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Jewelry, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Gemstones, Diamonds - popular articles

You can be forgiven for thinking that items of diamond jewellery can be expensive, but to put the price into perspective you should be aware that more than 250 tons of ore has to be mined just to yield a one carat rough diamond. Only about 20% of all rough diamonds are suitable for use as gems, but since diamond is the hardest material known to man at least the rest can be used for industrial purposes including cutting, boring and grinding

Diamonds can be buried for thousands of years before either being excavated from blue rock or released through erosion and re-deposited in alluvial (riverside) silts.

A high percentage of the world's diamond supply is currently mined in South Africa, but diamonds are also mined in twenty other countries with the largest deposits being found in Australia, India, Brazil, South America and Russia. Most recently deposits have been discovered in Wisconsin, Indiana and Canada.

The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are the subject of frequent controversy, with enormous global concern over the sale of conflict or blood diamonds. This is the trading of illicit rough diamonds by revolutionary groups in some of more politically unstable Central and West African countries. They have taken control of the diamond mines and are using proceeds from diamond sales to fund international terrorism and prolong conflict in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. To try and put a stop to this the diamond industry and trading nations introduced the Kimberley Process in 2002. This is a system which provides supporting documentation and certification from the producing countries of diamond exports to the diamond dealers so that they only purchase legitimate stones and can ensure that they are not dealing in conflict diamonds where the proceeds of the sale would be used fund criminal activities.

Another process that should always be in place before a significant solitaire or loose diamonds are purchased is the grading. This is performed at one of the recognised laboratories around the world and is where an expert examines a diamond and puts it into a category to give the layman some guidance and reassurance when comparing diamonds of similar qualities. The diamond should come with a laboratory certificate detailing the 4C’s (cut, colour, clarity grade and the weight of your diamond). The grading certificate also normally includes information relating to the proportions, blemishes, symmetry and fluorescence of the stone.

The International Gemmological Institute (IGI) is the largest independent grading and appraisal organization in the world. It is the oldest of its kind with laboratories in the six major diamond dealing cities of Antwerp, New York, Bangkok, Mumbai, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The IGI is renowned for the quality of services it offers together with their wealth of experience. In America there are a number of diamond laboratories that issue certificates, but the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) has an excellent reputation and was the first to issue modern diamond reports and the American Gemmological Society (AGS) is also widely regarded and recognised in the industry. The European Gemmological Laboratory USA (EGLUSA) is not as widely known as the other three laboratories but is respected for its consistency and fair trading. Bear in mind that if your diamond has a certificate from an unknown laboratory the grade might not be the same as one given by a gemmologist from one the above companies. Not all laboratories are as strict, and some are popular with certain retailers because they have a reputation of being generous with grades. Please remember that a grading report does not include an appraisal or statement about the monetary value of the diamond. If you have a diamond certificate from a recognised laboratory it is a unique fingerprint of that gemstone, and provides accurate and important information to assist both the purchaser and the jeweller.