Where Diamonds are Mined

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.

What Are Dirty Diamonds?

A dirty diamond is one of two things: a rough

diamond, or a diamond that hasn’t been

cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are

uncut and unpolished – hence, they are dirty.

But that type of dirty diamond will soon be

cut and polished and sitting in a beautiful

jewel box in a display case. Then someone

will purchase it, and before long, it will

become a dirty diamond once again.



Diamonds become dirty. When you wash

your hands with a diamond ring on, soap

scum clings to it. When you put on hand

lotion, it gets grease on it. Shower with your

diamond earrings or necklace, and again,

you get soap scum. In one short day, your

brand new diamond could be dirty!



Purchase an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner the

same day that you purchase your diamond

jewelry, and use it every single day, without

fail. The clarity of the diamond changes

when the diamond is dirty – it loses its

sparkle. By taking one minute each day to

clean your diamond jewelry, you can avoid

this, and your diamonds will never be dirty!

Synthetic Diamonds

The first synthetic diamonds were produced

by General Electric in 1954. A synthetic

diamond is basically a rock that has the

durability, refractive index and hardness of

a natural diamond – but it is made by man.

A synthetic diamond should not be

confused with stimulant diamonds, such as

glass, cubic zirconia, or moissanite.



Although the technology for synthetic

diamonds came into play in 1954, no

synthetic diamonds were ever seen on the

market until the 1990’s. This was due to the

fact that it took many years for General

Electric to produce a synthetic diamond that

could compare with the quality of a natural

diamond – and when they figured out how to

do it, they found that it cost more to produce

a synthetic diamond than it did to mine and

cut natural diamonds.



Finally, a small company by the name of

Gemesis Corporation figured out a way to

produce synthetic diamonds that were of the

same quality as natural diamonds, at a

cheaper price. Today, Gemesis produces

synthetic white diamonds, and colored

diamonds as well. These diamonds sell for

about 1/3 of the cost of a natural diamond,

but there is a shortage of them, and they are

hard to find. In fact, it seems that synthetic

diamonds are rarer than natural diamonds!

Selecting Diamonds

Diamonds are graded for certification by

laboratories using grading criteria. Four of

these criteria are critical to understand when

making a diamond purchase or investment.

Known as the “Four C’s” these criteria are:

color, cut, clarity and carat.



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.

Enjoy your diamond for years to come!

Insuring Your Diamonds

Insuring a diamond takes a bit of thought,

planning, and shopping around. Diamond

insurance isn’t like purchasing car insurance.

It is quite different. Depending on the state

that you live in, there are basically three

different types of policies that will cover

diamonds, and all insurance policies that

cover diamonds are considered Marine

type policies.



The first type of insurance policies for

diamonds is an Actual Cash Value policy.

If the diamond is lost or damaged beyond

repair, the insurance company will replace

the diamond at today’s market value, no

matter how much you paid for the diamond

to begin with. This type of insurance policy

for diamonds actually is not that common.



The most common type of insurance for

diamonds is Replacement Value insurance.

The insurance company will only pay up to a

fixed amount to replace the diamond that was

lost or damaged beyond repair. This does not

mean that they will pay that amount – it means

that they will pay up to that amount. In most

cases, the diamond can be replaced at a

lower cost.



The third type of coverage offered for

diamonds is Agreed Value. This is

sometimes called ‘Valued At.’ This type of

coverage is very rare. In the event that the

diamond is lost or damaged beyond repair,

the insurance company simply pays you the

amount that you and the company agreed

upon. This is the best type of insurance to

have, but it is rarely offered. If you can’t get

Agreed Value coverage, Actual Cash Value

coverage should be your next choice.



Your rates will be determined by the value of

the diamond, the type of coverage that you

select, and the area that you live in. If you live

in an area with a high crime rate, you can

expect to pay more for your diamond

insurance coverage. It is important to

remember that insurance agents are not

qualified jewelers, and jewelers are not

qualified insurance agents. It is best to get

a certificate for your diamond, and to

provide the insurance company with a copy

of that certificate. This leaves the insurance

company less room for arguments over the

actual value of the diamond.



Don’t rely on separate coverage to cover

your diamond. For instance, if you diamond

is stolen from your home, it is probably

covered on your home owner’s insurance

policy – but the diamond probably won’t

always be in your home, and once it leaves

your home, there is no coverage.

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. 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

How to Sell A Diamond

There are many reasons why you may want

to sell a diamond that you own. Perhaps

you’ve gotten divorced, or you are strapped

for cash. The reasons why don’t really matter

– getting the best possible price is what

counts! The way to obtain the best price

for the diamond is to not be in a rush. Slow

down, and carefully consider all of your

options – there are many.



First, have the diamond appraised. In fact,

have it appraised by two or three jewelers to

get an accurate idea of the diamonds value.

Tell the appraiser that you want the Rapaport

Value. This is the wholesale value of the

diamond, and it basically tells you the highest

price that you can sell your diamond for. If your

diamond has no certificate, you should

consider getting a certificate from GIA. This

may help you get a better price for the

diamond as well.



First, try to sell the diamond yourself, to

people you know. Friends and family

members may be interested. If you don’t have

any luck with friends or family members, you

should turn to outside sources. Absolutely

avoid pawn shops! A pawn shop will only offer

you about 10% of what the diamond is worth!

Also avoid offers of selling the ring on

consignment. There are many things that

can go wrong, and there is no shortage of

diamond scams – even in well known

jewelry stores.



If the diamond is important, you should

strongly consider auctioning it off through

one of the famous auction houses, such as

Christie’s or Sotheby’s. If it isn’t what is

considered an ‘important’ diamond or a

high-end diamond, you should try to sell it

to an individual using classified ads, or even

eBay. However, selling to an individual that

you do not know could put you in danger –

especially if the diamond is worth a lot of

money.



Your final option should be a jewelry store. It

is vital that you not let your diamond out of

your sight while in the jewelry store – you

might find that the diamond you walked in

with is not the same diamond that you walk

out with! The jeweler will try to tell you that

your diamond is of poor quality or low

weight. Inevitably, there will be some

problem with the diamond. This is where

your appraisal and/or certificate will come

in handy.



If the jeweler is fair, they will offer you

between 60% and 80% of the value of the

Rapaport Value. Do not accept anything less

than this. Again, do not let the diamond out of

your sight until you have been paid for it.

How to Clean your Diamonds

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 its shine and brilliance for

How to Care for Your Diamond

Caring for a diamond takes more than

occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever,

but they can be damaged if you are not

careful. By learning how to properly care for

your diamond, you will ensure that your

diamond is indeed forever.



First, you should take your diamond jewelry

to a jeweler once a year. Have him check the

mountings and prongs that hold your

diamond in place. Have him make any

needed repairs. This will prevent your

diamond from falling out of its setting and

becoming lost.



Diamond jewelry that is not being worn, or

diamonds that are loose should be stored in

a fabric lined jewel case, or in a jewelry box

where it can be kept separate from other

jewelry. Each piece should have its own

compartment. This will keep diamonds from

becoming scratched, and it will also keep

your diamond from scratching other jewelry

as well.



Remove your diamond jewelry when doing

physical work. Diamonds can be chipped

and scratched easily. Also avoid allowing

your diamond to come into contact with

bleach or other household cleansers – this

can damage or change the color of the

settings and mountings, and it may even

irreversibly change the color of the

How to Buy Diamond Engagement Rings

There is much to consider when purchasing

a diamond – especially diamond

engagement rings! The tradition of

presenting a woman with a diamond

engagement ring when proposing began in

1477 when Archduke Maximilian presented

a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy – and

in most cases, the woman you plan to

propose to will expect a ring to accompany

that proposal!



First, determine how much ring you can

afford. Most people use the ‘two months

salary’ rule. This means that the ring should

cost the equivalent of two months of your

current salary. Because you have other bills

to pay, saving up this amount of money may

take quite a bit of time. You should consider

financing. Simply go to the jeweler of your

choice and tell them that you plan to buy an

engagement ring, and that financing will be

necessary. Go ahead and get the credit

check out of the way, find out what your

payments will be, and how much of a down

payment is required.



Now, have your mother, sister, or your

girlfriends best friend take your girlfriend

shopping, and make sure that they gaze at

the engagement rings to get an idea of what

she might like. Make sure that the jewelry

store you buy the ring from will allow you to

return the ring, if that is required, or allow

your girlfriend to exchange it for another if

she isn’t happy with it!

How Diamond Prices Are Determined

Pricing most products is quite easy.

Determine how much it costs to make the

item, how much it costs to market that item,

and then mark it up by 15 – 30% or more.

Simple, right? Well, pricing diamonds isn’t

quite that simple. There are many factors

that are considered when diamonds are

priced.



Diamond prices are determined first by

adding the cost of the rough diamond, the

cost of cutting the diamond, and all other

costs necessary to turn the rough diamond

into a marketable diamond. Depending on

the importance of the diamond, an

independent company may be called in to

certify the grade of the diamond based on

color, cut, clarity, and weight.



At this point, the diamond becomes more

expensive each time it changes hands, until

it finally reaches a retailer, where the price is

raised a bit more. Before reaching the

retailer, however, the diamond must travel

from the mine, to the cutter and polisher, to

the independent grading company, and

then to the Primary market. Once it has

reached the primary market, it will be

purchased by diamond dealers and

wholesalers, and from there it will be sold

to retailers.



As you can see, the earlier you can purchase

a diamond in the process, the lower the cost

of the diamond will be – but not the value.

The value is based on what the diamond will

sell for in the market place – through a retailer.



If you own a diamond, and you have no idea

how much it is worth, you can have it

appraised, but the appraisal may not be

accurate. You will be better off obtaining a

certificate through GIA – Gemological Institute

of America. With the information on this

certificate, you can use a cutter’s guide to

accurately determine what your diamond is

worth.



There are also many diamond price

calculators available. These can be found

on the Internet, and many diamond dealers

use these as well. You must realize, however,

that before you can accurately price a

diamond, without a Diamond Grade Report,

you need to know quite a bit about diamonds,

such as different cuts, clarity, color, and weight

– and how each of those aspects adds to the

value of a diamond, or decreases the value of

the diamond as the case may be.



Again, you will be better off if you get a

Diamond Grading Report on the diamond,

and use that information to look up the price

in one of the guides that the diamond cutting

industry uses. This will give you the most

accurate value of the diamond in your

possession, or of the diamond you are

considering purchasing.

How Diamonds Are Mined

We seldom think about how the diamonds

we wear came 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.

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

Famous Diamonds

Among the most well known diamonds is the

Hope. This 45.52 carat steel blue diamond

is currently on display at the Smithsonian.

The legends of the ill-fortune and curse

bestowed on the possessor of the Hope

Diamond are many. This diamond was

donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The

Hope was originally a rather flat, blocky

110-carat rough.



The Dresden Green stands out among the

natural colored diamonds. It is the largest

green diamond in the world weighing

40.70 carats. This diamond is historic, large

and has a natural green color with a slight

blue overtone. These facts make it virtually

priceless.



The Conde Pink is a pear shaped and

weighs 9.01-carats. This pink diamond was

once owned by Louis XIII.



The Tiffany Yellow diamond a beautiful

canary-yellow octahedron weighing 287.42

in the rough (metric) carats discovered in

either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. The

gem after cutting boasts the extraordinary

weight of 128.54 carats. And until recently,

was the largest golden-yellow in the world.



The Koh-I-Noor ( Mountain of Light ) is now

among the British Crown Jewels. This

diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First

mentioned in 1304, it is believed to have

been once set in Shah Jehan‘s famous

peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.



The Agra is graded as a naturally colored

Fancy Light Pink and weighs 32.34 carats.

It was sold for about 6.9 million in 1990.

Since this sale, it has been modified to a

cushion shape weighing about 28.15 carats.



The Transvaal Blue is pear cut. This blue

diamond weighs 25 carats. It was found in

the Premier Diamond Mine in Transvaal,

South Africa.



The Great Chrysanthemum was discovered

in the summer of 1963, in a South African

diamond field. This 198.28-carat fancy

brown diamond appeared to be a light

honey color in its rough state. However,

after cutting, it proved to be a rich golden

brown, with overtones of sienna and burnt

orange.



The Taylor-Burton Diamond is a pear-shaped

69.42 carat diamond. Cartier of New York

purchased this diamond at an auction in

1969 and christened it "Cartier." The next

day Richard Burton bought the diamond

for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed it the

"Taylor-Burton”. In 1978, Elizabeth

Taylor put the diamond up for sale.

Prospective buyers had to pay $2,500

each to view the diamond to cover the costs

of showing it. Finally, in June of 1979, the

diamond was sold for nearly $3 million dollars.

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.



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.



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.



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.



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.