diamond reviews



Diamond Karma is a simple yet informative guide that can help you get the most bang for your buck when buying or selling diamond jewelry online. The overall design of the site is visually creative, making it pleasing to the eye, there are tips and instructions that will help get you started.

 

I want to sell a diamond

Not familiar with the jeweler’s terminology? There are guidelines that are easy to follow and diagrams to assist you in learning more about the basic essential knowledge needed in the diamond industry. Following the tips provided on the site can aid you in buying or selling the diamond you want for the price that you desire.

 

 

The website’s diamond value calculator is worldwide well known. The website’s design is simple yet instructive,unlike other websites out there, making it easy to navigate. People with little to no technical background will have ease of access while looking for any diamond related topics. Moreover, the website is clean and organized. You won’t get overwhelmed by the information as you are sorting through.

Additionally, there are two color-coded calculators, one for diamond pricing and one for budgeting. Besides their attractive representation, they will actually help you determine the best price according to the diamond’s value. And there is a diamond request form just incase you need us to help you find the perfect diamond for you and your love ones. There is an instructive video that will walk you through the usage of these calculators which is really helpful.

The site is responsive and up-to-date. There is a visible logo of Diamond karma to make sure you are at the right site at all times. If you are interested in keeping in touch with the site, there are convenient links to various social media(FB, Twitter, and Pinterest) located at the top right corner of the site. Overall, this site is indeed informative and easy to use. The well-constructed design will ensure that you make the most out of your first experience and thereafter in purchasing or selling diamonds. And we recommend you check out the diamond price calculator and the budget matrix before shopping for your diamonds need or email us.

How are diamonds evaluated?



On the matter of quality and thus the value of a cut diamond, the criteria are known as 4Cs they are Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. Obviously, it helps to have apparatus like spectroscopes and spectrophotometers, stereomicroscopes, electric balances and also proportionscopes, but a knowledge of a basic technique enables a fairly accurate assessment of a diamond to be made with nothing more than a 10k loupe and the human eye.

Color-the point of color grading is to mark the degree of deviation from whitest possible stone down to the yellowest which is still acceptable as being of gem quality. There are a number of grading systems in use, but the most widely accepted internationally has become that of the Gemological Institute of America(GIA). Their grading certificate ma seem a bit unromantic when compared with the more descriptive and emotive terminology of some of the other systems, but they leave less room for doubt, a fact which can only be of benefit to the trade and the public.

The most commonly accepted grading systems at the moment are the two American ones-Gemology Institute of America (GIA) and American Gem Society (AGS) . Color grading judgement is not easily acquired and a beginner, for example, would detect no trace of color in the grades down to L on the GIA scale and its equivalents. This is particularly true when the diamond viewed from the front or face up position and the eye confused by the spectrum colors. Grading is therefore carried out by holding the diamond in a slim V-shaped piece of white paper or card and viewing it through the side.

Face up viewed. Left to right; J and I color,  G and F color, all GIA certified

Pavilion viewed. Left to right, J and I color,  G and F color, all GIA certified

More practice will enable the grader to distinguish more and more finely between stones, but to aid the process, many use grading stones of ascertained color as a basis for comparison. Lighting is vitally important. Sunlight, for example, contains ultraviolet light which can cause the diamond being examined to fluoresce very slightly blue but enough to hide any hint of yellow. This is in part why the windows of sorting rooms of the Diamond Trading Company in London all face north.

Clarity-having ascertained a diamond’s color, the next step is ti grade it according to clarity by assessing its degree of freedom from imperfections. This can be done simply by using a 10x loupe and examining the stone both internally and externally. Clarity grading is more straightforward than color grading, but arguable classifications can still arise. Once again there is no universally accepted standard despite the apparently close correspondence between the standards used in the United States, in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

The grades range down from “flawless” for a stone which is totally transparent and free from internal marks of any sort when seen through a 10x loupe to “heavy spotted” where the marks or inclusions are clearly visible to the naked eye. Contrary to popular opinion, very few inclusions are actually carbon spots, and many spots which appear black may nit be inclusions at all but simply other varieties of imperfection. They may be tiny bubbles or groups of bubbles, called cloud; cleavage cracks, called feathers or butterflies; which are similar to knots in wood and arise from the contact point of twinned crystals. Marks on the surface of the diamond taken to account as well as internally flaws; also included are minor imperfections resulting from cutting. But again, problem can and do arise from the fact that certain flaws are acceptable under some classifications and not under others. A number of reputable firms make up their own classifications. Tiffany‘s, for example, grades its stones into five types. If no flaws are visible through a 10x lens, the stone is graded “flawless” if a slight flaw is visible, it is graded M1 or M2 depending upon it size (M means microscopic). The third class is VS1 (very small), the fourth S (small), and the fifth and final category is “imperfect” where the flaw can be seen with naked eye. Inclusions are tiny crystals of other minerals that crystallized at the same time as the diamond. The vast majority of diamonds have such inclusions, usually crystals of olivine and garnet.

Cut-diamond cutting is a craft that requires great skill; inevitably though, some cutters will fall short of perfection and turn out misshapen stones. This is not the same as deliberately producing a stone which does not conform with the ideal proportions, since the aim may be to eliminate otherwise awkwardly positioned flaws or to balance weight against quality. In such cases the “make” of the diamond, as the cut is called, may not fit the ideal but it will not be far off; and the advantages of cutting it in this way will probably outweigh the disadvantages as a result of gains in weight and clarity. A badly cut stone is something else. It may be asymmetrical, or have badly proportioned facets of varying sizes, or culet which is not centered.

Hearts effect shown when viewed through pavilion

Arrows effect shown when viewed through table/face up

The crown may be too deep or too shallow, the girdle too thin, or the culet too pointed. With practice it is relatively easy to assess proportions by eye alone, especially by using the reflections in the table of the stone as a guide. A stone with a pavilion that is too shallow will reveal a circular reflection of the girdle when viewed through the table, giving a “fish-eye” effect. Too deep a pavilion on the other hand, will throw up a black reflection in the center of the table.

Carat-the weight of a diamond is measured in carats, an ancient measuring unit derived from the seeds of the carob tree. These small black beans are remarkably uniform in weight, but an international standard metric carat has now been agreed upon which is equal to 0.2 gram. There are 142 carats to the ounce and the carat is commonly divided into 100 points. Diamonds of less than 1 carat in weight are known as “pointers.”

A small portable chemical scale can be used to weigh diamonds to within a hundredth part of a carat, although many jewelers now use more sophisticated electric balances. It is possible to judge  weights by measurement of standard brilliant-cut stones, but it must be realized that assessments made on the basis of this sort of guide can only be approximate.

All 4Cs are taken into account in arriving at a value for a diamond, and a flawless 1.5-carat stone of good color will be worth more than a heavy spotted 2.5-carat light yellow. Nevertheless, given that a diamond is of good color, clarity and cut, carat weight is the most critical factor in determining price. One reason for this, apart from the scarcity of the bigger stones, is that while fashion and local taste may affect the desirability of color and the extreme rarity of the truly flawless diamond increases the demand for slightly less-perfect stones, weight remains the only constant and easily calculable factor under the grading systems most commonly used today.

Why is a diamond so hard?



The diamond is an atomic crystal whose carbon are held together in a strong and rigid lattice.

diamond

graphite

This accounts for the diamond’s extreme hardness and resistance to deformation but the fact that the carbon atoms are not packed closely together means the diamond possesses a very high degree of thermal conductivity. The density of the atomic structure varies directionally and this is why the diamond is harder than in others. In fact it it the nature of crystal lattice that provides the diamond with many of its unique physical properties and split into the colors of spectrum, the greater the amount of fire a stone is said to have. It is the job of the diamond cutter to achieve a fine balance between the fire and life of a diamond, as maximum fire is not consistent with maximum “life”. The early cutters were well aware of  theses qualities.  As the Sir John Mandeville Lapidary observed in 1561, the diamond “seems to take pleasure in assuming in turn the colors proper to other gems.”

A further distinguishing feature of many diamonds is that they will glow or fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light; they may also phosphoresce, or continue to glow, after the removal of the light source. Every diamond is different both in the color and intensity of its fluorescence and phosphorescence, a fact which can make for positive identification of two apparently identical stones of pieces of jewelry. The Hope diamond, which is blue, fluoresces red, for example; while the Maximilian, which is also blue, fluoresces violet even in daylight.

However, despite this unique catalogue of the optical attributes possessed by the diamond, the fact remains that in the rough state in which it is found, a diamond is often not recognized for what it is. It does not sparkle and flash. On the contrary, it is a rather dull, ordinary-looking pebble whose principal distinguishing feature is its shape. The reason is that many diamond crystals are coated with a thickness of inferior quality and badly formed diamond. The coating may be gray, green, brown or black and is usually found to contain many small inclusions of foreign material. It is not necessarily indicative of the standard of the rest of  the stone and a highest quality–or one almost as dull and dirty as itself.

Diamonds, like most minerals, are crystalline with a regular internal structure that is not necessarily reflected in the external form. Growth occurs in layers but it is by no means uniform. Some faces may be underdeveloped and others overdeveloped; the whole crystal may be change its orientation during growth; or two or more crystals may grow locked together. As a result the diamond appears in many more forms than is suggested by the popularly depicted eight-sided crystal called an octahedron.  It appears in other single crystal shapes as well as in formless crystalline masses.

octahedron

Of the seven main systems of symmetry into which crystals are divided, diamond falls into the cubic system, the most symmetrical of all.               The possible forms of regularly shaped diamond crystal.

The octahedron is the most common of these crystals of regular shape. Even more common than the octahedron, however, are the pieces of no recognizable form. These may be distorted crystals or pieces that have been broken or worn into irregular shapes. It is these diamonds that provide the real challenge to the cutter. Once he has studied them and found the crystal directions, he can often make a higher recovery than he would on a regular crystal. The huge Cullinan was such a stone.

There are literally thousands of divisions into which rough diamonds could be classified as they come from the mines, but in order to simplify the process they are restricted to four main shapes. In order of value and importance to the gem cutter, they are as follow:

1.  Stones-unbroken crystals of regular formation.

2. Cleavages-broke or irregularly formed pieces.

3. Macles-twinned crystal, flat and triangular in form

4. Flats-irregularly shaped pieces with flat parallel sides.

This is the practical working division and, of course, it cuts right across any academic or scientific one based on ideal crystal types. The classification of diamonds already mentioned refer only to gem crystals, but since 80 percent of production is destined for industrial use, there is a broader grouping that divides diamonds into:

1. Gem diamonds

2. Industrial stones, including:

A)shaped stones

B)whole stones

C)borts

The difference between gem and industrial diamonds is purely one of quality and color. The imperfections that affect quality and color may take the form of fractures or fissures or of minute inclusions of other minerals that were present in the original magma when the diamond was formed. The most popular shape for the gem cutter is the octahedron. For industrial use, the dodecahedron and other more rounded crystals are generally preferred, although octahedrons are still regarded as more suitable for use as truing diamonds for shaping grinding wheels and for setting in the tips of rock drills. Irregularly shaped stones are usually used as glass cutters’ diamonds and for setting in stone saws.

bort

Bort (an early Afrikaans word for “bastard”) is a minutely crystallized gray or black diamond mass which is not usable in individual crystals for any industrial application. It is therefore crushed to powder for grinding and polishing purposes. Boart has its own numerous classifications, one of the most interesting of which is ballas or shot boart. This is found in the shape of a ball and with no crystalline faces or edges and no lines of cleavage, it is virtually indestructible. The Brazilian name for boart is carbonado.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that bort or carbonado is dull and uninteresting. There was a case in 1927 of what was apparently a 33-carat piece of boart being found to contain a small red diamond of exceptional quality at its heart. It eventually produced a 5.05-carat gem when cut. On rare occasions boart exists in a form that enables it to be cut to create a truly unique gem.

The best-known black diamond is the celebrated Black Orlov, a 67.5-carat stone cut out from a 195-carat rough of Indian origin. But a better and much more recent example is the beautiful stone known as the Amsterdam. While the Orloff is more of dark gun-metal color and partly translucent, the Amsterdam is totally black and impervious to light. The stone arrived at the offices of D. Drukker and Sons in Amsterdam in 1972 in a parcel of mine boart destined to be crushed into diamond powder or to be broken up into smaller pieces for other industrial purposes. At the time the 55.85-carat rough would have been valued at no more than $5-6 a carat. Drukkers tried to cleave the stone and immediately became aware both of its exceptional hardness and of the fact that the splinters were not in the least transparent, but of the deepest black. They decided to proceed with cutting and polishing the stone. The result is the pear-shaped 145-facet black diamond weighing 33.74 carats, one of the rarest gems in the world. Both the Amsterdam and Black Orlov dramatically underline the fact that the diamond is unique in all many forms.

Customer Reviews on the best online diamond jewelry and watches buyers



At Diamond Karma we know how it feels when it’s time to sell your diamond jewelry online, without any knowledge of who you can trust to send your valuable diamond jewelry, and you have to search through so many online sites, just like looking for a needle in a haystack. So we have reviewed some of these online diamond jewelry buyers to ease your selling process. Our reviews help you with some great insight on what to expect when you need to sell your diamond jewelry and watches from each of the diamond buyer, furthermore seeing what past customers who were once in similar position had to say about each of these diamond buyers can really give you a peace of mind.

Below are reviews on each of the best 3 diamond buyers from customers who recently used their service. Read what these customers said about each diamond buyer and choose the one that best fits you.

 

Diamond Buyers Intl.

5 Stars Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Angela Plummer, 2 weeks ago

I had Originally sent my ring to Worthy. After Worthy receive the ring it took them 2 weeks to just get me s valuation. But in the meantime I found Diamond Buyers international and did a quick evaluation on line and it was around same as Worthy but with Worthy they were going to charge me 20% of the price you got from auction. Diamond Buyers does not charge a fee. So I asked for my ring back from Worthy and sent to Diamond Buyers. They received the ring overnight and the next morning gave me the valuation and even paid me that day. Diamond. Buyers valuation was higher than Worthy so one ring I made $600 more from Diamond Buyers!! I will always use them in the future. One day valuation and get paid more. Worthy would taken a month at least to get paid and you be paying them 20% charge so skip everyone else and just use Diamond Buyers International. And Diamond Buyers has fast communication even on weekend ! NO ONE BEATS DIAMOND BUYERS in amount they pay and their communication so skip everyone else and get most money in 2 days!!

 

5 Stars Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Rick Wagner, 2 months ago

Professional, and friendly – they were timely, provided market context, followed up and did everything as promised. I liked that they revised their quote based on a scan of GIA reports we provided, before we sent diamonds in. Values given were above other like services.

 

 

 

WP Diamonds

5 Stars Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Zane C , 3 months ago

Had a loose diamond from an engagement that fell through. After taking it to local buyers and getting offers for less than half of what I originally paid for the diamond I decided to look online and found WP Diamonds. Within 24hrs of asking for an offer I received an estimate of what I can expect for my diamond, high/low offer. Accepted the offer, got a free overnight FedEx label and shipped it off and then within 24hrs after that I got my final offer and sold my diamond and got my payment the next day. Great experience that went faster than I could have ever expected!

5 Stars Customer Reviews
 
Reviewed by Abby Aldrich, 2 months ago                                                                          
So easy! It was great from start to finish. Easy to upload information to website then talk to an actual person who was very knowledgeable, no pressure. Mark took his time with me as I changed my mind a couple times!! So quick, whole process from start to finish took about 2 days. I will absolutely use them from now on and recommend them to my friends without hesitation!!

 

 

Revere Jewels

 5 Stars Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Dani C. Los Angeles, CA  1/18/2017

Hands down the best jeweler in town!  Steve is kind, honest and takes his time with his clients, no matter how big or small the transaction.  I had a lot of family jewelry to sell, and he spent hours with me going over each piece, even helping me update certain pieces.  He paid well for the things I sold, and found me a gorgeous set of diamond microbands I’d been wanting.  He’s the only person I will buy or sell from.  I’m so happy to have found him!!!

 

5 Stars Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Vicki K. Los Angeles, CA   12/28/2016                                              

Unless you are a jeweler, buying and selling jewelry can be totally confusing, and worse, you can end up losing money if you do not go to someone reputable.  I was so lucky to find Steve here…I was offered substantially more here than other jewelers for a very beautiful diamond.  Steve treated me with respect, he explained everything he was looking at and taught me quite a bit about diamonds.  This is what an honorable business is all about.

 

 

What is HPHT( High Pressure High Temperature) diamonds or HPHT process?



While the industry’s primary concern was the transformation of brownish diamonds into colorless stones, a number of yellow, yellow-green, and greenish-yellow High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) treated diamonds were also introduced. These stones sparked less of a furor because their color was distinctive enough to raise questions, and could be readily identified by a major gemology lab. Soon, however, blue and pink HPHT-treated diamonds began appearing in the market. These colors were of special concern since they corresponded to particularly valuable natural colors. 

At the beginning of 1997, diamonds with colors ranging from greenish-yellow to yellow-green were seen on the market, which owe their intensive coloration to another artificial treatment process. Initially, the stones were offered as Russian synthetics, but they turned out to be natural type Ia diamonds whose original brown color was changed by using a special treatment technique operating at High Pressures High Temperatures. The color of these diamonds, is made up of two components: a yellow body color and an intense green luminescence in visible light. Both color and luminescence are clearly zoned. With proper magnification, brownish-yellow graining becomes visible.  

An important characteristic used in the detection of HPHT treated diamonds is their fluorescent behavior when exposed to UV radiation. Whereas natural diamonds have a chalky fluorescence, heat-treated diamonds exhibit a mixture of greenish-yellow and blue fluorescence, with intense, green fluorescence regions along the growth lines. Microscopic examination reveals further characteristic properties. They include evidence of burning at facet edges on the crown, fine fissures under the table, and in the girdle region as well as evidence of corrosion on the girdle. Graphitization around inclusions and in fissures may also be observed occasionally. 

However, the absorption spectrum is the most striking feature of HPHT treated diamonds. In addition to a 415 nm line and a broad absorption line between 450 nm and 500 nm, which are characteristic of natural greenish-yellow diamonds, distinct absorption maxima are evident at 495 nm and 503 nm-even at room temperature. In contrast to irradiated greenish-yellow diamonds, the typical radiation band at 595 nm is missing. In the near-infrared range, another absorption line (H2 center) is evident at 985 nm. This is regarded as characteristic of stones treated in this way, and it does not occur in natural color stones. 

The diamonds described above were treated primarily in Russia. Novatek Inc., located in Utah, appears to use a similar technique. The company has been marketing yellow, yellow-green, and green diamonds under the NovaDiamonds brand since 1999. Orange-yellow to brownish-orange HPHT treated specimens are also observed occasionally. Here again, type Ia diamonds are apparently used as the starting material. They are then exposed to a temperature of around 2000 Celsius and pressure of about 60.000 atm. 

Making Diamonds Colorless Using High Pressure High Temperature 

In March 1999, another treatment technique to improve color was announced. A high pressure and high temperature process developed by General Electric (GE) made it possible for the first time to make diamonds colorless, or near colorless. Type IIa stones using this method are also known as “Pegasus” diamonds because they were marketed by Pegasus Overseas Ltd. (POL), a subsidiary of Lazare Kaplan International (LKI) based in Antwerp. The name “Monarch TM Diamonds” and today “Bellataire” are also used to market the diamonds. Pointing out that the treatment could not be detected, LKI thought they could sell the treated diamonds without any special identification. As a result of pressure from the diamond trade, and in agreement with GIA, all diamonds treated using this new method required a GIA certificate and had to be marketed with the laser inscription: “GE POL” on the girdle. Pegasus Overseas Limited (POL) states that this diamond has been processed to improve its appearance by General Electric Company (GE). In contrast to the term “processed” according to CIBJO guidelines the diamonds must be clearly identified as treated. The laser inscription is not necessarily an identifying characteristic, because it is placed on the surface and can easily be removed from the girdle by subsequent polishing. 

Type IIa natural diamonds range from brownish to brown. They serve as the base material for GE POL diamonds. Professor Dr. Henry A. Hanni, director of the SSEF Swiss Gemological Institute, and his colleagues have succeeded in identifying differentiation characteristics that, since May 2000, have enabled the SSEF Swiss Gemological Institute to reliably detect this treatment in the laboratory and to support the color grading of the Type IIa diamonds. 

Only about 2% of all gem diamonds are suitable. GE POL diamonds are identified using a two-stage examination technique. Because Type IIa diamonds are relatively rare, only about 2% of all gem diamonds can be treated using this technique. In fact, up to the end of the year 2000, only about 2000 GE POL diamonds were certified by GIA.  

Type II and IIa diamonds in particular can be detected in the laboratory using infrared and UV/VIS spectroscopy. Since they are transparent to short-wavelength UV light (254nm), they can be pre-selected using a short wavelength UV light and the “SSEF Diamond SpotterTMand DiamondSureTM 

The researchers hoped that absorption characteristics would provide important information for use during identification of colorless HPHT-treated diamonds, because these characteristics exist independently of all inscriptions or inclusions. Traditional absorption spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy have not provided any usable characteristics so far. 

These researchers found what they were looking for while studying the photoluminescence spectra of natural and GE POL diamonds. According to the traditional definition, no nitrogen can be detected in Type IIa diamonds, at least not using infra-red spectroscopy. Both untreated and HPHT treated high-color Type IIa diamonds have properties in common which makes it difficult to differentiate between them by routine gemological methods. Hight Pressure High Temperature techniques are advancing rapidly, and enterprises other than General Electric and Lazare Kaplan Int. are already producing enhanced High Pressure Hight Temperature diamonds. 

However, Type IIa diamonds can also often be confirmed microscopically. The observation between cross polarization filters shows an anomalous double refraction. This is shown by parallel and cross hatching patterns known as a tatami strain.  The treatment as such can be recognized with varieties of lower clarity grades because the inclusions have undergone specific changes. Mineral and graphite inclusions surrounded by small tension cracks are characteristic features in relation to natural, untreated stones. The small tension cracks which expand from the surface of the cut stone towards the inside often contain small graphite particles. As with heat-treated rubies and sapphires, in GE POL diamonds, partially healed cracks and tension fissures can be observed around crystal inclusions. In stones with high clarity grades, the treatment cannot be definitely proven. 

GE POL was just the start of an immense wave of new treated diamond products. Hardly a month passes without a new variety of the process being marketed, enriching and bewildering the diamond trade. GE was the first to announce the successful HPHT synthesis of diamonds in 1955. 

Hight Pressure Hight Temperature color-enhanced diamonds coming in the USA are not being sold with the same level conscientiousness toward the diamond trade. We know that some of these diamonds are entering the international trade through various channels without any form of proper disclosure. Buyers beware when shopping for diamonds! Look for certification from the well-known Gemological Laboratories (GIA, AGS, HRD, IGI) only. 

Image result for american gem society

Looking for a safe, secure way to sell a diamond? Check out our online diamond marketplace and we’ll connect you with a trusted jeweler! 

How to buy a diamond within my budget?



How do i start to look for when i need to buy a diamond for my future wife within my certain budget? Diamond is so complex and can be easily misled. Most of us may not have a clue about diamonds at all.

Most people may start by asking how much per carat? I used to be that guy. Once i hear this question i can pretty much tell you that this guy knows nothing about diamonds. Let me try to explain you a bit here, you can spend starting from M color I3 clarity 1,100/ct to D color IF (Internally Flawless) or FL(Flawless)20,700/ct. This based on Rapaport Price list that issued or updated every fridays. Rapaport Price List may change depending on market conditions and the demanding.

On an average, people spend between 4,000 to 6,000 per carat on a round brilliant cut diamond. And with these budgets you would be able to get a nice 100% eye clean, near colorless( G, H, I) to colorless (D,E,F) with SI1(Slightly Included) to VS1(Very Slightly included) clarity. With these budgets you can play around with Carat/weight, Clarity, and Color but keep the Cut alone. The cut is the most important of all 4Cs, why is that? because the cut is the one that brings out the brilliance of the diamond. It does not matter how white or how clean the diamond is, if a diamond has a poor cut that diamond pretty much is worthless or dead. what i mean dead is has no brilliant. Have you ever wondered and ask yourself sometime why my diamond is not sparkle and other people’s diamond is so sparkle? yap, thats what i am talking about, no brilliant.

 This’s a 1 carat H SI1 certified by GIA

Excellent Cut with Faint Fluorescence!

Approximately 6.4mm somewhere around $5,000

This’s a 1 carat F SI1 certified by GIA

Good Cut without Fluorescence!

Approximately 6.25 mm somewhere around $4,000

You may ask me why a F SI1 is cheaper than a H SI1 ? are they supposed to be other way around? Yes you’re right! F color is more expensive than a H color for sure, but not in this case the H has better(excellent/ideal) cut so it gives less percent discount than a F color that is only good cut. As you can see in these two pictures!

Some jewelers don’t tell you this, they just want to sell the stone to you period. when you ask for certain color and clarity, they will fulfill your request and get you what you ask for or maybe not instead they push you to buy what they have in their stocks. Good jewelers will tell you everything , i mean everything behind close doors. they would compare stone by stone and educate you about the table and depth percentage, crown and pavilion angle, last but not least the the girdle thickness. Girdle thickness is really really important, when a 1 carat diamond girdle’s thickness slightly thick  to extremely thick, it makes a 1 carat looks more like a well proportioned 0.80 carats diamond, which is about 5.9mm. look at the sample pics below.

 this’s a 1ct 5.90mm poor make diagrams

this’s a 1ct 6.00mm fair make diagrams

this’s a 1ct 6.13mm good make diagrams

this’s a 1ct 6.30mm very good make diagrams

this’s a 1ct 6.50mm ideal make diagrams

The weight is 1 carat and you pay for the price of 1 carat price but the look is more like a 0.80 carats. And i am not talking only for the 1 caraters, it could be  1.50 carats off make or 2 carats not properly proportioned and so on and on… Some buyers don’t know about this nor some jewelers. There are so many ways to look for before buying a diamond. Most diamonds in the industry are not well proportioned and some are milky or haze or might have secondary color. All of these have to take to consideration when buying a diamond. You can’t just compare diamond to diamond like comparing apple to apple. Each diamond is different even though they are the same color and clarity.

Buying a diamond is not as simple as you think unless you don’t care about getting ripped off or whatsoever then it’s fine. Buying a diamond just like buying a house, you are investing in long term (i mean ten years or more)eventually,you will make your money back. (I know some of you guys would not agree with my opinion that buying a good diamond is as an investment, i respect that). But the difference is when you buy a house is all about location, location, location, Diamond is all about the 4Cs and when you buy and who you buy it from. And have to be in colorless(D,E,F) ranges and VVS2 up, see sample here  with Triple Excellent known as (XXX) without Fluorescence, without secondary color(brown), No internal graining. Just make sure when you are ready to buy, do your diligent ask the expert opinions who have been in the industry for at least five to ten years or more and know what they are doing. If you need help with diamond questions, please email me at info@diamondkarma.com i’ll do my best to help!

8 Good Reasons to Sell a Diamond Ring



If you’ve never sold a diamond ring before — or you’ve never actually sold any of your jewelry before — you might be wondering why anyone would ever sell a diamond ring. After all, aren’t diamonds precious, brilliant stones that have a lot of worth and significance?

The truth is that a lot of people do make the decision to sell their diamond rings and other diamond jewelry. Which leads us to the question: why do people sell their diamonds?

You might think that the only possible motivation anyone would have to sell their diamonds is a sudden and urgent need for money. You would be wrong. While people in dire circumstances do resort to selling their diamonds, that’s not the only reason. In fact, diamonds are often sold for a multitude of reasons.

Here are the eight most common reasons people have to sell their diamond jewelry:

1) Fast Cash

If you are in immediate need of a large sum of cash, selling your diamonds is a good option (we didn’t say nobody sold their diamonds in an emergency, just that it was not the only reason).

Whatever reason you need the money for, selling your diamond ring or other diamond jewelry is a quick and easy solution to get money in your hands as soon as possible. While it might be a hard decision to make, what with diamond jewelry having sentimental meaning, it is an excellent option for anyone who wants to get some money quick without resorting to taking loans. In fact, selling an old diamond ring is almost definitely a better option for some quick cash than reaching out to a payday lender who take extremely high loan percentages.

Continue reading

4-Tip to Sell A diamond Ring



Although selling a diamond ring may seem like a very quick and easy way to earn some money, like any other businesses, in order to be lucrative you will need to become more educated in the field. Unlike gold, diamonds do not have a quantifiable melt value, and diamond resale prices have no single objective measure, which makes it all easier for the inexperienced sellers to become confused and overwhelmed.

1. Know where to sell your diamond jewelry: Now is the best time to sell a diamond ring. Thanks to the escalating taste for diamonds among the middle class in the US, China and India. Diamonds prices have soared. You’re seeing a lot of signs at jewelry stores windows saying ‘we buy gold and diamond jewelry’. While the timing may be right, selling your diamond can be headache. Unlike gold has a quantifiable melt value, resale prices for diamonds has no objective measure, making it easy for inexperienced sellers to become confused and overwhelmed. Selling your diamond jewelry to an online reputable company such as Diamondbuyersintl.com known as DBI is the best way. This company has been in the business of buying diamond jewelry for more than a decade and still going strong, paying top dollars for diamond jewelry and you can read more about their success stories page and testimonials diamondbuyersintl.com/success-stories here. Not only DBI can provide you with free instant appraisal kit but they also guarantee pay more than others.

2. Selling your diamond ring has never been easier. Whether you are in New York, Texas, Los Angeles, or London, Birmingham, Madrid and Barcelona,  WPdiamonds.com is an online diamonds, jewelry, and watches buyer. You can just swing by and sell directly to WP Diamonds if you live near one of those locations. You can sell from anywhere within the US. Simply complete the valuation form and WP diamonds will contact you with an initial offer. WP diamonds also operates a secure shipping service from anywhere within Canada, and a global buyer of second hand diamonds, jewelry, and watches and well-established across the United States and Europe.

3. Know what you’ve got is essential in selling a diamond ring. you might got some old diamond rings were very valuable, but that not necessarily so. In fact, the so-called diamond rings may not be  diamonds at all. Prior rushing off to sell, get an accurate opinion as to the true quality and authenticity of the stones in question. You can get an unbiased opinion about your stone’s condition and characteristics by consulting with a qualified appraiser, preferably the one who does not buy or sell diamonds. When talking about a diamond ring it’s a very serious business. Should you wish to sell safely and quickly and you have no desire to market the piece, your best alternative is you should consider selling to online diamond buyers.  Although the marker for secondhand diamond ring isn’t a large one, some sites like Diamondbuyersintl.comWPdiamonds.com and RevereJewels.com can be really helpful when trying to sell a diamond ring online. These 3 companies are well known, trustworthy, 5-Star customers reviews and A+ BBB rating. These 3 companies are at their best when come to buy your diamond ring and they offer your diamond ring very competitive prices.

 4.The last but not least is being realistic with regards to how much you can expect to sell your diamond rings could lead to disappointment. When having your diamond ring appraised, ask for about the stone’s potential worth given specific market conditions and circumstances. On the other hand, you can make your own assessments on your own or check new diamonds within wholsale/retail online stores that seem comparable to yours. And also, factor in a price deduction given that your diamond ring is pre-used. Keep in mind the reason why anyone would wish to sell it for the profit or they see it as a good bargain. Otherwise, they would probably just buy new stock. Selling a diamond ring is not all about the best price you can get but also the speed of the sale, or it could come down to how much you actually trust the buyer. Another component is your ability to market the stone or negotiate on final price.
As you can see, all these tips are to help you make a successful sale of your diamond jewelry ring. But it’s all up to you to choose the best method that suits your requirements.

What is Artificial Irradiation or Irradiated Diamond?



An irradiated diamond is a natural diamond that has been exposed to a radiation treatment in order to turn the stone into a different color. Irradiated diamonds can be found in many different colors including, blue, green, pink, yellow and orange. Colored diamonds do occur naturally, however, they are more rare than white diamonds. This makes it difficult to meet the buying demand and significantly drives up the cost of colored diamonds. Artificial irradiation helps meet the demand of colored diamonds and creates an affordable alternative to naturally colored diamonds. 

Artificial irradiation dates back to the early 1900s, when chemist and physicists, Sir William Crookes, discovered that the color of a diamond exposed to radium salts was drastically altered-turning from yellow or brown to green. Although the exposure to radium salts resulted in an enhanced color change in the diamond, there were several flaws that made Sir William Crookes processes infeasible.  

The cost and difficulty of obtaining radium kept Crookes technique from becoming a widespread treatment. An even greater disadvantage was the treated diamonds developed dangerous levels of residual radioactivity, making them unsafe to wear. In fact, one study by a 1940s engineer, John Hardy, shows that nearly 30 years after Crookes exposed a diamond to radium salts, the diamond was still radioactive! By the 1950s, artificial irradiation processes had been developed that could change the color of a diamond without making them radioactive for long periods afterward.  

GIA Irradiated Diamonds

Artificial Irradiation

Diamonds can be divided into five types: Type l, Type la, Type laA, Type laB, Type lb, Type ll, Type lla and Type IIb. Type l and Type ll are the most common diamond. The classifications are based on their Nitrogen content, how they transmit ultraviolet light, and by their infrared absorption spectrum.  

Type I diamonds contain nitrogen. About 98% of cuttable natural diamonds belong to type Ia, and about 0.1% of gem diamonds belong to type Ib (with significantly lower nitrogen concentrations of approximately 40 ppm) in which isolated atoms are randomly distributed in the diamond’s lattice. Diamonds in which no nitrogen can be found, with the help of infrared spectroscopy, belongs to Type ll. Type ll account for around 2% of all gem diamonds. If the stone does not possess any electric conductivity, it is a Type IIa. These are transparent to UV light up to around 225 nm, contain relatively free elements, and in general are colorless. Type IIa diamonds are often in the upper range of the color grades. Lattice distortions caused by deformation during the growth process may also produce yellow, brown or even pink Type IIa diamonds. Type IIb diamonds make-up only about 0.1% of all gem diamonds. They are typically blue or greyish-blue and are semi-conductors. The type of diamond, and the natural color of a diamond, greatly determines the  

Today, the most common methods of artificial irradiation include neutron and electron bombardment. Through these processes, high-energy particles are blasted at the diamond, knocking carbon atoms within the stone out of place and producing a colored diamond. Neutron bombardment typically results in a green to black colored diamond, while electron bombardment creates a blue, blue-green, or green color. To further alter the color, the stone may also go through an annealing process, in which the heat turns the irradiated stone into hues of pink, yellow, orange or brown. 

Looking to buy a diamond? Check out our budget calculator to see what size diamond fits your budget! 

What are Conflict Diamonds?



If you’ve looked into purchasing diamonds for yourself, you might have come across the term ‘conflict diamonds’ — also known as ‘blood diamonds’ — and if you have come across either of those terms, you might be wondering what exactly are conflict/blood diamonds, why they are bad, and how likely it is to come across such a stone when you are purchasing a diamond for yourself.

If you want all of those questions (and more) answered, read on.

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