Yes! No-Conflict Diamonds

Discerning Diamonds

By Glenda Erceg

Cut, colour, clarity and carat are used to determine a great diamond. Though you don’t need to find the most expensive diamond to find the one whose beauty speaks to you.

Cut refers to the angles and proportions that a skilled craftsman creates to turn a rough stone into a polished diamond. It also refers to the shape of the diamond.

Diamonds are graded on a colour scale established by the Gemological Institute of America, ranging from D (colorless) to Z. Red is one of the rarest, and most desirable colours for diamonds.

Carat is a measure of weight, not size. One carat is 200 milligrams. The word carat comes from the word carob. Carob seeds, used by ancient civilizations for measurement, are extremely similar in weight and 1 carob used to equal 1 carat.

Clarity is possibly the most important of the factors affecting the quality and price of any diamond. Clarity literally means “clearness” and refers to the diamond’s ability to allow the free passage of light without obstruction or absorption. Any inclusions, cleavages, cracks, or other natural features inside or defects on the surface will stop light from passing through the stone.

De Beers advertising over the last century has established a “tradition” that a woman should receive a diamond ring as an engagement symbol. De Beers have extended the diamond engagement ring “tradition”, by brainwashing us to believe that a diamond eternity ring should also be a tradition on the first wedding anniversary, or the birth of a first child.

Whatever you decide to buy and for whatever the reason that you decide to buy it, a diamond can represent one of life’s deepest emotional investments. It may eventually be passed down to your children and your grandchildren, not because of what it originally cost but because of what it means.

Discerning Diamonds

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