Yaffie Blog

Story of Fancy Colour Diamonds

Story of Fancy Colour Diamonds

Kenneth Lane 06/05/2020 0
On April 28, 1987, a 0.95 carat diamond was sold for $880,000 at Christie's in New York. It contained two large flaws, one of which was a deep cavity in the table (top center facet) of the diamond. Despite its flaws and small size, it set a new world record per carat price for any gem sold at auction: $926,000 (reported by the summer 1987 issue of Gems and Gemology). Why did that diamond command such a high price? Because its natural color was an extremely rare, deep, purplish-red. Color plays a...
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Diamond Fluorescence

Diamond Fluorescence

Kenneth Lane 06/05/2020 0
If you were to place a diamond tennis bracelet under an ultraviolet light, many of the diamonds would probably have a noticeable blue glow and some would probably show hardly any glow or none. This is because diamonds are often fluorescent, which means they omit light when stimulated by UV lights or sunlight. Normally the fluorescence is blue but occasionally it's yellow, white or orange. The Hope Diamond has a distinctive red fluorescence. There's a lot of misinformation about diamond fluoresce...
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How Objective are Diamond Colour Grades?

How Objective are Diamond Colour Grades?

Kenneth Lane 01/05/2020 0
Color grades are not as objective as people would like them to be. Even when the grader is someone as highly respected as the GIA, the color grade can be questioned. Russell Shor, senior editor of the JCK (Jewelers' Circular Keystone magazine), pointed out in their September 1987 issue that sometimes the grades of diamonds change when they are sent back to the GIA for re-examination. In 1995, Shor did a study of five diamonds which JCK sent to three major US gem labs. Only one of the diamonds re...
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How to Grade Diamond Colour ?

How to Grade Diamond Colour ?

Kenneth Lane 01/05/2020 0
Probably the best way to learn to color grade is to ask your jeweler to show you how. He or she will have some loose diamonds, a paper or plastic white grading tray, possibly a set of graded comparison diamonds called master stones and a good diffused (not bare) light source such as a daylight-equivalent fluorescent light. You might be surprised when the jeweler places the diamond upside down on the tray and has you look at the color through the pavilion (the backside of the diamond). This, howe...
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The Most Important to Consider When Buying Engagement Rings

The Most Important to Consider When Buying Engagement Rings

Kenneth Lane 01/05/2020 0
When looking at engagement rings there is a dizzying array of options to consider, and it's hard to know what most important. Will your girl expect a Tiffany's box? Does it need to be a diamond? And does it have to be a particular size? Will she be upset if you don't spend a certain amount of money. The table overleaf shows the outcome of a survey of over 2,700 men and women by theknot.com. They were asked to rank in order of importance eight key factors of engagement rings. It makes for pretty ...
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An Introduction to Diamond Colour

An Introduction to Diamond Colour

Claire Falkenstein 01/05/2020 0
When you look at diamonds in jewelry stores, they may all seem colorless. But if you look closely, you'll notice that they normally have slight tints of yellow, gray or brown. The strength of these tints partially determines the price of the diamond. Normally the less color a diamond has the more it costs. However, prices start rising when the color reaches a point just stronger than light yellow (a grade designated as fancy yellow). As the intensity of fancy-yellow diamonds increases so does th...
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