Shopping for Certified diamonds

                                                                                         

The craftspeople who design and manufacture diamond jewelry usually purchase these stones from wholesale outlets the specialty of which is certified diamonds. Such gems have been subject to a gemology lab analysis and a formal appraisal before its mounted on to diamond engagement rings or other pieces of diamond jewelry.

How Diamonds Are Certified

Certified diamonds are first analyzed by a qualified gemologist under laboratory conditions. There are four aspects of a cut diamond that are examined and determine its quality:

- Carat

- Color

- Clarity

- Cut

Carat is a measurement of the a gem’s mass and weight, being roughly equal to one-fifth of a gram. The second aspect refers to hue and saturation; few people realize that certified diamonds come in an amazing variety of colors, ranging from white to bark brown and even black. Some colors, such as pink, are tremendously valuable. Clarity refers to any “cloudy” spots or apparent scratches visible within the gem; naturally, the less apparent these are, the better.

A certified diamond’s cut is highly subjective; how this affects a given gem’s value depends on the type of cut, as well as the quality and how popular a particular cut is at the time of analysis. It may also ultimately determine how the gem is used in diamond jewelry – whether a diamond jeweler will use it for one of his diamond engagement rings, a necklace, a tiara, or some other piece.

Mounts vs. Semi-Mounts

After buying diamonds of course, the diamond jeweler’s real work begins – which is crafting the piece onto which the gem will ultimately be mounted. Diamond jewelers may offer pieces such as diamond engagement rings as either mounted or as semi-mounts.

The former of course are pieces that you usually see in display cases at jewelry stores, with the gems mounted in place. Semi mounts however are pieces into which a gem has not been mounted. The advantage here is that the customer is then able to choose his/her own gemstone.


Different Cuts

The gems used in diamond jewelry can be cut in many different ways, and each type of cut accentuates a different quality of the gem. “Emerald” cuts leave wide, flat spaces that display a diamond’s clarity, whereas “princess” cuts have many facets, causing the gem to sparkle in the light, or displaying its “fire.” This is primarily a matter of personal preference; there are no rules as to which type of cut diamond should be used in a given piece. Your diamond jewelry retailer or other jewelry expert can advise you on this however, should you not have a clear idea of what your want in a particular piece.

About the author:
Jonathon Blocker writes about diamond jewelry, colored diamonds, and certified loose diamonds. He is a consultant for GemFind.com, a trusted name in the jewelry industry since 1999.

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