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Diamond Imports

Independently Certified Diamonds

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What: An Unmounted, Cushion-Cut Diamond

Type of Diamonds

Natural diamonds are classified by the type and quantity of impurities found within them.

Type Ia - This is the most common type of natural diamond, containing up to 0.3% nitrogen.Clustered nitrogen atoms. Colourless to Yellow. 98% of all diamonds are Type Ia.

Type Ib - Very few natural diamonds are this type (~0.1%), but nearly all synthetic industrial diamonds are. Type Ib diamonds contain up to 500 ppm nitrogen. These diamonds about 0.1% prevalent.Isolated Nitrogen Atoms. Orange, Orange Yellow to Brown.Depending on the precise concentration and spread of the nitrogen atoms, these diamonds can appear deep yellow (”canary”), orange, brown or greenish.

Type IIa - This type is very rare in nature. Type IIa diamonds contain so little nitrogen that it isn’t readily detected using infrared or ultraviolet absorption methods. No specific colour centre.Yellow, Brown , Pink and Purple Type IIa diamonds have been documented. These diamonds are 1% to 2% prevalent.These diamonds can be considered as the “purest of the pure” - they contain no, or minuscule amounts of impurities, are usually colourless, highly transparent and can be a higher colour grade than D.Diamond Imports recently sold a round brilliant 1.36 carat D IF Ex/ Ex Type IIa.

Type IIb - This type is the rarest in nature. Type IIb diamonds contain no measurable amounts of nitrogen (even lower than type IIa) that the crystal is a p-type semiconductor.These diamonds contain no nitrogen - but they contain boron, which absorbs red, orange and yellow light. These diamonds therefore usually appear to be blue, although they can also be grey or nearly colorless. All naturally blue diamonds belong to Type IIb, which makes up 0.1% of all diamonds.

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Diamond Imports

Cushion Cut Diamonds

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The standard number of facets of a Trilliant cut gemstone is 43.

Trilliant cut gemstones are based on a triangular shape.

Usually with truncated corners and displaying a variety of facet designs, this cut creates a spectacular wedge of brilliant fire.

The tips and culets of Trilliants are pointed and thin.

Some jewelers only bezel-set Trilliants, though prongs that protect the tips work well and show more of the gem.

As you look down through the gem, the culet generally appears centered in the middle of the table showing the pavilion of the gem with an attention to symmetry.

When you examine the gem in profile, the girdle and table facet are generally parallel.

The pavilion’s main facet usually extends from the culet perpendicularly until it intersects the girdle.

Because of their equilateral form, Trilliants return lots of light and color.

They are considered nearly as brilliant as Round cuts, so they are a great choice for customers who like brilliance but want something other than round.

Variations include rounded-corner triangles, modified shield cuts and triangular step cuts.

There should be as few polishing marks as possible and the surface should appear glossy and reflective.

Good polishing helps maximize brilliance and scintillation in Trilliants.

Trilliants work well with light-colored gems such as Diamonds where cutters try to maximize brilliance.

First developed in Amsterdam, the exact design can vary depending on a particular gem’s natural characteristics and the cutter’s personal preferences.

It may be a traditional triangular shape with pointed corners or a more rounded triangular shape with 25 facets on the crown, 19 facets on the pavilion and a polished girdle.

Some twinned (a crystal growing within a crystal) Diamond rough is naturally triangular (called “Macle”) and is ideal for Trilliants.

Diamond Imports has a magnificent Triangular Step Cut 3.14 carat H SI2 Very Good Finish for sale ( DCLA Laser Inscribed #158136 ).

Additional reading : The Mystical Trilliant Cut Diamond

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Diamond Imports

Trilliants

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A fancy shape diamond is any diamond that is not a round brilliant cut. They can be referred to simply just as ” fancies ” or the more uncommon term as ” fantasy ” cuts.

The shape of a diamond can determine it’s price.

As examples:

*Smaller princess cuts in 0.07ct can cost more than round diamonds of the same weight, colour and clarity because small rounds tend to turnover quicker and the depending on the cutter the labour cost is lower. This however does not apply to excellent cut rounds which are being cut now in China by Israeli cutters to compete against the Indian market which has dominated the ” smalls ” market now for the last fifteen years.

*However a once carat colourless round brilliant may cost 15% to 30% more than a one carat square diamond of the same weight, colour and clarity.

*A one carat coloured round brilliant diamond can cost from 10% to 500% more than a fancy shape of the same weight , colour and clarity and also depending on the mood of the dealer.

The additional labour cost of small fancies is due to specialised skills required to cut them.

Small rounds sell quicker so the profit margin to keep them in stock tends to be less plus it takes less time to cut, measure and select small rounds compared to small fancy shapes.

Prices on rounds usually increase in price from 0.20ct depending on supply and demand and once again on the mood of the dealer. It’s easier to compare diamonds of the same shape when pricing diamonds.

This is why Diamond Imports does not offer price match comparisons but rather Visual Diamond Comparisons. Those rogue diamond traders who offer price match comparisons are the ones who rarely carry their own stock and one must always be cautious of being offered a CONFLICT OF INTEREST diamond.

Stocking large round brilliant diamonds can be just as high as large fancy shapes because there are fewer buyers for the larger diamonds but there is a greater demand for the rounds so they tend to cost more than most fancy shapes of the same weight and quality.

Fancy shapes can show a stronger face up colour than round cuts from the same rough.The stronger the colour of the rough diamond the higher the cost of the rough and this is finally translated into the cost of the cut and polished diamond.

Diamond prices can be also affected by how attractive the diamond is.

When judging the shape of a diamond the length to width ratio can be admired or disliked according to personal preferences however if buying a diamond for ” investment ” we recommend you buy a diamond that conforms to industry standards.

These shapes are sold at premium prices and are difficult to find.

Too much of the original rough could be lost if all diamonds were cut to a standard and besides all buyers have different tastes. It would become boring and comparing would be pointless.

If a piece of rough is elongated the diamond will be cut in such a way to maximise the beauty of the diamond but maximising the weight from the natural rough.

Non traditional shapes can be purchased for a lower price per carat.

Deciding what shape is best for you can be determined as follows:

1) Your personal preference.

2) Brilliance & Sparkle

3) Weight

4) Size appearance. Please click on weight to millimetre size ratio link below

If a women says ” Size does not count ” don’t trust her. Trust us…It does ! Everybody wants their diamond to look bigger than it’s actual weight. This is the biggest advantage of fancy shapes over round brilliants.

Always consider the weight to millimetre size ratio.

Fancy shapes tend to look bigger than round diamonds of equal weight.

5) Shape of of your hand.

Always try a few shapes to see which looks best on your hand.

6) Colour & Clarity

Round diamonds mask internal flaws and colour best. The step cut Emerald cuts and baguettes can not hide inclusions. This means a lower quality will be a lower price.

7) Availability

Pleasure and/or investment

9) More unique and individual designs. Fancy shapes lend to more distinctive styles.

We hope this will help you realise the importance making VISUAL DIAMOND COMPARISONS not like those desperate feeble price match comparisons offered by inexperienced diamond vendors who have no feeling for the business they are in.

If you wish to buy a diamond based on price alone rather than visually examing the differences between similar diamonds we suggest you do not buy anything because the chances are that the cheaper diamond will not be as beautiful.

This will help you judge values more accurately without making your diamond a sterile commodity that drop shippers and some online diamond vendors with no creativity or understanding of diamonds tend to do.

Hoooroooo from De Guru

Daniel F Katz GG

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Diamond Imports

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(Sample Picture Only)

Princess Cut Diamonds

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Diamond Tiaras

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” Is their transparency conspicuous? “

Internally Flawless Diamonds

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Alexandra Jaffray, a Christie’s employee, holds a 101.27 carat diamond during a photo call at Christie’s in London on Feb. 19, 2008. Photographer: Suzanne Plunkett/Bloomberg News

By Le-Min Lim and Scott Reyburn
Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) — A 101-carat, near-flawless diamond may fetch more than $8 million at a Christie’s International sale in Hong Kong, the first time a gem of this quality and weight is auctioned in Asia, according to the London-based company.

The squash-ball sized stone, highlight of Christie’s jewelry sale on May 28, has the third-highest clarity rating of VVS1 and the third-best ranking on a scale used to measure colorlessness. Colored diamonds are graded on a different scale.

Christie’s only identifies the seller as a Europe-based diamond trading company run by three brothers. The auction house said the stone had been discovered at the Premier diamond mine in South Africa, the largest and oldest diamond mine in the country.

Hong Kong is Christie’s third-biggest auction market after New York and London. Growth in Asia outside Japan is accelerating, fueled by China’s 10 percent-a-year expansion, as the U.S. economy stalls.

“The seller called us up in Asia and specifically said they want the gem sold in this region,” said Vicki Sek, a Hong Kong- based director of jewelry at Christie’s. The buyer gets the right to name the stone, Christie’s said.

The colorless diamond is the fourth of more than 100 carats offered at auction, according to Francois Curiel, the company’s global head of jewelry. The last three were in Geneva, he said.

Two Decades

Cut from a 460-carat rough stone, the gem is now on exhibition in London and is also the biggest white diamond at auction in nearly two decades, Christie’s said. In 2005, the auction house sold a 120-carat brown diamond of lower clarity in Hong Kong. A carat is one-fifth of a gram.

In October, Christie’s largest rival Sotheby’s sold a flawless, 6.04-carat blue diamond in Hong Kong for HK$61.9 million ($7.9 million), a per-carat record for a gem.

” The market for big diamonds has gone up 20 percent in the last 18 months,” Raymond Sancroft-Baker, Christie’s European director of jewelry, said today when the stone was unveiled to the press in London. ” Diamonds are getting rarer.”

Sancroft-Baker said companies were no longer holding large diamond stockpiles and fewer stones were being dug out of the earth. He said that only one or two 100-carat diamonds were found per year.

During the London photo call the diamond slipped from the grasp of Christie’s black-dressed staff-member Alexandra Jaffray and fell to the thickly carpeted floor.

” Lucky that didn’t hit a chair,” said a relieved Sancroft- Baker. ” Diamond is the hardest substance in the world, but it can chip.”

The record for any gemstone sold at auction is the $16.5 million with fees paid for the 100.1-carat ” Star of the Season ” pear-shaped colorless diamond at Sotheby’s, Geneva in May, 1995.

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RAPAPORT… Christie’s Magnificent Jewellery and Jadeite Jewellery sale in Hong Kong will feature a rare 101.27 carat diamond on May 28. The auction house claims that this diamond is the largest colorless diamond to appear on the auction circuit in 18 years.

The pre-sale estimate is about $6 million. “Only three colorless diamonds of over 100 carats have ever appeared at auction, all sold in Geneva,” said Francois Curiel, Christie’s chairman of jewelry.

“With Asia becoming such a vibrant market, it is fitting that this rarest gem should be offered on May 28th to the growing number of collectors in this region.” The stone, which will be named by the buyer, will be unveiled as part of Christie’s Spring Masterpieces Exhibition in London next week.

The diamond was cut from a 460 carat rough to its present size. The auction house described it as an unusual shape which “flaunts 92 brilliant facets.” The stone has been certified as an F, VVS1 “with the highest standard for polish and symmetry,” both rated Excellent by the Gemological Institute of America. “As auction leaders in Asia, we hold many records in the jewelry field, but never before were we able to offer such an important stone in Hong Kong,” said Vickie Sek, director of the jewelry and jadeite department at Christie’s Asia. “Its appearance on the market has already created a sensation.” (Rapaport)

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