When defining sparkle in a diamond, there are only two things that matter — efficiency and amplified light return.

• Efficiency rating (E.R.) is a measure of the refracted light entering a diamond that is returned to your eye.
• Amplified light return (A.L.R) is the number of visible internal light reflections that a diamond has per every ray (signal) of light that enters it.

A typical run-of-the-mill diamond has an efficiency rating of 35.5% and an A.L.R rating of five (5). Translation: The typical diamond returns 35.5% of refracted light back to the viewer’s eyes; leaks/wastes 64.5% through the pavilion floor of the diamond and only redirects the light internally five (5) times before it leaks out or is returned to be viewed.

A pinball machine is a good analogy here. Think of every ray of light as a pinball. Once the pinball is shot (refracted) into play within the machine (diamond) you score more points (flashes of light) every time the pinball bounces around (internal light reflections) before it is returned back to you in the form of sparkle. Sparkle equals efficiency rating x internal light reflections. So we could say that the typical diamond returns 35.5% of absorbed light and amplifies it five (5) times to give you a sparkle return of 177.5%. You get 77.5% more light then you put in even though there was a lot of waste. This is why most people who see practically any diamond will,at first blush, be impressed. The truth is even bad diamonds look pretty good. But, what if we’re not just looking for pretty good? What if our goal is to have the highest efficiency rating; the highest amplified light return? What would that look like? Well, let’s see, if we are going to hold the most breathtaking diamond in the world we’re going to have to be patient, and I mean really patient! The typical diamond that is cut these days is cut from two types of rough (name for what diamonds look like out of the ground) macles and flats. See below.

Macle

Flat

These are also called irregulars or preemies (300 to 400 million years old). Preemies are rough diamonds that Mother Nature did not allow to go to full term. Full term crystals, also referred to as sawables, are the most valuable. They are typically found in octahedron, cubic, and dodecahedron shapes. See below

Octahedron

Cube

Dodecahedron

The key to having the best finished product begins by only choosing full term rough. It takes a minimum of 800 million years, not 400 million years, for Mother Nature to deliver a magnificent fully crystallized, full term rough. The irregulars are flat, skipping-stone looking pieces of rough that have an irregular carbon atomic structure. Don’t forget shape determines function! If we don’t have a nice shape to work with we won’t be able to cut the diamond properly.

Ninety-eight percent of the diamonds being sold today are being cut from premature rough and only two percent are being cut from full term rough. So that’s step one. “Better ingredients, better pizza!” Once we’ve got the rare full term rough, we go through a second screening process and throw out any rough that has too much nitrogen or is too heavily included. In order to reach our goal the diamond must not be any lower than a hard graded VS₂ clarity or H₅ color. By hard graded, I mean the vendor guarantees that no accredited gemologist will ever grade the diamond lower than the assigned grade or you get your money back. Other rating agencies — GIA, EGL, IGI, AGS, etc. all soft grade their stones, which means they don’t guarantee their grades. Once we have the desired full term rough with the correct grades, we can move on to a master cutter. It doesn’t do any good to have the world’s greatest material if we put it in the hands of a poor craftsman. The master cutter will make sure the diamond is cut to class 1 or class 2 specifications (see other article on class of cut for explanation). But, basically, the diamond will have to meet strict proportion guidelines in order to handle the light properly.

Okay. Buy hard-graded full term rough (most expensive) and have a master cutter cut it (more expensive) equals finished product.

The Vivid White Diamond®

The picture you see is a photograph taken with regular light on a black field. What you are seeing is the most efficient, highest amplified light return diamond in the world! The name given to the most breathtaking diamonds has always been vivid! This is The Vivid White Diamond®!

Let’s do the math! The Vivid White Diamond® has an efficiency rating of 91% and A.L.R of 100. So if we want to calculate the sparkle of this gem we multiply the efficiency rating x the A.L.R. — 91% x 100 =9100% light return! 100% goes in; 9100% comes out!

The reason Cartier; Graff; Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston get $35,000 to $56,000 for a single one carat diamond is actually rather simple. They are all vivid white diamonds®! When people run to online consolidators like Blue Nile, Amazon, or Ebay; mall stores like Zale’s, Tiffany’s, Kay’s, Jared’s, Robbins Brothers and big box stores like Walmart, Costco or Sam’s, you’re buying diamonds that are pretty good because you get 77% more light return in good lighting conditions but when you buy a Vivid White Diamond® you are getting 9000% more amplified light. Some old sayings are still true today, “You get what you pay for.” By the way, the #1 complaint a woman has about her diamond isn’t size, its sparkle. So, if you really want to make her happy buy The Vivid White Diamond®.

Environment regulates behavior—so what’s your lifestyle? If you are a rock climber or a neurosurgeon, you need a ring that can handle that environment, if that is your choice. Not all wedding ring styles are as resilient as others. A six prong head is more secure than a four prong head; and the more diamonds in the ring the more possibility that one of them may fall out. So what is a person to do?

The task of any setting is to balance beauty and durability. If we want to be 100% sure your diamond won’t fall out, we can bury it in a block of platinum with a wall of metal surrounding the entire perimeter of the diamond. The diamond will be safe but the sparkle will be compromised because of the fortress that you’ve built around it. But today’s popular ring styles leaves the diamond almost “naked.” The shanks (the part that slides on your finger) are very thin and delicate. The head (the part that holds the center diamond) is mounted fairly high and tends to be decorated with a crown (halo) of small diamonds. Less metal and many small diamonds are what is selling these days to decorate the diamond you have chosen. Are they beautiful? Absolutely! Are they easily damaged? You bet! We are back again to the balance between beauty and safety—which is a lot like life. You can buy a castle and hide away in it and be “technically” safe but you will miss some beautiful experiences that always come with their share of risks. So what are my recommendations when it comes to these beautiful settings? Simple, pick what you love, pick what calls out to you. You know that life and rings don’t come with any lifetime guarantee to never fall apart or get hurt. But, if you are in a rock solid relationship with your jeweler they will give you lifetime repair guarantees that will cover any damage you might inflict on your beautiful new ring, at no cost to you, as long as you keep up with annual checkups. So don’t worry, while your wedding ring is a “symbol” of your love for each other and can be damaged, smashed, trashed or even lost, your love for each other is invicible! Have a great day! Hug a diamond. Talk to you next time.

Checking your diamond’s report card.

Diamonds come in virtually all colors of the rainbow, from the “beautiful violet” of the Hope diamond to shades of blue, brown, gray, orange, etc. But colored diamonds are very rare and precious. Chances are, all the diamonds you’ll see in your diamond shopping will be white or yellow, and the whiter the better.

The yellow color in diamonds comes from nitrogen, and as a rule, the more yellow the stone, the less value it has. There’s a good reason for this. The yellower the stone, the less sharp and sparkly it appears. A whiter stone lets more light pass through it, making it sparkle and shine.

The exception to the rule is the canary diamond, which is a beautiful bright yellow and very expensive. Some people are more sensitive to the color of diamonds. What may appear slightly yellow to you may look clear to another person, so it will take a higher color grade to satisfy you.

The best way to judge the color of a diamond are to use either a Gran Fall Spectrum Colorimeter by Gem Instruments or compare it to a master set..

FRED’S ADVICE: Go for grades H or I. Once mounted they’ll look just as good to the average person as the higher grades, without costing a bundle. The average diamond purchased in the U.S. is color grade M or N, but the customer is usually told it’s higher.

HERE’S THE GIA COLOR GRADING SCALE:

D, E, F: Colorless
G, H, I: Nearly colorless
J, K, L: Slightly yellow
M, N, O: Light yellow
P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X: Darker yellow
Z: Fancy colors

Even though there are several grades in each category, there are slight differences between the letter grades. D is the clearest and most valuable, X is a dingy yellow and least expensive. Z grade-colored diamonds are the rarest and most expensive. A diamond so saturated with nitrogen that it becomes a deep, rich yellow is as rare as a colorless diamond.

MORE ABOUT COLOR:

FLUORESCENCE

Fluorescence is a diamond’s reaction to ultraviolet (UV) light. Some diamonds glow in different colors under UV light, and the general rule is to avoid them. If you put a diamond under UV light and it glows strong blue, the diamond may look dull in the sunlight. Diamonds with strong fluorescence may be worth up to 20% less than diamonds which do not fluoresce. Faint fluorescence which doesn’t fog the diamond is OK.

CORRESPONDING GRADING

Corresponding grading means matching clarity grades with color grades. For every clarity grade, there’s a color grade that corresponds, or makes the best match in determining value. Diamonds that have corresponding grading sell for higher prices originally, and they also appreciate in value more than diamonds that don’t, and therefore have higher resale value. Buying a diamond with non-corresponding clarity and color grades is like buying a pink Porsche: it’s okay as long as you don’t try to resell it. The market for pink Porsches just isn’t as good as the market for, say, red Porsches.

Here’s a list of clarity grades and their corresponding color grades. Notice that for each clarity grade there’s a perfect match, and a high and low color that also works well.

CLARITY GRADE–COLOR GRADE–
ANNUAL INCREASE IN $ VALUE

FLAWLESS AND INTERNALLY FLAWLESS:
D (Perfect) ó 10.00%
E (Low)

VVS1, VVS2:
D (High)
E (Perfect) ó 9.25%
F (Low)

VS1, VS2:
F (High)
G (Perfect) ó 8.50%
H (Low)

SI1, SI2:
H (High)
I (Perfect) ó 6.50%
J (Low)

Lower:
No corresponding color grades

The value of a stone is always based on the lowest clarity or color grade and its highest corresponding grade. For example: Let’s say you purchased a stone with a clarity grade of SI1 and a color grade of G. You can see above that G is not a corresponding color for an SI1 stone. The SI1-G diamond will cost you more than the SI1-H, but will appreciate no more over time than the SI1-H.

When you don’t correspond the grades ó say you buy high clarity and low color, or high color and low clarity ó you’ll never get your money back for the higher grade. For example, an SI1-F would resell no higher than the value of an SI1-H, and a VS1-I would resell no higher than the value of an SI1-I. A diamond that is not correspondingly-graded could be expected to appreciate 2% to 4% per year.

by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Diamond Guy®

BACK to Diamond Articles.

I can see clearly now

The clarity of a diamond depends on how clear or clean it is ó how free it is of blemishes and inclusions, when viewed with the naked eye and with a 10X loupe, or magnifier. Let’s define our terms.

BLEMISHES: Imperfections on the outside of a diamond

Chip: A little piece missing, caused by wear or the cutting process. Scratch: A line or abrasion.

Fracture: A crack on the diamond’s surface.
Polishing lines: Fine lines on the stone’s surface formed during the polishing stage.

Natural: An unpolished part of the diamond.

Extra facets: Additional polished surfaces that shouldn’t be there and spoil the symmetry of a diamond.

Bearding: Very small fractures on an edge of the diamond.

INCLUSIONS: Imperfections inside a diamond.

Carbon: Black spots inside a stone.

Feather: Internal cracking.

Crystal: White spots inside a stone.

Pinpoint: Tiny spots, smaller than a crystal.

Cloud: A group of pinpoints, which may give the impression of a single large inclusion.

Loupe: (pronounced loop) a small magnifying glass used to view gemstones. Any good jeweler will let you use one, and show you how. They should be 10X, or 10-power magnification, and the housing around the lens should be black so as not to distort the color of the stone. The Federal Trade Commission requires diamond grading to be done with a 10X magnifier, and any flaw that can’t be seen under 10X magnification is considered nonexistent.

Here are the CLARITY GRADES OF DIAMONDS, as established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA):

FLAWLESS: Free from inclusions and blemishes when viewed under 10X magnification. Very rare and very expensive.

INTERNALLY FLAWLESS: Free from inclusions; may have slight blemishes when viewed under 10X magnification. Also very rare and very expensive.

VVS1 AND VVS2 (VERY, VERY SLIGHTLY INCLUDED): Has minute inclusions or blemishes the size of a pinpoint when viewed under 10X magnification. Rare and expensive.

VS1 AND VS2 (VERY SLIGHTLY INCLUDED): Has inclusions or blemishes smaller than a grain of salt when viewed under 10X magnification. No carbon, fractures or breaks. High quality.

SI1 (SLIGHTLY INCLUDED): Has inclusions or blemishes larger than a grain of salt when viewed under 10X magnification, and these inclusions can be carbon or fractures. Almost all SI1 diamonds are eye-clean, which means the flaws can’t be seen with the naked eye. Good quality.

SI2 (SLIGHTLY INCLUDED): Has inclusions or blemishes larger than a grain of salt when viewed under 10X magnification, and some of these flaws may be visible to the naked eye. Borderline diamond.

I1 (IMPERFECT): Has inclusions and blemishes visible to the naked eye. Commercial grade. Not my taste!

I2 (IMPERFECT): Has inclusions and blemishes visible to the naked eye that can make as much as one-fourth of the diamond appear cloudy and lifeless. Same as above.

I3 (IMPERFECT): Has many, many inclusions and blemishes visible to the naked eye. Not a pretty diamond. Very little luster or sparkle. Bottom of the barrel.

FRED’S ADVICE: Aim for an SI1 diamond. Many people unwittingly buy I1 and I2 stones, but if you shop carefully you can buy an SI1 stone for the same price that most I2 stones are sold for.

by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Diamond Guy®

BACK to Diamond Articles.

The Kimberley Process and World Diamond Council are a sham.

Severe human rights violations, including murder, rape and forced labor, have taken place in the diamond fields of Marange, Zimbabwe. Recent reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicate that these horrific conditions continue to take place.

Blood diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe, have been issued Kimberley Process (KP) certificates and imported into the cutting centers, where they were cut and polished and then sold to dealers, jewelry manufacturers and retailers. Tens of thousands of carats of blood diamonds are now in dealers’ inventories and jewelers’ showcases — and are being actively sold to consumers.

The jewelry trade’s purchase and distribution of blood diamonds is funding a continuing cycle of horrific human rights violations. Our industry is providing money and distribution to those who murder, rape and enslave. Every time we buy or sell a blood diamond, we are sending a message of encouragement to the perpetrators of these inhuman crimes. We are legitimizing their dirty business. We become their partners in crime.

We must face the fact that the KP has been issuing certificates for Marange blood diamonds. The KP has made these “certified blood diamonds” perfectly legal. Customs officials did not — and do not — have the right to stop Marange diamonds with KP certificates. Instead of eliminating blood diamonds, the KP has become a process for the systematic legalization and legitimization of blood diamonds. When you get right down to it, the KP has become a blood diamond laundering system. The KP is not just a sham; it’s a scam.

To understand how this could happen, we must define “blood diamonds” and compare our definition to the KP definition of “conflict diamonds.”
Rapaport definition:“Blood diamonds are diamonds involved in murder, mutilation, rape or forced servitude.”

KP definition:“Conflict diamonds means rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments, as described in relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions insofar as they remain in effect, or in other similar UNSC resolutions which may be adopted in the future, and as understood and recognised in United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 55/56, or in other similar UNGA resolutions which may be adopted in future…”

The KP definition of conflict diamonds does not address human rights violations and does not include blood diamonds. It is a legal definition established by governments to limit the scope and authority of the KP. The KP is a highly politicized process controlled by governments for governments. Its primary function is to protect governments and their revenue — legitimate or not — from rebel forces and consumer boycotts. The KP is essentially agnostic when it comes to human rights. As HRW concluded in its November 6, 2009, report: “This diamond monitoring body has utterly lost credibility.”

In spite of the above, there is a common misconception in the jewelry trade that diamonds with KP certificates are free of human rights abuses. Trade organizations, under the misguided leadership of the World Diamond Council (WDC), have promoted and continue to promote the KP as an acceptable standard for ensuring human rights compliance, even though they know that the KP has been issuing certificates for blood diamonds that have penetrated the diamond and jewelry supply chain. The WDC refuses to inform the trade that the KP cannot be relied upon to ensure human rights compliance and that polished blood diamonds are in the supply chain. The WDC has lost its moral compass. Its primary loyalty is now to the KP and not to the diamond industry or even the basic principles of human decency.

• Any diamond that was mined using oppressed labor in unsanitary working conditions.
• Any diamond whose oppressed labor force was victimized in the form of rape, mutilations (loss of arms or legs), beatings, verbal abuse, unconscionable working hours, and below poverty wage structure.
• Any diamond that the company who mined it or controls its tariffs is part of a monopoly.
• Any diamond that funds wars or corporate greed where profits supersede human life.
• Any diamond that is used to oppress any human life or the extinction of any race, tribe or sub-culture.
• Any diamond that is purposely graded incorrectly and marketed for corporate profits instead of consumer satisfaction.
• Any diamond that is sold at a price above its secondary market resale value forcing the consumer to take a significant loss if it was to be resold.”
-Fred Cuellar

What To Do?

• Raise Consciousness. We need to raise consciousness within the jewelry industry about the problem of blood diamonds so that people will stop trading them. Industry organizations that should play a role need to be awakened. I suggest sending emails to Terry Burman, chairman of Jewelers of America (JA), director of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and the WDC, at tburman@jewels.com; Matt Runci, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of JA, chairman of the RJC, director of the WDC, at matt@jewelofam.org; Cecilia Gardner, president and CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), director of the WDC and CIBJO, at clgjvc@aol.com. You might want to cc the email to other leaders and send a copy to us.

Ask these leaders to confirm that polished blood diamonds are in the distribution system and ask what you or they can do about it. Ask them to use their organizations to inform the trade about the problem. If you know anyone on the board of these organizations, give them a call and ask them to have their organization let people know about blood diamonds.

Email us at fairtrade@rapaport.com if you would like to help us raise consciousness. We will be holding conferences to discuss the issue at BaselWorld on Friday, March 19, 2010, at the Basel Congress Center from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the JCK Vegas Show, Monday, June 7, 2010, at the Sands Convention Center from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We need new ideas and solutions. We need your help to get organized.

• Stay informed. Visit diamonds.net/zimbabwe for background information and google Marange diamonds to stay up to date. Help us stay informed. If you know about people or companies that are selling Marange diamonds, email us. While we don’t have the resources to investigate all claims, if a name comes up enough or the case is compelling, we will quietly notify relevant investigative authorities.

• Return diamonds that you suspect may be blood diamonds. Pay careful attention to diamonds that have a green hue. Unless you are absolutely sure of where the diamond came from, it is probably a good idea to return all diamonds with a green or green/gray hue in the D to Z and light green color range, not fancy green colors. While there are green diamonds from other places, about 60 percent of Marange’s cuttable diamonds are green and tens of thousands of carats have come onto the market over the past year. Furthermore, we are getting reports that the color of some green Marange diamonds is unstable and may worsen.

While many in the industry are opposed to the idea of returns, the hard fact is that you are going to have to make a personal decision about what to do. Thanks to the KP, blood diamonds are perfectly legal and you have no right to return them. On the other hand, do you really want to be selling what may be blood diamonds? It’s a financial and ethical issue with a high dose of uncertainty. There may be no clear answers. You might want to talk to a spiritual or ethical adviser.

• Ask Before You Buy. As noted in the HRW campaign*, “Zimbabwe’s Blood Diamonds, Ask Before You Buy,” asking is probably the most important thing you can and should do. Recognize that you are responsible for what you buy and that someone’s life may be at stake. Make sure you know who your suppliers are and ask them serious questions to ensure that the diamonds you buy are not from Marange nor involved in other serious human rights abuses. Err on the side of caution. Tell your supplier you really care about where your diamonds come from. If they know you care, they also will care. Make it a point to personally talk to every diamond supplier about human rights issues and how important they are to you.

You will also want your supplier to sign a document promising to refund payment for any diamonds that turn out to be associated with human rights violations. But don’t rely solely on the paper; remember to have the talk.

Conclusion

It’s time to transcend Kimberley and the WDC. One wonders how many lives will have to be destroyed before the demonstrations begin — before victims come marching down Fifth Avenue, as they did a decade ago. What will it take to get our trade to stop buying and selling blood diamonds?

I know that there are many good and decent people in the diamond and jewelry trade. And I know that many of you care but are frustrated and feel the situation is hopeless. I urge you to reconsider. I urge you not to give up.

We can and will beat this problem. It will take time and unprecedented levels of cooperation. But I do believe that there are enough people in our industry who really care about human rights and that we can make a difference by working together. There is so much good that we can do. I am confident that when the right people come together, we can and will build a more fair and ethical diamond market. We can and will create solutions that will make the world proud of us and our diamonds.

By Martin Rapaport

January 29, 2009

Click here for original article.

Related Articles:

Blood Diamonds

The lab “certificates” are riddled with disclaimers that specify it is strictly a bought opinion and in no way guarantees anything, making the “certificates” worthless. The jeweler will pretend he bears no responsibility because someone else graded it, so who or what “guarantees” the diamond? Nothing and nobody! Guess who is left holding the bag? Any jeweler who doesn’t tell you that “certified” does not guarantee anything, belongs in the same cell as Bernie Madoff. Look up the definition of certify (verb: certified) which includes “to guarantee as meeting a standard or to confirm formally as true, accurate or genuine.”

Do you know where the safest country in the world to buy a diamond is? Well, it’s not the United States anymore! It’s India where jewelers are buying back the diamonds they sell to customers who aren’t happy! “They’re not just selling diamonds, they’re selling security and trust”, said Marc Goldstein from Rapaport.* India is the first country whose jewelers stand behind the merchandise they sell with a lifetime buyback policy!

Currently only about twenty percent of jewelers in the U.S sell fully bonded diamonds! (Diamonds with a lifetime buyback policy). Disgraceful! I’m sick and tired of seeing a young couple down on their luck and being forced to sell their diamond to find out that it is only worth an average of 19.7% of what they PAID! Their usual response when they find out that they have been taken to the cleaners? “But it was “certified”?! Buying a “certified” diamond is about as safe as jumping out of an airplane without a parachute and told to flap your arms! I can’t be more serious about this pandemic that is destroying the integrity of diamonds. Please DO NOT buy a diamond from anyone who even whispers the word “certified”. Let 2010 be the year that we banish the dirty word “certified” from the diamond business forever and replace it with a fully bonded appraisal (F.B.A). That leaves you 100% in the driver’s seat! By refusing to buy any diamond that is misrepresented and only comes with a 30-90 day return policy you will never find yourself with a diamond you don’t want and no where to turn. Don’t buy “certified” diamonds from anyone! Fairness has to mean something again in the diamond industry!

*Goldstein, Marc. Rapaport. December 2009. Vol. 32 No. 12. Pg 49.

1) Promises that seem too good to be true! If the jeweler keeps lowering the price until you buy he’s not going to be around tomorrow!

2) The lack of non-bonded diamonds; the bonding of commercial diamonds. If the jeweler is offering a lifetime buyback guarantee on crummy diamonds, it’s because they are just dynamiting the pond to get the most money in their pocket before they go out of business. Of course, they don’t have to worry about keeping a promise if they close up and leave town after the sale.

3) Over-stocked Cases! Desperate jewelers bring in a lot of jewelry on consignment that they haven’t paid for yet hoping to make a quick sale! If they sell it to you and they go out of business with out paying their bills you are in possession of stolen merchandise!

4) How long the jeweler has been in business now is irrelevant! Legacy jewelers are dropping like flies. Look for the little things like small repairs that haven’t been made, lights out in cases or outdoor signs that haven’t been replaced. Out of date décor. Does the place have a current minimalism look or old fashion iron stands behind the cases approach?

5) Look at the age of the jewelers. If everyone serving you is older than dirt there is a good chance there is a hole in the desert six feet deep that the company is going to be dropped into.

Are the sales people a little eager like their life depends on it or do they give you room to breathe? If they crowd you it’s because they are missing the crowds!

6) Flat out ask them if their diamonds come with “certificates” guaranteeing the diamond? If they say yes run for the hills! The FTC has deregulated lab reports to not be responsible for the exact accuracy of their grades as long as disclaimers are present! If the jeweler is telling you a piece of paper stands behind their diamonds and not the jeweler himself, you are talking to a dinosaur.

7) Does the jeweler have a social media director? If they don’t they are in the dark ages and will soon be left in the dark.

Do they try to make the sale today vs. giving you time to make your decision? If they’re rushing you they are hunting for cash.

9) And finally, who do you know of your friends that have recently bought from the jeweler? If you can’t quickly Facebook your friends and find at least a half a dozen happy customers it’s because they don’t have any!

The health of the “business as usual” jeweler is critical. They are on life support and if they are on life support, how are they going to be around to support you?


by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Diamond Guy®

Function: transition verb

Date: 1932

1: to fabricate the parts of at a factory so that construction consists mainly of assembling and uniting standardized parts.

2: to produce artificially

Think about it! Ninety percent of all the settings that hold our diamonds and gemstones are manufactured PRIOR to knowing what diamonds or gemstones are going to go in it! That’s life in the 21st century—picking out a frame for a newly discovered DaVinci without bothering to ask the exact dimensions. That’s Crazy! But, I’ll keep going! All this Prefab jewelry is mass produced in such great quantities, (#1 goal being profit) that any decent quality control to insure against under-carating of the quality of the gold or precious metal is thrown out with the baby and the bath water! Prongs that should be hand rolled for durability and strength are plucked out of an assembly line machine losing an incredible amount of tensile strength (that’s what keeps your rocks in place)! Of course even under the most optimal conditions, using a Master Craftsman & Master Stone Setter, damage is possible but why would we want to increase the odds of an accident by over twenty times?! We might as well text and drive with an open container in the car! All right, don’t get me started! Here are the facts:

1) Prefab jewelry is a lot less expensive upfront but will cost you more on the back side with costly repairs.

2) Prefab jewelry is ordered out of a catalog so you may get it quick and fast but you aren’t buying something meant to last.

3) Prefab jewelry serves a place in our society the same way a place holder does. It’s a good band-aid until you know exactly what you want your dream piece of jewelry to look like.

4) Custom made jewelry is more expensive (but not unaffordable like some jewelers want you to believe) but will more than pay for itself when it lasts generations not
months!

Here’s how you protect yourself:

1) Ask the jeweler if the ring was Prefabricated by him or anyone else.

2) If the ring was Prefabricated and you are willing to roll the dice with prongs that have been FORCED out of place to fit stones that were jammed into them, what guarantees does the jeweler provide when the little sparkly beauties start jumping ship?

3) If they say the ring is custom made will they put it in writing and guarantee any stone loss (Large main stones must be covered under a personal floater policy) as long as you bring it in for scheduled maintenance?

4) Did the jeweler attempt to show and sell you a setting first and then ask you to pick out the main stone? * Never put the cart before the horse!

5) And finally, how long did the process take from start to finish? If it took days and not weeks with several visits, I’m sorry my friend, you just bought a Prefabricated piece of jewelry and as the story goes “Prefab aint Fab!”

by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Diamond Guy®

We do this all the time—talk, write, create, destroy hoping and praying to be noticed; hoping to be heard. When others give us compliments, we feel good; ignored we feel bad. Why do we give that power to others, the ability to affect us? Employed we have self-worth. Lose our jobs, we feel worthless. Why is our happiness dependent on others? How well do you treat yourself? You can be kind to yourself, you know? Some people say “I’ve been really beating myself up over ________ (fill in the blank). Really? Beating yourself up? Worrying? Complaining? As Doctor Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?” The solutions may be found in the new “Conceptual Age”.


The “Conceptual Age” is defined as an era of creativity, innovation and design. As Daniel Pink says in his book, The Whole New Mind,“Answers need more problems!” That’s what the “Conceptual Age” represents! It’s about being able to see the book, not just as a source of knowledge, but as a paperweight, a source of energy (burn it to stay warm), a hat, a bullet-proof vest or even a door stop. We need our answers to solve more problems. We need to see the book as more than just a book. A diamond can no longer be just a diamond—not in this day and age. We expect more from things. A toaster can’t just be a toaster! Any toaster can do that! It has to be a thing of beauty! Heck, it spends 99% of its time just sitting around doing nothing. It might as well look beautiful while it sits on your counter top! If you can’t see a toaster as art and art as toaster, you haven’t joined the “Conceptual Age”. You are still stuck in the “Information Age”, where everything was safe and linear. A problem had one solution. Very, very safe. Don’t want to get hit? Stop moving! Want to be safe? Be perfectly still! Quite the paradox. Static was the old safe. Momentum, frequency, vibration, sound, harmony and symphony are the new. Creating chaos to find order and center. This is the new reality. Our “Conceptual Age” fully bonded diamond now is beauty, durability, symmetry, meaning, value, story, safe haven, flexibility, liquidity, nest egg, college fund, retirement fund, rainy day fund, get-out-of-jail-free card, life saver, new car, new job, starting over, upgrade, downgrade, save a life, define a life, make a life, and more. Now quite simply a fully bonded diamond isn’t just carbon from the earth. A fully bonded diamond doesn’t just make a connection; it defines it. It expands it! It grows with you. It goes with you! It is a part of you! A fully bonded diamond, like true love, doesn’t come with rules, regulations, or limits! It is endless, indefinable, and unpredictable—it flows! Any diamond can take you from A to B. That’s yesterday’s Newtonian diamond. Only a fully bonded diamond can take you anywhere you want to go!


Yesterday’s diamond could only be a diamond—one that depreciated with time like a used car. Today’s fully bonded diamond is ready to be whatever you want it to be. As time goes by, maybe it will be a bigger diamond, or maybe you will transform it into a down payment on your dream home! Only a fully bonded diamond can be anything you want it to be because it is the only diamond in the world that is liquid!


Anybody can own a diamond. Not everyone can own the future!


P.S. Remember, “you are the master of your fate; the captain of your soul.” Invictus by William Ernest Henley.



by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Diamond Guy®