What is Diamond?
Myths and legends from ancient Greece state that diamonds are "shards of stars that fell from the sky".
To give an idea, the Greeks called him "Adamas", the invincible, a word in our circles which derives precisely from this term.
A gem of intrusive formation, it is composed of a single element: carbon, it belongs to the cubic crystalline system and is commonly presented in an octahedral form, less so in the cubic or dodecahedral form.
Carbon is also the main component of the graphite that we use for writing (the common pencil), but in this case the carbon crystallized, that is, formed, at lower pressures and temperatures, above all it was extracted much more slowly, in fact the diamond to remain so it must be transported to the surface very quickly by the volcanic eruption.
the conditions necessary for diamond to form are the following: a temperature of approximately 1300°C with a pressure of approximately 70,000 atm. conditions found only 130\200 kilometers below the Earth's surface, where volcanic activity is present.
the diamonds found in our areas can even be several million years old.
The Diamond cannot be broken, everyone knows it.
Instead Yes. In the 15th century it was discovered that the hardness of diamond is not the same in all directions.
characteristic defined as "directional hardness". it means that in some directions the hardness of the diamond is lower than in others, in this way it is possible to cut and transform an "insignificant" rough stone into a splendid faceted diamond which enhances its characteristics even more.
the hardness of the diamond was then better described by Fredrich Mohs who composed the famous Mohs hardness scale from 1 to 10.
diamond is the only material to reach the maximum level of 10. just below corundum (level 9). but with one difference, from one level to another the hardness increases by only one level at a time, while between diamond and corundum there is a 140 times more difference, even if only one step higher. as between the level 1 and the level. 9.
But the Diamond has no color, it is white.
The milk is white, the sheep are white, the Diamond is colorless.
that is, it is the union of all the colors of the chromatic spectrum, resulting in a white light, technically speaking the color is the result of the selective absorption of light by a certain material.
the color in the diamond is very important, both economically and aesthetically, because it is that aspect that subjectively attracts us towards the stone.
a "perfect" diamond crystal with no trace elements or color centers will appear perfectly colorless.
the range of colors in diamonds is surprising, ranging from pink to red, blue, green, yellow brown to black. the rarest natural colored diamonds are pink and red followed by green, blue and purple.
There are two macro categories of diamonds: type I and type II diamonds.
briefly summarizing:
type I : there are those of type IA : which belong to those with colors ranging from colorless to light yellow, greenish or brownish. color due to the presence of locally contracted nitrogen particles.
type IB : the much less common ones belong to this type, they have a lower quantity of nitrogen and generally have intense yellow or brown colours.
type II : these are diamonds that contain little or no nitrogen particles, which determines their color.
type IIA : they have a very low amount of nitrogen or none at all, and are typically very rare and colorless, they are not electrical conductors. (Queen Elizabeth's Cullinan is type IIA)
type IIB : these are always very rare diamonds with the presence of Boron, and have a typically blue colour. (the blue hope, the one from the titanic)
while for natural green diamonds, the color derives from the possible presence of radioactive material such as uranium or thorium in the place of formation.
for the pink colored one, from light pink to brownish pink to intense pink, they owe their color to plastic deformations in the crystalline lattice during their formation.
all these latter colored diamonds are classified as "Fancy" diamonds.
while for the colorless ones the alphabetical scale introduced by the CBJIO is used which starts from the letter D (i.e. the most colourless) up to the typically yellowish Z.
What is evaluated when we talk about the "purity" of the Diamond.
We are talking about inclusions or "pique"
or covers foreign to the diamond in question, such as garnets, spinels, jaspers, olivines or other diamonds that have formed inside another diamond, during its formation or while the diamond was in development or after the conclusion of its complete training.
in the 1920s the GIA established a classification scale, which was described with the use of a 10x lens, with which the extent of the inclusions within it was classified.
the GIA scale ranged from "loup clean" to "Pique". today it has changed, becoming more precise and scrupulous, with many other levels to describe the degree of purity.
the highest rating today for a diamond is "FL" or flawless, perfect on the outside, in terms of cut proportions, polishing, thickness of the girdle and "clean" on the inside, up to the worst, the "Pique 3" with visible inclusions to the naked eye by anyone.
inclusions can also appear in the form of internal fractures in the diamond under examination.
the full scale:
FL IF VVS1 VVS2 VS1 VS2 Si Si2 Si3 Pi Pi2 Pi3
the most commercially interesting grades range from IF to VS2.
But is the Diamond Brilliant or is the Diamond Brilliant?
This is very important, and it is necessary to clarify.
we often talk about brilliant without knowing that this term ONLY indicates the type of cut, as if to say I would like a pull-over but in reality I don't specify whether I want it in cashmere or synthetic.
The DIAMOND is the stone, the BRILLIANT is the cut.
it is not sufficient to indicate the term brilliant to define that a material is diamond. it could be brilliant cut zircon, brilliant cut moissanite etc etc..
For this reason, on the diamond certificate you will find Brilliant indicated in reference to the cut but the stone must be indicated as Diamond.
How much does a diamond weigh?
Diamonds are measured in carats, and the weight of one carat is equivalent to 1/5 of a gram.
But how do I indicate the weight of a stone less than one carat? With points.
For example, if I have a diamond with a circumference of approximately 3mm it means that our stone "weighs" 0.10ct or, commercially speaking, 10 points.
Below the carat all diamonds are "weighed" in points 0.20ct (points) 0.50ct (points or half a carat) 0.99ct (points).
Above one carat, for example 1.20ct, it is simply called 1carat and 20.
Every time we pass half a net carat with the weight of our diamond, we enter a higher echelon economically. For example, 0.48ct will cost €8, 0.49ct will cost €9, while 0.50ct will cost €12. And so on increased every time you exceed half a net carat for example. 1ct, 1.50ct, 2ct, 2.50ct, 3ct and so on.
Size matters...but not always
Obviously the "heavier" or larger the stone, the more it will cost.
but by raising and lowering the technical characteristics of the diamond you can also obtain a larger stone, with less than excellent color and clarity, spending less than a smaller pure stone, depending on whether you prefer clarity or size.
For example, a 3ct color H/I clarity Si/Si2 diamond with suboptimal polishing and cut proportions will cost less than a 2ct color D diamond IF clarity with excellent polishing and cut proportions.
For information on prices contact us without obligation.
Does the cut also make a difference?
absolutely yes.
the cut determines 4 key points in the value that a precious gem may or may not have, such as
external brilliance
internal brilliance
dispersion
glitter
these 4 characteristics define how much a gem can enchant those who look at it. defining the quantity of light produced by the reflection of the light on the surface of the facets, by the total reflection of the light on the facets of the pavilion, the subdivision and dispersion of the light into the spectral colours, which gives rise to the famous "fire" which can be seen by moving the struck stone by the light in the various colors of the rainbow, and also the "sparkle" caused by the reflection of the light that hits the different angles of the facets when you look at it.
the brilliant cut defined in 1910 by the "father" of this cut, Marcel Tolkowski, defined mathematical proportions that took into account the physical and optical properties of the diamond. more recently refined by Jhonson and Roesch in 1926, by Eppler in 1939 up to Parker in 1951.
by precisely following these proportions you will obtain a perfectly cut stone, capable of exciting anyone and enhancing not only its capabilities but also the economic ones linked to its final evaluation.
Diamonds: the greatest value in the smallest form