Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How to Clean Your Diamonds

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How to Clean your Diamonds

Once you have your Diamond Pendant Necklace,
you'll want to take great care to keep it
pristine!

Through our day to day movements our
diamonds get smudged and soiled. Even
when we are not wearing them, they collect
dust. Lotions, soaps, our natural skin oils,
can cause film and grime on diamonds
and inhibit their brilliance.

Want to keep that Brilliance and Shine?
Diamonds require cleaning so that maximum
amounts of light can refract fiery brilliance.
Remember that all it takes is a few minutes
and a little care to keep that diamond as fiery
as the day you first saw it.

You can use an small soft brush such as an
eyebrow or lip stick brush and soap and
water to clean your jewelry. Simply make a
bowl of warm sudsy water with a mild
detergent and place your pieces in the
mixture. Then brush the diamonds with the
soft bristles of the brush while they are in
the suds. You will need to make certain that
you rinse them clear of the suds after
cleaning them. You can use a small kitchen
strainer such as a tea strainer to contain
them while rinsing under warm water. Use
a lint free cloth, or a jewelry polish cloth to
pat them dry.

If your diamonds are in need of a stronger
cleansing, you may want to soak them for 30
minutes in a solution of half and half water and
ammonia. Once they have soaked for 30
minutes, remove them and gently brush the
mountings with a small brush. Then replace
the pieces to the solution and swish them
around in the mixture before removing them
to rinse and pat dry.

If you find your self too busy to be mixing
soaps and ammonias, many department
stores sell liquid jewelry cleaners. Most are
kits, with everything you need included. You
need to read the labels to determine the one
that is right for your diamonds and other
jewelry. Read the complete directions and
follow all the precautions.

And if you find yourself more the
“high-tech type”, even in your diamond
cleaning routine, there are multiple ultrasonic
cleansers on the market. These machines
use high-frequency to create a cleaning motion.
All machines are not the same, so please read
the instructions before using.

Only you can choose the cleaning method
right for you. But, it is essential to keep
your jewelry clean to keep it brilliant and
sparkling. Between cleaning, try not to touch
your clean diamonds with your fingers or
handle your jewelry by its edges. This will
help maintain your diamond pendant necklace's
shine and brilliance for longer periods.

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: Where Diamonds are Mined

So where did the diamonds in your diamond pendant necklace originate?

Argye mine located in the Kimberley region
in the far north east of Western Australia.
Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s
largest single producer of volume of
diamonds. However, due to low proportion
of gem quality diamonds it is not the value
leader. It does produce 90-95% of the
world’s supply of pink diamonds.

Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, located in
Canada it is a very large mine. It is located
north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic
Circle on an island. The island is connected
by an ice road. It is also an important part of
the regions economy employing more than
700 people and producing more than 8 million
carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP
Billiton and located south of the artic circle
in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
The Ekati is Canada’s first operational
diamond mine. Diamonds mined here
are sold under the Aurias trade name
Authenticity is verified through Canada
Mark service. CanadaMark service is also
owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.

Baken diamond mine is located along the
lower Orange River in South Africa. It is
owned and operated by Trans Hex. The
average size stone for 2004 was 1.29
carats. In 2004, this mine produced a
78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that
sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US),
as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was
sold for over 1 million US dollars.

Merlin is the second of only two diamond
mines in Australia. No longer operating it
was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker
Resources, who has explored the
possibilities of reopening the mine.

Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine.
It us located 240 Km west of
Francistown. The mine is owned by
“Debswana” which is a partnership
between DeBeers and the government of
Botswana. This mine operates 7 days a
week. It maintains pre primary and
primary schools for its employee’s children.
There is also a 100 bed hospital and game
park. This mine began production in 1971
and is the oldest mine owned by the
Debswana Company.

The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South
Africa produced the largest gem diamond
ever in 1905. The Cullinan Diamond
weighed 3,106.75 carats. This mine also
produced the Golden Jubilee diamond
which weighed 545.67 carats. This mine is
owned by the De Beers Company and was
renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in
2003 in celebration of its centennial.

Which one of these mines houses the diamonds
for my diamond pendant necklace?

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How Diamonds Are Mined

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How Diamonds Are Mined

We seldom think about how the diamond
pendant necklaces we desire come to us.
Natural diamonds, as opposed to synthetic
diamonds or fake diamonds, are mined from
the earth. There are currently two methods
of mining diamonds: Pipe Mining and Alluvial Mining.

When pipe mining is used, the diamonds
are extracted from the earth through volcanic
pipes. These are not man-made pipes. These
are natural pipes in the ground. Shanks are
put into the ground next to the pipes, and
tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of
the pipe. The diamonds are not sorted out at
the mine. Instead, huge rocks that are full of
diamonds are brought out of the mine and
moved to a screening plant for separation.

The Alluvial mining method is done in
riverbeds and on beaches. Walls are built to
hold back the water and the sand on the bank
or beach is moved with a bulldozer until the
level of earth that diamonds can be found in
is reached. Again, the diamonds are not
sorted here. Instead, the sand that contains
the diamonds is bulldozed into trucks, and
taken to screening plants.

I suppose I could have posted this before I
posted my How Diamonds Are Cut blog, but
you can always just view that post here:

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How Diamonds Are Cut

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How to Spot A Fake Diamond

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How to Spot A Fake Diamond

In this world of advanced technology it is
almost impossible to simply look at a
diamond and determine whether it is real or
not – especially if you don’t know much
about diamonds. There are some steps that
you can take to avoid buying a fake diamond,
however.

First, only deal with reputable jewelers, and
when you find a reputable jeweler, stick with
them. Avoid buying diamonds or other
jewelry from jewelers that you have never
dealt with before in the past. Ask to see the
certificate for the stone. If no certificate exists,
walk away.

Look at the setting that the stone is in. Fake
diamonds, such as zirconias, are usually set
in low quality metals. Take a close look at the
stone. Fake diamonds are not durable –
natural diamonds, on the other hand, are the
most durable stone on the planet. Look for
scratches or nicks.

After purchasing a diamond, take it to
another jeweler for appraisal. In fact, take it
to two or three other jewelers for an appraisal
to make sure that the appraisals are all fairly
close.

Remember my scams post; some appraisers
may just try to low ball you to scam you, so
you need multiple, separate appraisals.

If you find that you have purchased a
fake diamond, you may be accused of
making a switch when you return to the store
of your purchase; therefore, it is important to
have a certificate for the diamond. No two
stones are alike.

This advice will help you make certain your
diamond pendant necklaces are truly unique.

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How Diamonds Are Cut

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: How Diamonds Are Cut

In their most natural form, diamonds are –
well – quite ugly. They have no luster or shine,
and in fact, look like nothing more than
broken glass. A diamond must be cut, and
then polished before it actually becomes a
thing of beauty.

Diamonds are cut with saws, into round
shapes. From the rounded shape, other
shapes may be cut, such as heart shapes
– but the shape is less important than the
quality of the cutting that is being done. If
the diamond is poorly cut, it will lose light,
and it will not sparkle and shine very well.
Each facet of the diamond must be
carefully cut into the geometrical shapes
that allow the diamond to sparkle and
shine, then the entire diamond is cut into
a specific shape, such as an emerald cut
or a princess cut diamond.

Once the cut is done, the diamond is put into
a dop, which resembles a cup with another
diamond – only a diamond is strong enough
to smooth the edges of another diamond.
Once the diamond has been cut and shaped,
and had the edges smoothed in the dop, it is
polished on a scaif or a diamond polishing
wheel.

And then your diamond is on its way to
your diamond pendant necklaces.

Diamond Scams

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: Diamond Scams

When it comes to diamonds, there are
numerous scams to avoid. Most scams are
minor, but there are some major ones that
come up from time to time concerning the
buying and selling of diamonds. Scams
occur simply because most people who buy
diamonds – for whatever reasons – don’t
know that much about diamonds. Therefore,
they are easily fooled.

The Carat Total Weight Scam

A common scam that most jewelry stores
participate in is the Carat Total Weight scam.
The tag on the piece of jewelry, usually a ring,
only states the total carat weight of all
diamonds in the piece, instead of listing the
total weights separately for each diamond.
This leads consumers to believe that the main
diamond in the piece is actually bigger than it
is. Ask what the total carat weight of the center
stone is. Also beware of fractions. Jewelry
stores are allowed to round off diamond
weights. This means that if the jeweler tells
you that it is a ¾ carat diamond, it is
probably between ½ and ¾ carat – but
closer to ¾.

The Fluorescence Scam

Jewelry stores often run ‘fluorescence’
scams to varying degrees. Referring to a
diamond as a blue-white diamond is such a
scam. A blue-white diamond sounds very
unique and special, but in fact, this type of
diamond is of lesser quality – even though
the jeweler will try to make you think you are
getting something special. Jewelry stores
also like to show their diamonds in bright
lights. Lights make diamonds shine. Ask
to see the diamond in a different, darker
type of lighting as well.

The Low-Ball Scam

Some truly unscrupulous jewelers target
those who want appraisals on diamonds
that were given to them as gifts or that were
purchased elsewhere. They will try to tell you
that the diamond is worthless, or worth less
than it actually is worth – and offer to take it
off your hands or trade it for a much better
diamond, along with the cash to make up
the difference. This is called low balling.
Get a second, third, and even a forth opinion
before taking any action.

The Switch Scam

Another common dirty trick is to switch the
diamond you have chosen and paid for with
one of lesser quality and value when you
leave it to be set in a piece of jewelry, or
leave a diamond ring to be sized. The only
way to avoid this is to do business with one
trustworthy jeweler. Avoid jewelers that you
have not done business with in the past.

There are many more scams that jewelry
stores commonly pull on unsuspecting
consumers. Just use your best judgment,
and purchase your diamonds with the
utmost care and consideration.

The Four Cs To Finding My Diamond Pendant Necklaces

So on to the four Cs I mentioned in my first post
and on to my quest for my diamond pendant
necklace!

Color is the result of the composition of a
diamond and it does not change. When a
jeweler is describing the color of a diamond
they are referring to the presence or absence
of color in white diamonds. Because a
diamond with no color allows maximum light
to pass through, colorless diamonds are
preferred for their sparkle.

Cut refers to a diamonds reflective quality.
Most diamonds are cut with 58 facets. The
brilliance of diamonds is heavily dependent
on the cut. The different angles and the finish
of a diamond determine its ability to reflect
light and cause its brilliance and fire.
Remember that the cut of a diamond can
have an impact on its durability as well as its
beauty. Some cutting faults can make a
diamond prone to breakage. A diamond
that is cut too thin can also cause light to
leak out of the back and the diamond will
lose some of the sparkle and appear not
to shine. So, as you can see the Cut is
probably the most important of the Four C’s.
During the formation process, inner flaws, or
inclusions occur in most diamonds. The
number and size of these inclusions
determine what is referred to as the clarity
of a diamond. Diamonds that are clear
create more brilliance and therefore are rarer
and highly priced. To be considered
“flawless”, a diamond must have no surface
or internal imperfections visible upon being
viewed by a skilled diamond grader using
10 power magnifications.

Carat is the unit of weight by which diamonds
are measured. One carat is equal to 200
milligrams. A carat is divided into 100
segments called points. 150 points would
equal one and a half carats.

When you go to the store to make that all
important diamond purchase, do not be shy!
Ask questions, get the answers needed to
make an informed purchase. Shopping for
certified diamonds enables you to make an
informed selection. Knowing the “four C’s”
allows you to comparison shop and purchase
the best diamond at a fair price. But, before
making a purchase, shop around and decide
what shapes and styles really appeal to you.

Does anyone have any diamond pendant
necklaces they'd like to let me know about?

Where did you get it? How did you choose it?

Diamond Pendant Necklaces: My Quest Begins

Ever since I was little, I wanted a diamond pendant necklace.  It is the most frivolous and trivial of dreams and I don't care.  :)

Despite this dream, which I've heardly ever discussed with anyone, I know little to nothing about diamonds, their history, their grades...  so I've decided an ongoing blog will work to help me organize my research.  

Today I'll start with some really basic stuff I just learned.  To evaluate the quality of diamond pendant necklaces, first one needs to know about the four Cs.

Laboratories grade diamonds for certification using a specific grading system.  Four elements of this system are critical to understand when making a diamond purchase or investment. Known as the four Cs, these elements are:  color, cut, clarity and carat.

My next post will address these silly Cs as I begin studying the difference between exceptional and mediocre diamond pendant necklaces.