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Diamond brilliance

Tips from Jewelers Mutual: Popular Engagement Rings to Make Your Holiday Proposal Perfect

Are you planning to make one of your holiday gifts an engagement ring? With all the excitement and holiday hubbub, where do you begin? Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company has compiled a wonderful list of what to look for, based on latest trends, hottest colors and alternative alloys. But keep in mind, it’s most important to be conscious of what your beloved most desires. Learn more by reading their blog, Popular Engagement Rings to Make Your Holiday Proposal Perfect.

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It’s Okay to Get an "F" in Diamond Color

By John Carter, CGA, CEO & President of Jack Lewis Jewelers Choosing the diamond that is right for you means that you need to become a Jedi Master with the answers to these two questions: What area(s) should I spend money on? And more importantly: In what area(s) should I save money without it being obvious that I did so? Ok. So, there you go. I’ve summed up this whole frustrating process with two questions. Now, go out there and make the right choice! Not really that simple, I know. If it was, I wouldn’t have a job. Understanding those questions

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Happy Birthday April! It's your time to shine!

By Amanda L Colborn At the American Gem Society and especially in AGS Laboratories, we look forward to April all year long!  With the diamond being April’s birthstone, it’s yet another opportunity to celebrate our favorite things: bright, shiny diamonds! Don’t get us wrong, all other months and their birthstones are just as special! However, being part of an organization that offers you the highest quality diamond grading reports…we do have a special soft spot for diamonds. History of the Diamond as the April Birthstone Diamonds are a thing of beauty and the ultimate gift for a loved one. Thought to

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How do you sparkle?

By Amanda L. Colborn How do you sparkle? You’re likely familiar with the 4 C’s of Diamonds: Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat – however, there is another very important aspect of diamonds to keep top of mind: Sparkle! Sparkle, or Scintillation as it is also known, is the play of white and colored flashes of light seen when the diamond is viewed in motion.  Viewable with the naked eye, sparkle is the life of the diamond. Sparkle does have two different aspects, flash scintillation and fire scintillation. Flash Flash scintillation is the dynamic pattern of white sparkles observed across a

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4 Reasons Diamonds are Not Expensive

By Preston Wallace, CGA, K-Jon’s Jewelery Customers walk in my door every day and say “Wow! $8,000 for that?  Diamonds are expensive!”  But they’re not.  I know what you’re thinking: I’m crazy, right?  No, I meant what I said, and no, I’m not crazy.  If you consider what diamonds are, how we get them, and what their value does over time, I think you’ll agree that diamonds are NOT expensive.  Here are 4 reasons why: 1. Diamonds are Rare On average, one million diamonds must be mined to find one 1ct diamond.  Think about that!  Diamonds are extremely rare, especially

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Smart Phones & Diamonds

By David C. Rotenberg, Certified Gemologist Appraiser DID YOU KNOW that your smart phone can make your diamond shopping experience easier? Now I don’t mean surfing the net, I mean actually looking at and comparing diamonds. Professional Jewelers like American Gem Society Jewelers have a tool called the ASET (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool) which will reveal a well cut diamond, or a not so well cut diamond. What you want to see in a diamond with the ASET device are symmetrical patterns with lots of red which shows brilliance, some blue which is contrast and some green which is light

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Considerations Cutters Take When Shaping Diamonds

Today’s blog post is written by American Gem Society member, By Marc Nanasi, from NEI Diamond professionals swear that Cut is the ‘C’ which has the most influence on a diamond’s beauty,and interestingly enough, it is also the only C that is controlled by humans (a diamond’s color, carat weight, and clarity are dictated from the rough stone found in nature). What most people don’t realize about cut is the extensive amount of consideration that goes into the cutting process.  Cut can influence a diamond’s value by up to 50%! The decisions which have the largest affects on the final

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