There are a limited number of commercially viable diamond mines currently operating in the world. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where diamonds have been eroded out of the ground and deposited by water or weather action.Argye mine situated in the Kimberley area in the far north east of Western Australia. Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s largest single manufacturer of volume of diamonds. However, due to low proportion of gem quality diamonds it’s not the value leader. It does produce 90-95% of the world’s supply of pink diamonds.

Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, situated in Canada it’s a very big mine. It’s situated north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle on an island. The island is connected by an ice road. It’s also an important part of the areas economy employing more than 700 people and producing more than 8 million carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP Billiton and situated south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
The Ekati is Canada’s first operational diamond mine.Diamonds well-mined here are sold under the Aurias trade name
Authenticity is verified through Canada Mark service. CanadaMark service is also owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.

Baken diamond mine is placed along the lower Orange River in South Africa. It’s 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.

Merlin is the second of only two diamond mines in Australia. No longer operating it was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker Resources, who has explored the possibilities of reopening the mine.

Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine. It us located 240 Km west of Francistown. The mine is possessed by “Debswana” which is a partnership between DeBeers and the government of Botswana.This mine operates 7 days a week.It maintains pre primary and primary schools for its employee’s children. There’s also a 100 bed hospital and game park. This mine began production in 1971 and is the oldest mine possessed by the Debswana Company.

The Premier mine situated in Cullinan, South Africa produced the largest gem diamond ever in 1905.The Cullinan Diamond
weighed 3,106.75 carats. This mine also Gave rise the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed 545.67 carats. This mine is
Possessed by the De Beers Company and was renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in 2003 in celebration of its centennial.

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

A clean diamond is more brilliant and fiery than the same diamond when it is “dirty”. Dirt or grease on the top of a diamond reduces its lustre. Water, dirt, or grease on the bottom of a diamond interferes with the diamond’s brilliance and fire. A dirty diamond is among two things: a rough diamond, or a diamond that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are uncut and unpolished – hence, they’re dirty. Simply that type of dirty diamond will soon be cut and polished and sitting in a beautiful jewel box in a showcase. Then somebody will buy it, and soon, it will become a dirty diamond once again.

Diamonds become dirty. When you wash your hands with a diamond ring on, soap scum clings to it. When you put on hand lotion, it gets grease on it. Shower with your diamond earrings or necklace, and again, you get soap scum. In one short day, your brand new diamond could be dirty!

Buy an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner the same day that you buy your diamond Jewellery, and use it every single day, without fail. The clarity of the diamond changes when the diamond is dirty – it loses its sparkle. By taking one minute each day to clean your diamond jewellery, you may avoid this, and your diamonds will never be dirty!

Let us now have a clear understanding about Synthetic Diamonds. Synthetic diamond is diamond produced in a technological process, as opposed to natural diamond, which is produced by geological processes.The first synthetic diamonds were produced by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic diamond is basically a rock that has the Strength, refractive index and hardness of a natural diamond – but it’s made by man.A synthetic diamond shouldn’t be confused with stimulant diamonds, such as glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.

While the technology for synthetic diamonds came into play in 1954, no synthetic diamonds were ever seen on the market until the 1990’s. This was due to the fact that it took many years for General Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that could compare with the quality of a natural diamond – and when they figured out how to do it, they found that it price more to produce a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and cut natural diamonds.

Ultimately, a small company by the name of Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to produce synthetic diamonds that were of the same quality as natural diamonds, at a cheaper cost. Nowadays, Gemesis produces synthetic white diamonds, and colored diamonds as well. These diamonds sell for about 1/3 of the price of a natural diamond, but there’s a shortage of them, and they’re hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic diamonds are rarer than natural diamonds!

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

A diamond is the ultimate symbol of undying love, passion, elegance, and glamour. Choosing the perfect diamond is a balance between learning about diamond characteristics and buying a diamond that will leave her breathless.

Diamonds are ranked for certification by Labs using ranking criteria. Four of these criteria are critical to understand when making a diamond buy or investment. Called the “Four C’s” these criteria are:
color, cut, clarity and carat.

Color is the result of the composition of a diamond and it doesn’t change. When a Jeweller is describing the color of a diamond They’re referring to the presence or absence of color in white diamonds. Because a diamond without any color allows maximum light to pass through, colorless diamonds are preferred for their sparkle.

Cut relates to a diamonds reflective quality. Most diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The brilliance of diamonds is heavily dependent
on the cut. The different angles and the finish of a diamond determine its ability to reflect light and cause its brilliance and fire. Remember that the cut of a diamond may have an impact on its strength as well as its beauty. Some cutting faults may make a diamond prone to breakage. A diamond That’s cut too thin may also cause light to leak out of the back and the diamond will lose a few of the sparkle and appear not to shine. So, as you can see the Cut is probably the most important of the Four C’s.

During the formation process, inner flaws, or inclusions occur in most diamonds. The number and size of these inclusions determine what is referred to as the clarity of a diamond. Diamonds that are clear
create more brilliance and so are rarer and extremely priced. To be considered “flawless”, a diamond must have no surface or internal imperfections visible upon being viewed by a skilled diamond grader using 10 power magnifications.

Carat is the unit of weight by which diamonds are measured. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams. A carat is divided into 100
segments called points. 150 points would equal one and a half carats.

When you go to the store to make that all important diamond purchase, don’t be shy! Ask questions, get the answers needed to
make an informed buy. Shopping for certified diamonds enables you to make an informed selection. Knowing the “four C’s” allows you to comparison shop and purchase the best diamond at a fair price. But, before making a buy, shop around and decide what shapes and styles actually appeal to you. Enjoy your diamond for years to come!

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

When you buy loose diamonds, just as when you buy diamond jewelry, it is really important to get them insured. Insuring a diamond takes a little of thought, planning, and shopping around. Diamond insurance isn’t like buying car insurance. It’s quite different. Depending on the state that you live in, there are basically three different types of insurance policy* that will cover diamonds, and all insurance policies that cover diamonds are considered Marine type policies.

The first type of insurance policies for diamonds is an Actual Cash Value policy. If the diamond is lost or damaged beyond repair, the insurance company will replace the diamond at today’s market price, regardless how much you paid for the diamond to begin with. This type of insurance policy for diamonds really isn’t that common.

The basic type of insurance policy for diamonds is Replacement Value insurance. The insurance company will only pay up to a fixed amount to replace the diamond that was lost or damaged beyond repair. This doesn’t mean that they’ll pay that amount – it means that they’ll pay up to that amount. In most cases, the diamond may be replaced at a
lower price.

The third type of coverage proposed for diamonds is Agreed Value. This is Occasionally called ‘Valued At.’ This type of coverage is very rare. In the event that the diamond is lost or damaged beyond repair,
the insurance company just pays you the amount that you and the company agreed upon. This is the best type of insurance policy to
have, but it’s seldom proposed. If you can’t get Agreed Value coverage, Actual Cash Value coverage should be your next choice.

Your rates will be determined by the value of the diamond, the type of coverage that you select, and the area that you live in. If you live
in an area with a high crime rate, you may expect to pay more for your diamond insurance coverage. It’s important to remember that insurance agents are not qualified jewellers, and jewellers are not
qualified insurance agents. It’s best to get a certificate for your diamond, and to provide the insurance company with a copy
of that certificate. This leaves the insurance company less room for arguments over the actual value of the diamond.

Don’t rely on separate coverage to cover your diamond. For instance, if you diamond is stolen from your home, it’s probably covered on your householders insurance policy – but the diamond probably won’t
always be in your home, and once it leaves your home, there’s no coverage.

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Not all diamonds are forever. There may come a time in your life when you want to sell a diamond or two, for one reason or another. There are several reasons why you may wish to sell a diamond that you own. Possibly you’ve gotten divorced, or you’re whipped for cash. The reasons why don’t actually matter – getting the best possible cost is what counts! The way to get the best price for the diamond is to not be in a rush. Slow down, and carefully consider all of your Choices – there are several.

First, have the diamond appraised. In fact, have it appraised by two or three jewellers to get an exact idea of the diamonds value. Tell the appraiser that you need the Rapaport Value. This is the wholesale value of the diamond, and it basically tells you the highest Cost that you may sell your diamond for. If your diamond has no certificate, you should consider getting a certificate from GIA. This may aid you get a better cost for the diamond as well.

Try to sell the diamond yourself, to people you know. Friends and family members perhaps interested. If you don’t have any luck with friends or family members, you should move around to outside sources. Absolutely avoid pawn shops! A pawn shop will only offer you about 10% of what the diamond is worth! Also avoid offers of selling the ring on consignment. There are several things that May fail, and there’s no shortage of diamond scams – even in well known Jewelry dealer.

If the diamond is important, you should Powerfully consider auctioning it off through one of the famous auction houses, such as Christie’s or Sotheby’s. If it isn’t what is considered an ‘important’ diamond or a
high-end diamond, you should try to sell it to an individual using classified ads, or even eBay. However, selling to an individual that
you don’t know could put you in danger – especially if the diamond is worth more money.

Your last alternative should be a jewelry dealer. It’s essential that you not let your diamond out of your sight though in the jewelry dealer – you might find that the diamond you walked in with isn’t the same diamond that you walk out with! The jeweler will try to tell you that
your diamond is of poor quality or low weight. Inevitably, there will be some problem with the diamond. This is where your appraisal and/or certificate will come in handy.

If the jeweler is fair, they’ll offer you between 60% and 80% of the value of the Rapaport Value. Don’t accept anything less than this. Again, don’t let the diamond out of your sight until you’ve been paid for it.

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

It is important to care for your diamond once you have chosen it, your daily tasks of cleaning and using household products can leave a film over the diamond which stops it from shining.

Caring for a diamond takes more than Infrequent cleanings. Diamonds are everlastingly, but they may be damaged if you’re not careful. By finding out how to properly care for your diamond, you’ll check that your diamond is so forever.

First, you should take your diamond jewellery to a jeweller once a year. Have him check the Climbings and prongs that hold your diamond in place. Have him make any Required repairs. This will prevent your
diamond from falling out of its setting and becoming lost.

Diamond jewelry that’s not being worn, or diamonds that are loose should be stored in a fabric lined gem case, or in a jewellery box
where it may be kept separate from other Jewellery. Each piece should have its own compartment. This will keep diamonds from becoming damaged, and it will also keep your diamond from scratching other jewellery as well.

Remove your diamond jewellery when doing physical wrk. Diamonds may be chipped and damaged easily. Also avoid allowing your diamond to come into contact with bleach or other household cleansers – this
can damage or change the color of the settings and mountings, and it may even irreversibly change the color of the diamond!

After going through the information on how to care for the diamond let us spot the diamonds that are fake. In this world of advanced technology it’s almost impossible to just consider a diamond and determine whether it’s real or not – specially if you don’t know much about diamonds. There are some steps that
you may take to avoid purchasing a fake diamond, however.

First, only deal with reputable jewellers, and when you get a reputable jeweller, stick with them. Avoid purchasing diamonds or other
Jewellery from jewelers that you’ve never dealt with before in the past. Ask to see the certificate for the stone. If no certificate exists,
walk away.

Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake diamonds, such as zirconias, are usually set in low quality metals. Take a close view the
stone. Fake diamonds are not durable – natural diamonds, on the other hand, are the most durable stone on the planet. Look for scratches or nicks.

After buying a diamond, take it to another jeweller for appraisal. In fact, take it to two or three other jewellers for an appraisal
to be sure that the appraisals are all fairly close. If you find that you’ve bought a fake diamond, you possibly accused of making a switch when you return to the store of your buy; so, it’s important to
have a certificate for the diamond. No two stones are alike.

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Handle your diamond sparingly. Because diamonds are natural magnets for grease, they’re not easy to keep clean. Handling a diamond with your fingers provides enough oils from your skin (the type of “grease” that most affects diamonds) to alter the way your diamond looks.

Through our regular movements our diamonds get dirty and soiled. Even when weren’t wearing them, they collect dust. Applications, soaps, our natural skin oils, May cause film and grime on diamonds and
inhibit their brilliance. Wish to keep that Brilliance and Shine? Diamonds need cleaning indeed that maximum amounts of light may refract fiery brilliance. Remember that all it takes is some minutes and a bit care to keep that diamond as fiery as the day you first saw it.

You may use an small soft brush such as an eyebrow or lip stick brush and soap and water to clean your jewellery. Just make a bowl of warm sudsy water with a mild detergent and place your pieces in the mixture. Then brush the diamonds with the soft bristles of the brush while they’re in the suds. You’ll require to make sure that you rinse them clear of the suds after cleaning them. You may use a small kitchen strainer such as a tea strainer to contain them while rinsing under warm water. Use a lint free cloth, or a jewellery polish cloth to
pat them dry.

If your diamonds are in need of a stronger cleansing, you may wish to soak them for half-hour in a solution of half and half water and
ammonia. Once they’ve soaked for half-hour, remove them and gently brush the mountings with a small brush. Then replace the pieces to the solution and swish them around in the mixture before removing them to rinse and pat dry.

If you find your self too busy to be mixing soaps and ammonias, many department stores sell liquid jewellery cleaners. Most are kits, with everything you require included. You Require to read the labels to determine the one That’s right for your diamonds and other
Jewellery. Read the complete directions and follow all the precautions.

And if you find yourself more the “high-tech type”, even in your diamond cleaning routine, there are multiple ultrasonic cleansers on the market. These machines use high-frequency to create a cleaning motion. All machines are not the same, so please read the instructions before using.

Only you may choose the cleaning process right for you. But, it’s necessary to keep your jewellery clean to keep it brilliant and
sparkling. Between cleaning, try not to touch your clean diamonds with your fingers or handle your jewelry by its edges. This will
help maintain its shine and brilliance for longer periods.

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

At a point in nearly every man’s life, there comes a time when his heart knows it’s time for buying a diamond engagement ring for the woman he loves. A symbol of feelings deeper than words can convey, a diamond engagement ring speaks of a man’s need to honor and delight one very special person.

There’s much to consider when buying a diamond – specially diamond
engagement rings! The custom of presenting a woman with a diamond
engagement ring when proposing started in 1477 when Archduke Maximilian presented a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy – and in most cases, the woman you plan to propose to will expect a ring to accompany that proposal!

Before you can even consider looking at rings, you need to find out a few basic things about engagement rings in general, but most importantly, the potential preferences of your girlfriend:

- What is her ring size?
- Does she prefer platinum, yellow or white gold? Do you know?
- Does she prefer simple styles or would she prefer an engagement ring that will be instantly noticed?
- Do you know what kind of cut of stone she prefers?

A first step in your engagement ring search is to become acquainted with both diamond and engagement ring basics no matter when you plan to buy the ring, so that you’ll understand the terms you hear when you shop, a critical “must” for such an important purchase.

Find how much ring you may afford. Most people use the ‘two months salary’ rule. This means that the ring should Price the equivalent of two months of your current salary. Because you’ve other bills to pay, saving up this sum of money may take quite a bit of time. You should consider financing. Just go to the jeweller of your choice and tell them that you plan to purchase an engagement ring, and that funding will be necessary. Go ahead and get the credit check out of the way, find out what your payments will be, and how much of a down payment is required.

Now, have your mother, sister, or your girlfriends best friend take your girlfriend shopping, and be sure that they gaze at the engagement rings to get an idea of what she might like. Be sure that the jewelry dealer you purchase the ring from will allow you to return the ring, if that’s required, or allow your girlfriend to exchange it for another if
she isn’t happy with it!

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.

You see all those lovely diamonds and their mind blowing price tags in the showrooms and you wonder how these diamond prices are determined. How come they are so every expensive and out of reach to common people?

What Goes Into The Diamond Prices Determination Process?
Pricing most products is quite easy. Find how much it costs to make the item, how much it costs to market that item, and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more. Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t
quite that simple. There are several factors that are considered when diamonds are priced.

Diamond costs are decided first by adding the price of the rough diamond, the cost of cutting the diamond, and all other Prices required to turn the rough diamond into a saleable diamond. Depending on the grandness of the diamond, an independent company possibly called in to certify the range of the diamond based on color, cut, clarity, and weight.

At this point, the diamond becomes costlier each time it changes hands, until it ultimately reaches a retail merchant, where the cost is
raised a little more. Before reaching the Retail merchant, however, the diamond must travel from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to the independent ranking company, and then to the Primary market. Once it’s reached the primary market, it will be Bought by diamond dealers and wholesalers, and from there it will be sold to retailers.

As you may see, the earlier you may buy a diamond in the process, the lower the price of the diamond will be – but not the value. The value is based on what the diamond will sell for in the market place – through a retail merchant.

If you own a diamond, and you’ve no idea how much it’s worth, you may have it appraised, but the appraisal may not be accurate. You’ll be better off obtaining a certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute of America. With the information on this certificate, you may use a cutter’s guide to accurately determine what your diamond is
worth.

There are also many diamond price calculators available. These can be found on the Internet, and many diamond dealers use these as well. You must realize, however, that before you can accurately price a
diamond, without a Diamond Grade Report, you need to know quite a bit about diamonds, such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight
– and how each of those aspects adds to the value of a diamond, or decreases the value of the diamond as the case may be.

Again, you will be better off if you get a Diamond Grading Report on the diamond, and use that information to look up the price in one of the guides that the diamond cutting industry uses. This will give you the most accurate value of the diamond in your possession, or of the diamond you are considering purchasing.

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A Diamond Cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the Brilliant Cut. In their most normal form, diamonds are – well – quite disfigured. They’ve no luster or shine, and in fact, look like nothing more than broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and then polished before it really becomes a
thing of beauty.

Diamonds are cut with saws, into round shapes. From the rounded shape, other shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes – but the shape is less important than the quality of the cutting that’s being done. If the diamond is badly cut, it will lose light, and it won’t sparkle and shine very well. Each face of the diamond must be carefully cut into the geometrical shapes that allow the diamond to sparkle and
shine, then the entire diamond is cut into a particular shape, such as an emerald cut or a princess cut diamond.

Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into a dop, which resembles a cup with some other diamond – only a diamond is strong enough to smooth the edges of another diamond. Once the diamond has been cut and shaped, and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it’s polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing wheel.

We rarely think about how the diamonds we wear came to us. Natural diamonds, as opposed to synthetic diamonds or fake diamonds, are well-mined from the earth. There are currently two ways of mining
diamonds: Pipe Mining and Alluvial Mining.

When pipe mining is used, the diamonds are extracted from the earth through volcanic pipes. These are not man-made pipes. These
are natural pipes in the ground. Shanks are put into the ground next to the pipes, and tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of the pipe. The diamonds are not classified at the mine. Rather, big rocks that are full of diamonds are brought out of the mine and moved to a screening plant for separation.

The Alluvial mining technique is done in River bottom* and on beaches. Walls are built to hold back the water and the sand on the bank
or beach is moved with a bulldozer until the level of earth that diamonds may be found in is attained. Again, the diamonds are not
Classified here. Rather, the sand that contains the diamonds is bulldozed into trucks, and taken to screening plants.

Advice on Marriage, Brides, Diamonds and Weddings. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.