonds that are colored are very rare and valued much than the normal diamond, which is colorless.
Some of the diamond mines
Diamond mines are found in Canada and Australia. Diavik Diamond Mines is found in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Canada. It is estimated that this diamond mine reserves are 95.6 million carats. The Argyle diamond mine found in the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia is one of the popular mines that produce the Argyle diamonds. This mine produces more than one third of the world's production of diamonds.
How diamonds are valued?
Diamonds are valued by their Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight. You should remember the four C's that are used to value diamonds. Cut, Color, and Clarity are used to measure the quality of the diamond and the final C, which is Carat, is used to measure the size of the diamond. Man creates cut in a diamond and the other C's are formed in nature.
Types of diamonds
When minerals are mixed in nature with the diamond, it gives the characteristic color for the diamond. Based on the type of mineral that is mixed, we can classify the diamonds in to many types. The following are the colors that are found in the diamond.
Yellow: this color is formed when Nitrogen is combined with diamond crystals.
Blue: During the formation of the diamond if elements of Boron are mixed then the diamond will be in blue color
Green: Green color is caused due to a missed out atom in the lattice of atoms.
Brown: Any dislocation in the lattice of atoms causes brown coloring in the diamonds.
Pink: Dislocations in the lattice missed out atoms, and some impurities that are non-nitrogen causes pink color in diamonds.
Carat - The Measuring Unit
Carat is the unit that is used to measure diamonds. In the earlier days, diamonds were weighed by using the Carob tree seeds. A seed from this tree was considered as one carat. Now-a-days one carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams. Diamonds of less than one carat are known as pointers. Suppose the weight of diamond is 0.18 grams, and then it is known as 18 pointers. The more the carat the more is the price of the diamonds.
About the author:
For more information, visit these sites:
http://www.DiamondInfoCenter.com
http://www.EngagementRingsInfo.com
http://www.NecklaceInfoCenter.com
How a diamond is formed?
Diamonds are formed in the earth thousands of years ago under extreme heat and pressure. This extreme heat and pressure in the earth transforms this carbon into crystals and colorless. Although diamonds are formed in the earth, the volcanic activities are thought to have brought them to the surface of the earth in the early days. Hence, these volcanic pipes are found to have diamonds in them. When some of the minerals mix with the carbon, the diamond takes some other color in it. Such diamonds that are colored are very rare and valued much than the normal diamond, which is colorless.
Some of the diamond mines
Diamond mines are found in Canada and Australia. Diavik Diamond Mines is found in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Canada. It is estimated that this diamond mine reserves are 95.6 million carats. The Argyle diamond mine found in the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia is one of the popular mines that produce the Argyle diamonds. This mine produces more than one third of the world's production of diamonds.
How diamonds are valued?
Diamonds are valued by their Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight. You should remember the four C's that are used to value diamonds. Cut, Color, and Clarity are used to measure the quality of the diamond and the final C, which is Carat, is used to measure the size of the diamond. Man creates cut in a diamond and the other C's are formed in nature.
Types of diamonds
When minerals are mixed in nature with the diamond, it gives the characteristic color for the diamond. Based on the type of mineral that is mixed, we can classify the diamonds in to many types. The following are the colors that are found in the diamond.
Yellow: this color is formed when Nitrogen is combined with diamond crystals.
Blue: During the formation of the diamond if elements of Boron are mixed then the diamond will be in blue color
Green: Green color is caused due to a missed out atom in the lattice of atoms.
Brown: Any dislocation in the lattice of atoms causes brown coloring in the diamonds.
Pink: Dislocations in the lattice missed out atoms, and some impurities that are non-nitrogen causes pink color in diamonds.
Carat - The Measuring Unit
Carat is the unit that is used to measure diamonds. In the earlier days, diamonds were weighed by using the Carob tree seeds. A seed from this tree was considered as one carat. Now-a-days one carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams. Diamonds of less than one carat are known as pointers. Suppose the weight of diamond is 0.18 grams, and then it is known as 18 pointers. The more the carat the more is the price of the diamonds.
About the author:
For more information, visit these sites:
http://www.DiamondInfoCenter.com
http://www.EngagementRingsInfo.com
http://www.NecklaceInfoCenter.com
Monday, May 14, 2007
Where Diamonds Come From
It's hard to believe that that beautiful, brilliant stone in your ring was once sitting in the earth, isn't it? But it was and there's quite a few diamonds still there in fact about 120 million carats of diamonds are mined each year. There are currently two methods of mining diamonds: Alluvial Mining and Pipe Mining. The Alluvial mining method is done on beaches and in riverbeds. When using this method, the water and sand on the bank are held back with man made walls, or a bulldozer is used to move the beach until the level of earth containing diamonds is reached. The diamonds are not sorted right there, instead the sand that has the diamonds in it is loaded into trucks and taken to screening plants. With pipe mining, the diamonds are extracted from the earth through volcanic pipes. These pipes are natural - not man made. Shanks are put in the ground next to these pipes, and then tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of the pipe. Using this method, gigantic rocks that are full of diamonds are taken out of the mine and then moved to screening plants for sorting. There are many diamond mines in operation around the world. Some of the major ones include: The worlds largest diamond min is Orapa which is located 240 Km west of Francistown. This mine is owned by a partnership between the government of Botswana and DeBeers named "Debswana". The mine operates 7 days a week and is the oldest one owned by Debswana. It offers schools for its employee's children as well as a hospital and game park. Orapa began production in 1971. The Argye mine I slocated in the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine has the distinction of being the world's largest single producer of volume of diamonds. Unfortunately there is a low proportion of gem quality diamonds so it is not the value leader. It does, however, produce 90-95% of the world's supply of pink diamonds. Diavik is another mine owned by Rio Tinto and located in Canada. It is on an island north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle. The island, connected by an ice road is an important part of the regions economy and employs more than 700 people. This mine produces more than 8 million carats annually. Ekati diamond mine is located south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada and owned by BHP Billiton. The Ekati is Canada's first operational diamond mine and the diamonds are sold under the Aurias trade name. The Baken diamond mine is located in South Africa along the lower Orange River. It is owned and operated by Trans Hex. The average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 carats. In 2004, this mine produced a 78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was sold for over 1 million US dollars. The largest diamond ever was produced by the Premier mine in Cullinan, South Africa in 1905. Named The Cullinan Diamond it weighed a whopping 3,106.75 carats. This same mine also produced the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed in at 545.67 carats. In 2003, this mine, owned by De Beers was renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Are Diamonds Really Forever?
In the past, the Greeks and the Romans thought that the diamonds were tears of Gods and small pieces of stars. There were also the Hindus, who thought that the diamonds had so much power that they put diamonds in the eyes of some of their statues. Other people believed that an unapproachable valley in Central Asia covered by diamonds existed. One said that this valley was "kept by birds of prey and protected by snakes of mortal stare".
Besides believing that diamonds could attract luck and success, people also thought that they could defy the astrological events. Many people used them as jewels, supposing they would be increasing their sexual power and capacity to attract. Even Plato wrote about diamonds, describing them as living creatures, impersonating divine spirits.
Until the 15th century, only kings were allowed to use diamonds, having them as a symbol of courage, power and invincibility. But as the centuries passed by, the diamond started to acquire its status of sublime proof of love. Currently, they are related to the love, romance and myth.
We probably will never know when the first diamond was discovered, but we do know that, from the ancient times to the 18th century, all the diamonds of the world came from India. From the period of the Roman Empire to the appearance of the first Europeans to India, in the beginning of the 16th century, the commercial relations between Europe and Eastern Asia bloomed.
One of the main routes of the diamond commerce was in Venice. The city became the most important mercantile republic of the western world. It enjoyed the monopoly of the commerce of the diamond course to the main cities of the south of Germany until its final destiny, Brussels. Since this city became the final phase of the commercial route, it became a promising centre of diamond stature, and the reputation of the city in this sector did not stop increasing. Even though Brussels maintained their predominance until the end of the 14th century, they began to decline in a lapse of fifty years. The diamond trade and numerous other economic activities of Brussels were moved progressively to the city of Ambers, which offered more recent and better facilities for the communications and the commercial exchange. In 1866, the first diamond in South Africa was discovered. Following this was the discovery of the deposits of Kimberley few years later, giving birth to the fabulous era of Kimberley.
The word diamond comes from the Greek word ' adamas ', meaning invincible, and ' diaphanes ', that means transparent. In the past centuries, people believed that a diamond could reattach a wrecked marriage. It was used also in battles as a symbol of courage.
Even though the diamond is the hardest rock known by men, it is the only precious gem with only one element: carbon. Nevertheless, it can only be melted when exposed to a temperature of 5500 degrees Celsius! Billions of years before, the basic forces of heat and pressure miraculously transformed the carbon into diamond through volcano lava underneath the earth. In some way, this volcanic mass was expelled out of the earthly crust, cooling soon to be found as diamonds in rudimentary form. No acid can destroy them, and they are capable to cut anything on Earth, therefore, they only can be cut with themselves.
However, are the diamonds really forever? If they appeared miraculously, can they be destroyed? As incredible as it may seem, the small diamond that adorn the ring that you gave your wife will probably last forever - at least while Earth exists. They are the most resistant minerals of the planet, and only can be melted when displayed to a temperature of 5500°C. The problem is that the global atmosphere will never achieve this high temperature, even if it was to be hit by an enormous meteor that would eliminate all forms of life. They only would melt if, one day, the planet literally entered the Sun, which has a temperature of 5800°C. The curious thing is that, according to astronomers, in 7,5 billion years our planet will actually enter the Sun, when the star will be next to death. If you think diamonds will disappear then, you might be wrong. When such episode happens, the temperature of the Sun will lower to about 3000°C. That means that even when Earth reaches an atmosphere as hot and dense as Mercury’s atmosphere, we will still be able to find some small diamonds spread around.
Besides believing that diamonds could attract luck and success, people also thought that they could defy the astrological events. Many people used them as jewels, supposing they would be increasing their sexual power and capacity to attract. Even Plato wrote about diamonds, describing them as living creatures, impersonating divine spirits.
Until the 15th century, only kings were allowed to use diamonds, having them as a symbol of courage, power and invincibility. But as the centuries passed by, the diamond started to acquire its status of sublime proof of love. Currently, they are related to the love, romance and myth.
We probably will never know when the first diamond was discovered, but we do know that, from the ancient times to the 18th century, all the diamonds of the world came from India. From the period of the Roman Empire to the appearance of the first Europeans to India, in the beginning of the 16th century, the commercial relations between Europe and Eastern Asia bloomed.
One of the main routes of the diamond commerce was in Venice. The city became the most important mercantile republic of the western world. It enjoyed the monopoly of the commerce of the diamond course to the main cities of the south of Germany until its final destiny, Brussels. Since this city became the final phase of the commercial route, it became a promising centre of diamond stature, and the reputation of the city in this sector did not stop increasing. Even though Brussels maintained their predominance until the end of the 14th century, they began to decline in a lapse of fifty years. The diamond trade and numerous other economic activities of Brussels were moved progressively to the city of Ambers, which offered more recent and better facilities for the communications and the commercial exchange. In 1866, the first diamond in South Africa was discovered. Following this was the discovery of the deposits of Kimberley few years later, giving birth to the fabulous era of Kimberley.
The word diamond comes from the Greek word ' adamas ', meaning invincible, and ' diaphanes ', that means transparent. In the past centuries, people believed that a diamond could reattach a wrecked marriage. It was used also in battles as a symbol of courage.
Even though the diamond is the hardest rock known by men, it is the only precious gem with only one element: carbon. Nevertheless, it can only be melted when exposed to a temperature of 5500 degrees Celsius! Billions of years before, the basic forces of heat and pressure miraculously transformed the carbon into diamond through volcano lava underneath the earth. In some way, this volcanic mass was expelled out of the earthly crust, cooling soon to be found as diamonds in rudimentary form. No acid can destroy them, and they are capable to cut anything on Earth, therefore, they only can be cut with themselves.
However, are the diamonds really forever? If they appeared miraculously, can they be destroyed? As incredible as it may seem, the small diamond that adorn the ring that you gave your wife will probably last forever - at least while Earth exists. They are the most resistant minerals of the planet, and only can be melted when displayed to a temperature of 5500°C. The problem is that the global atmosphere will never achieve this high temperature, even if it was to be hit by an enormous meteor that would eliminate all forms of life. They only would melt if, one day, the planet literally entered the Sun, which has a temperature of 5800°C. The curious thing is that, according to astronomers, in 7,5 billion years our planet will actually enter the Sun, when the star will be next to death. If you think diamonds will disappear then, you might be wrong. When such episode happens, the temperature of the Sun will lower to about 3000°C. That means that even when Earth reaches an atmosphere as hot and dense as Mercury’s atmosphere, we will still be able to find some small diamonds spread around.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
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