FAQs

What are the four C’s?
We have a great tutorial here.

What’s the best way to clean and care for a diamond?
To clean your diamond, prepare a bowl of warm water and add a gentle dish soap. Stir the water and soap until it becomes sudsy. Soak the piece of diamond jewelry for about five minutes. After the jewelry has soaked, brush it with a soft bristled toothbrush to get the dirt off. After you have scrubbed the piece, rinse it with clean water and let it dry on a paper towel or in a colander. In order to avoid damage to your diamond and to prevent your diamond from becoming excessively dirty, avoid wearing your diamond when cooking, doing yard work and performing other harsh activities. With proper care and maintenance, your diamond should last you forever.

Is a diamond with VS clarity and G color more expensive than one with the same clarity but of H color?
Not necessarily. While a higher color is usually more expensive, if the lower color grade diamond is cut to much better standards, then it can be more expensive but of lesser color. Cut is very important as it controls the brilliance. When a diamond cutter has to cut a piece of rough, they have to balance the final carat weight with how beautiful they want to make it.

Example, compare the cost of a regular round brilliant versus a hearts and arrows cut round brilliant. The hearts and arrows will be noticeably more brilliant, but also more expensive.

What is a basket setting for a diamond ring?
A basket setting is probably the most common type for any jewel. It allows light in from the bottom for more sparkle, usually has four prongs, and is usually used for solitaire settings. It may be found on earrings, pendants, and other jewelry as well as on rings.

What is the difference between platinum and white gold?
Platinum is naturally white, whereas yellow gold is alloyed with other metals to achieve a white look. The color of white gold is often further enhanced by plating the piece with rhodium. This plating can wear away, however, revealing the yellow-gray color of the white gold. A more immediate means of distinguishing the two metals is their comparative weight. Even a simple wedding band made of platinum is noticeably heavier than the same ring made of white gold, giving reassurance of its value.

What is the meaning of “karat” in gold?
Over time, certain percentages of gold have become legally recognized “karats.” The karat indicates the amount of gold as a percentage of the total:

• 24 karat is 24/24’s gold or 100% gold.
• 18 karat is 18/24’s gold or 75% gold (25% of the other metals are non-gold)
• 14 karat is 14/24’s gold or 58.33% gold. (41.67% of the other metals are non-gold)
• 10 karat is 10/24’s gold or 41.67% gold (58.33% of the other metals are non-gold)

In karated gold, there is a balance of the other metals in the non-gold percentage. These metals provide the various colors and hardness of karated golds.

How do jewelers use alloys to obtain different visual Gold colors?
• 18k and 14k yellow gold is gold alloyed with copper, silver, zinc.
• 14k and 18k white gold is gold alloyed with copper, nickel, zinc.
• Red gold (or rose) is gold alloyed with just copper.
• Green gold (you hardly see it ever used) is gold alloyed with just silver.

Adjusting the proportions of coloring metal agents shown above provides the array of colors on the market.

Why is a platinum ring more expensive than gold?
• The rarity of platinum means that its price is invariably higher than that of gold.
• Platinum jeweler is generally 95% pure platinum compared with 14 Karat gold jewelry, which is 58% gold.
• Platinum is denser than gold, so a piece of platinum jewelry weighs over a third more than the same piece made of 14 karat gold.

The process of making a piece of platinum jewelry requires a higher level of craftsmanship.