Diamond Jewlery, Fine Diamond Jewlery, Discount Diamond Jewlery, DIamond Jewelry Rings, Diamond Jewelry Earrings,

Diamond Jewlery, Fine Diamond Jewlery, Discount Diamond Jewlery, DIamond Jewelry Rings, Diamond Jewelry Earrings, Diamond Jewelry Pendants, Diamond Jewelry Bracelets,
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Third Party Diamond Certification: Stick With AGS Or GIA

 

There are numerous ways for anyone to field test a piece of jewelry to determine if the stones are genuine diamonds. These can vary from a newspaper test of reading print through the diamond to trying to fog up the stone. However, the only scientific way to measure the authenticity of a stone is to get it tested by a third party certification process via the experts. Even when doing so, you have to specifically request AGS or GIA certification as there are a number of independent certifiers who can still grade a genuine diamond inaccurately when compared to these standards, costing you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars – even when the stone is genuine. If you want to know how to test your diamond ring accurately, always let the professionals handle this and get a certificate to prove not only the authenticity of the stone, but the correct grading for the stone.

How Certificates Go Wrong

Just because someone is willing to send out your diamond to a third party testing company doesn't mean you will get back the best results. Diamond grading for the four C's (color, clarity, cut, and carat) can vary if they aren't following set industry standards. Sometimes diamond vendors may even set up relationships with these third party certifiers aware that the grading can skew the value of the diamond and provide a bigger profit margin. If you want to be on the safe side and accurately gage the value of the diamond, stick to standards like AGS or GIA and you won't be disappointed later. Otherwise, you may find that the independent certifiers can use the same language and terms, but are essentially inflating values by shifting the grading of color or clarity a few notches based on their system. This can be very misleading to the general public and can be quite a surprise when someone else appraises the stone for far less because they used a AGS or GIA industry standard.

About Heart Shaped Diamond

Though a technical description of the heart-shaped diamond is anything but sentimental, the heart shaped diamond is essentially a pear-shaped diamond with a cleft at the top the diamond itself is is considered by some to be the most romantic of all diamond cuts.The heart shaped diamond can be quite fiery with excellent sparkle.

Choosing a Heart Shaped Diamond

The heart-shaped diamond is likely the most difficult diamond shape to purchase online. If you find a heart shaped diamond like to buy online.

We strongly recommend you:

1. Review the length to width ratio to determine the heart's proportions - short and fat? - elongated? - evenly proportion?
2. Ensure that the seller has an excellent return policy -- if the diamond arrives and you don't care for the cleft, you want to be able to either exchange or return the stone.

When purchasing a heart-shaped diamond, it's extremely important to pay attention to quality and to select the highest grade cut you can afford. While "shape" is not the same as "cut", the skill of the cutter is critical with heart-shaped diamonds and a diamond with a high grade cut, likely had a skilled cutter. Our minimum recommendations for buying heart-shaped diamonds are as follows

• Cut: Good
• Color: G
• Clarity: SI2
• 

Heart Shaped Diamonds

The heart is the ultimate symbol of love. The unique look of the heart-shaped diamond helps make it a distinctive choice for a variety of diamond jewelry. When choosing a color grade, consider that while the price of a J-color heart shaped diamond is exceptional, color may be slightly visible in its corners. To find the dimension of heart-shape you want, look for the length-to-width ratio in our interactive diamond search and on each diamond's detail page. The length-to-width ratio will determine the diamond's outline.

 

Heart Shaped Diamonds

Like pear shaped diamonds, heart shaped diamonds can be either fat or elongated. Notice the extra protection the setting offers this heart shaped diamond's pointed tip.

About Emerald Cut Diamond Shape

Emerald Cut Diamond Shape

As may be evident by the name, the "emerald cut" was originally developed for cutting emeralds, not diamonds.

While the emerald gemstone is a relatively hard stone (7.5 - 8.0 on the MOHS scale), it is known for numerous inclusions (naturally occuring internal flaws). The inclusions make the stone vulnerable to breakage, making them difficult to cut. The stepped, normally rectangular cut with cropped corners (shown above), known as the "emerald cut" was developed to address these issues.

It was soon discovered that the emerald cut was also suitable for other stones, including diamonds.

The emerald cut diamond can be absolutely stunning. Because of it's long lines, it tends to be less fiery than a "round brilliant" cut, but it also tends to have broader, more dramatic flashes of light. The trim lines of emerald cut diamonds lend an elegant, sophisticated air to both the simplest and most elaborate ring settings.

Choosing an Emerald Cut Diamond

When purchasing an emerald cut diamond, it's extremely important to pay attention to quality and to select the highest grade stone you can afford. Because of the "openess" of the cut, flaws, color weakness, and a poor cut are more evident to the naked eye than a cut such as the round brilliant. The good news is, emerald cut diamonds are not as "traditional" as the round brilliant or as trendy as the princess cut -- making their pricing extremely economical when compared to the more common cuts.

For example, compare the following two diamonds available at Mondera:

Emerald Cut
Round Brilliant

Carat Weight: 1.00
Carat Weight: 1.00

Cut: Very Good
Cut: Very Good

Clarity: VS2
Clarity: VS2

Color: F
Color: F

Price: $4,543
Price: $5,994

The diamonds carry the same grades and are the same weight, but the emerald cut diamond is $1,451 less than the round brilliant.

Our minimum recommendations for buying emerald cut diamonds are as follows (please remember these recommendations are opinion only, and your tastes may vary):

• Cut: Good
• Color: G
• Clarity: VS2
• Depth Percentage: 58-69%
• Table: 58-69%

Always be sure to check the length and width of the diamond prior to purchasing. The traditionally accepted ratio for emerald cut diamonds is 1.5:1 to 1.75:1, but some people prefer longer, thinner cuts, and some prefer the shorter, fatter cuts.

Emerald Cut Diamond Ring

While not the traditional selection, emerald cut diamonds make lovely engagement rings (either as a solitaire or with accent stones). And because they're usually less costly than comparable round brilliants, buyers can generally afford a larger stone than if they selected a round brilliant.

Emerald cut diamonds do require four-pronged settings (as pictured). Make sure to keep that in mind when making your selection.

To give you some ideas of what's available for an emerald cut diamond ring, we've preselected a range of certified emerald cut diamonds for you to examine (all from Mondera or Blue Nile, two of the premiere diamond stores). Unless otherwise noted, these diamonds are within our minimum requirements as listed above and are suitable for solitaire settings or settings with accent stones:

• Half-carat (.50 - .55)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
• Three-quarter carat (.75 - .80)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
• One carat (1.00 - 1.10)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
• Two Carats (2.00 - 2.10)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
• Three Carats (3.00 - 3.10)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Emerald Cut Diamond

About Cushion Cut Diamond Shape

Cushion Cut Diamond Shape

Until recently, it was difficult to find Cushion Cut Diamonds for sale outside of estate sales and auctions. However, cushion cuts are enjoying a small surge in popularity and are again being offered by select diamond sellers,

The cushion cut is an antique cut that most often resembles a cross between the Old Mine Cut (a deep cut with large facets that was common in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries) and a modern oval cut. This shape is also sometimes referred to as the pillow-cut or the candlelight diamond (a reference to cuts designed prior to electric lights, when diamonds sparkled in the light provided by candles).

This cut is not as fiery or brilliant as many of the newer cuts, but it has a marvelously romantic and classic look and definitely stands out from the crowd of round brilliants.

Choosing a Cushion Cut Diamond

Standards for cushion cut diamonds vary widely and more than with most contemporary cuts, much is left to personal taste. So you will easily find cushion cuts that are nearly square, long rectangles, and with varying size tables and depth percentages.

Mondera does categorize their cushion cuts as falling into three cut "grades" -- Good, Very Good, and Ideal. For those who are not on a tight budget, we recommend staying in the Very Good and Ideal ranges.

Because of the large open facets of the cushion cut, opt for the highest clarity and color your budget affords. If you're looking for a stone that most closely matches the original cushion cut, opt for a length/width ratio of 1.25 - 1.30.

Our minimum recommendations for buying cushion cut diamonds are as follows (please remember these recommendations are opinion only, and your tastes may vary):

• Cut: Good
• Color: G
• Clarity: VS2

Now if you're on a tight budget, you can still find a nice stone going with these minimums:

• Cut: Good
• Color: I
• Clarity: SI2

Could you purchase cheaper cushion cut diamonds by going below these minimums? Absolutely. But we don't recommend it -- at some point, one must consider the beauty of the stone, not simply the cost.

Cushion Cut Diamond Ring

While not the traditional selection, cushion cut diamonds are a romantic stand out from the common round brilliant generally selected for engagement rings (either as a solitaire or with accent stones).

Cushion cut diamonds do require a minimum four-pronged settings (as pictured) and larger stones will require additional prongs to keep the stone secure in its setting.

To give you some ideas of what's available for a cushion cut diamond ring, we've preselected a range of certified cushion cut diamonds for you to examine (all from Mondera or Blue Nile, two of the premiere online diamond stores). These diamonds are within our minimum requirements as listed above and are suitable for solitaire settings or settings with accent stones.

PLEASE NOTE: It is often difficult to find cushion cut diamonds in the smaller sizes. If you're looking for a diamond under one carat, you'll have a much greater range of choices if you select an Asscher Cut Diamond.

• Three-quarter carat (.70 - .80)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
• One carat (1.00 - 1.10)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
• Two Carats (2.00 - 2.10)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
• Three Carats (3.00 - 3.10)
  1. Best Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  2. Balance of Price and Quality
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  3. Low Price Selection
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond
  4. Bargain Basement*
     View this Cushion Cut Diamond