Evaluating diamonds

      Diamonds are such a mystery to people. They are beautiful, sparkly, extremely expensive, and many people own at least one, yet understanding how the experts assign them value seems to be some sort of inside knowledge that most of us feel excluded from. And, actually, that's somewhat the truth--Certified gemologists, diamond dealers, and jewelry-store owners have their own techniques, their own terminology, their own tests, and we pretty much have to take their word that they know what they're talking about. But then, isn't that true of many professions? That special knowledge is what makes the true insider, and allows one professional to recognize another instantly.

      Well, I'd like to share some insider secrets to help you to understand diamonds. The biggest and best-kept secret is: They may be gorgeous, but they're far from perfect. In fact, if you swept your garage floor and dumped the dustpan contents into a big 55-gallon drum of jello, stirred it up and then chilled it solid, that's pretty much how much of the world's diamond rough would look--filled with bits and pieces of things. Of course, there are those renowned "fabulous finds"--large chunks of clear material, but those are very rare.

     So the bottom line is, the majority of diamonds have "stuff" in them--bits of other material, tiny fractures, discolorations, pieces of diamond crystal grown in a different direction, little chips, etc. etc. This should actually not be surprising, because diamonds are a natural mineral material, and natural material of any type is seldom perfect. That's what makes it natural, after all. Master cutters can cut around the worst stuff, but diamonds are so precious that each and every bit of rough that can be used, is used. The poorest pieces are slated for industrial use, because there, only hardness counts, not clarity or color. But think about it--other than gold and platinum, what materials do you know of where even their dust is valuable?

     OK, this train of thought leads to certain important truths: One is, the larger the diamond, the more difficult it is to find one without any flaws, and the more precious that stone is going to be. Many people dream of getting a flawless diamond, but the reality is, if you could ever afford a truly flawless diamond (flawless inside and out), you could never wear it. It would have to sit forever in the darkness of a bank vault, because one bump of your hand, one tiny nick, and it's no longer flawless. In fact, the few truly flawless large diamonds in existence aren't even set in jewelry. It's too much of a risk. And, to me, the very worst thing about such perfection in diamonds is that it can now be easily duplicated by synthetic diamonds. If they can grow "perfect" diamonds in the lab, I tend to think that detracts from the allure of a flawless genuine diamond.

    The second "secret truth" is that internal flaws (which diamond experts never never call flaws or imperfections; that's too negative, so they call them inclusions), can be, in small amounts, a good thing. You know how on the TV commercials, the snobby diamond expert intones that "no two diamonds are alike," implying that this uniqueness is what adds to their value? Well, you know HOW they can tell that no two diamonds are alike? Yep, by their flaws--sorry, inclusions. If you were to cut the dirty jello in the 55-gallon drum up into ice-cube-sized pieces, every single piece would be unique, too.

    What gemologists do when they inspect a diamond for certification, is take a finished diamond and put it under a microscope. They look at it from the top, the bottom, and the side. On the desk next to the scope they have a drawing of each view of that diamond with all the facets outlined, and they map every single inclusion, every nick, every thing and its exact location in a special code that they mark onto the drawing. They also evaluate its color, and its cut. When they are done, they have noted every single characteristic of that stone in such a way that it's almost like a fingerprint--an absolutely unique picture of that stone. That's important and valuable for two major reasons:

   1. It proves that that diamond is not a synthetic produced in a lab in four days, but a real gemstone produced by mother earth over hundreds of millions of years.

   2. It protects the owner of the diamond. Without a diamond certificate, you have no way of proving that the diamond ring you brought in for resizing still contains those same diamonds when you get the ring back a week later. (That's another reason why, as a buyer, you always want to build a good relationship with a reputable jeweler whom you can trust.)

    So I hope these insights are getting you to think differently about diamonds. More in my next blog. And, just to let you know--I am now selling small, incredibly gorgeous diamonds on my website, Heart of Stone Studio.