"Oh, what a beautiful..." dosen't the brilliance and sparkle of a diamond make you want to sing! There is nothing else that has endured the years as a symbol of love, romance and commitment like the diamond. After all, A Diamond is Forever.

I had to make a descision for this space. Prices or information. With the revoloution in diamonds that we currently face I chose information. For you , the consumer, this is more valuable than how much I sell a 1.50ct round brilliant cut, G color, VS1 Clarity Tolkowsky Ideal Cut for OR any of the other branded cutting styles like the "Hearts on Fire", "Hearts and Arrows", or "Arges"; ("this one comes with a musical gemprint-a windchime sounding piece of music that is produced by a patented software's interpretation of the diamond's unique grain and cut".... Modern Jeweler diamond diretctory 2006. David Yurman is now in the diamond branding business. All in a name.....With 'branding' in everything from diamonds, clothing, furniture and baby strollers everyone is competting for your dollar. That is no suprise, thats commerce.

So what's my point? ... Educaton. None of the branded diamonds are "better" than the other (and there are many and are more costly than non-branded). Also be carefull not to "grade" or "judge" a jewelry store or a design studio because they don't have or carry a particular brand of diamond you may be looking for, there is just no way to carry them all. Many in the 'design studio' arena, ( as we do), offer you the ability to privately view diamonds from a number of sources whether branded, certificate diamonds ("certs") or "non certs". ............Just another addition to the options we provide.

Speaking one more time on branding,....Diamond treatments are now being branded... Excuse me? ...What is a diamond treatment. A treatment/enhancement is a modification of a gemstone that alters the natural appearence of that gemstone and is not always permenant. Gemstone treatements have been used for centuries and today the technology makes it easier and more available. In this discussion diamonds are irradiated and annealed, coated, laser-drilled and bleached, and fracture filled.... example.. 'The Bellataire', these diamonds are whitened ( color change) by high heat and pressure using a process by GE (General Electric) marketed to high-end stores by a GE Division called Diamond Innovations.

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These stones were naturally "off color" and by using the technique a color change of a color grade or so is possible. Another... Lucent Diamonds, Inc., branded as 'Luminari' and 'Imperial Red' uses the HPHT (high pressure high heat) process to offer stones in the fancy color ranges canary yellows, fancy oranges and apple green. Imperial Red is available in colors from purplish red to intense pink. Yehuda diamonds are clarity enhanced by fracture filling (not permenant). This means inclusions are made "invisible" by filling the fracture in diamonds with a resin that has the same refractive index as diamond therefore rendering the fracture almost invisible.( heat from a jewelers torch during some repair events and/or ultrasonic cleaning may remove the filling.)

Forget who has the best price on a 1.50 ct pear shape G color / VS1 clarity.... was it a J color, now a G or was it a G to begin with? Was it a SI2 clarity , now a VS2 or .......? Is it a natural fancy yellow or has been processed to be yellow....? OKAY... let's throw in LabGrown Diamonds..that's right, diamonds grown in the lab . Get the picture... is it man made or mother nature's kitchen?

So, ...lets say we shop some diamonds. "Yea, there we go, look honey they have a "G/VS2" and it looks to be in our price range... lets get it... it's priced much lower than the store down the street."....as they peer into the computer screen....

Please folks, I know your parents told you,

"If it's too good t be true,... it probably IS too good to be true!."

"Compare apples and apples not apples and oranges."

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Important .."Do you know what a G color looks like? ...what a VS2 clarity actually looks like?"

Remember painting the kitchen or baby's room? You had to use swatches for comparing paints and color matching fabrics . Why? The human eye dosen't remember subtle color variations... they must be side by side to descern slight variations of color. (ask you optomotrist)

Clarity refers to the internal characistics of a gemstone. Gemologists refer to the internal imperfections of crystal growth as inclusions. All natural diamonds have them to some degree or another. Shapes, sizes and location within the diamond visible under 10X magnification determine the clarity grade.

The cut of the stone refers to the quality of craftmanship in the cutting, faceting, proportions, symetry and polish of a finished stone. Once the cutting process is complete the stone is weighed. The unit of measure we use to state the weight of gemstones is the carat. The carat system is based on 100. 1 carat equals 100 points. Point is the subdivision of the carat. ie... 25 points (pts) = 1/4 ct or .25 ct. ... .75 ct = 3/4 ct or 75 points, etc....

Diamonds are beautiful gems worthy of awe and appreciation by everyone. Beautiful hues from bright yellow to brilliant blues and oranges.  Let's keep the romance and mystique, enjoy their beauty brought forth by the skill of highly trained cutters. Keep the beauty alive and not reduce these beautiful gems to a commodity on a price sheet.

I encourage everyone shopping for diamonds to seek a professional gemologist for assistance. Most consumers know enough to get in trouble when purchasing diamonds. Don't take my word for it ... visit some of the links provided... get educated ..... we would love to be your Jewely Studio! Links to explore.... GIA's 4 C's Diamond Tutorial