Archive for April, 2008

Are Your Diamonds Dirty?

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

A dirty diamond is either a rough diamond or a diamond that is not cleaned in a while. Rough diamonds are uncut and unpolished; that’s what makes them dirty. But this type of dirty diamond will soon be cut and polished and its beauty will be displayed in a window box. Then someone will purchase, and before long it will become a dirty diamond once again.

Diamonds become dirty as one uses it. When you wash your hands while wearing your diamond ring, soap foam clings to it. When you put lotion on your hands, grease may also cling. When you shower with your earrings or diamond necklace on , soap or shampoo may also accumulate in it. In short, your brand new diamond could be dirty!

Ultrasonic jewelry cleaner can be purchased the same day as you bought your diamond jewelry. Use it every day without failure. The clarity of your diamond changes when the diamond is dirty – it loses its shine. By taking one minute each day to clean your own diamond jewelry, you can avoid getting your jewelry dirty.

Famous Rare Diamonds

Friday, April 11th, 2008

The diamond Hope is among the best known diamonds in the world. It is 45.52 carat blue diamond steel and is currently on display at the Smithsonian.There are many legends about the ill fortune and curse given the possessor of Hope Diamond. This diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958. The Hope diamond was originally a flat, rather, blocks 110-carat rough.

The largest Green diamonds in the world weighing 40.70 carats is the Dresden Green. It is distinguished from natural color diamonds. It is historic, les grandes and has a natural green color with a slight harmonic blue making the Dresden Green diamond virtually invaluable.

The Conde Pink is a pear-shaped and weighs 9.01-carat. It was owned by Louis XIII.

A beautiful canary-yellow octahedron diamond, the Tiffany yellow diamond weighs 287.42 in the rough (metric) carats. It was discovered in either 1877 or 1878 in South Africa. After cutting , the precious stones boast the extraordinary weight of 128.54 carats. Until recently,it was the biggest walleye in the world.

The Koh-I-Noor (Mountain of Light) is now between the British crown jewels. This diamond weighs 105.60 carats. First mentioned in 1304, it is said to have once been Shah Jehan’s famous peacock throne as one of the peacocks eyes.

The Agra is classified as a natural color fancy light pink and weighed 32.34 carats.In 1990 it was sold for about $6.9 million .Since that sale, it was changed to a cushion shape and weighed about 28.15 carats.

Cut to the shape of the pear is the Transvaal Blue. This blue diamond weighs 25 carats and was found in Premier diamond mine in the Transvaal,South Africa.

In the summer of 1963 the Great Chrysanthemum was discovered . The 198.28-carat fancy brown diamond appears to be a light color of honey in its raw state. However,after cutting, it was discovered to be a rich gold brown, with overtones of Sienna and burnt orange.

The Taylor-Burton diamond is a pear-shaped 69.42 carats of diamonds. Cartier New York bought the diamond at an auction in 1969 and called it “Cartier”. The following day Richard Burton bought the diamond for Elizabeth Taylor. He renamed the diamond as “Taylor-Burton”. In 1978, Elizabeth Taylor put the diamond for sale. Each potential buyers had to pay $2500 just to view this rare diamond.The said amount was to cover the cost of showing it. Finally, in June 1979, the diamond was sold for nearly $3 million.