Jewelry is not just in writing but a fascination for me. I grew into it since the day I started my research. There is a lot that one needs to know about jewelry simply because they are so valuable that you cannot afford to miss a single bit. My alliance with online gemstone and jewelry selling website enables me to bring you the best of jewelry fashion and jewelry education.
The Ultimate Pink Engagement Ring Guide
Pink engagement rings are growing more and more in popularity every. This can be attributed to the fact that these exquisite gems are considered a modern twist on a all-time classic.
It has been tradition since the 1940′s for men to give the woman they love and plan to marry an engagement ring usually studded with breath-taking diamonds.
The of course meant that the man would be required to commit a rather substantial slice of his saving or salary on the ring purchase to serve as an proof how he will care for the woman once she’s his wife.
It’s for this reason that I’ve decided to compile the ultimate pink engagement ring guide… Every girl dreams of having a pink diamond on her ring finger while every man has nightmares when it comes to forking out the cash for it.
Allow me to show you how to buy the perfect ring at an affordable price!
Most people think that diamonds only come in white. Big mistake! Diamonds in actual fact are colorless. Should the diamond however, be formed in varying circumstances under certain conditions they take change colors to red, pink and even orange.
Colored diamonds are super popular as well as extremely scarce.
Before you run off to the shops to buy a pink diamond engagement ring, you need to have a thorough understanding of the four Cs of pink diamonds, as this will directly determine the cost of the engagement ring.
Color – Color is an essential consideration when it comes to colored diamonds. Some stones are clear with dashes of color. Stone color consistence is of utmost importance.
Carat – Diamond size is directly linked to stone cost. This will be the case with white diamonds not colored ones. When it comes to colored diamonds, color is significantly more important than size.
Strongly colored, smaller stones are extremely scarce which will mean they will be a lot more expensive than a white diamond that’s several carats larger.
Cut – The diamonds’ cut impacts the stones sparkle and brilliance in both white and colored diamonds. For exactly this reason pink diamond cuts are of such immense importance. Round, Marquise, and Princess cuts are perfect to show off exquisite shades of pink color.
Clarity – Clarity is essential no matter what color stone. Clear stones mean no cracks, spots or cloudiness is present.
Any shape or form of cloudiness in a pink diamond can seriously blemish the diamonds’ sparkle.
Paul Easton is the Marketing Director for Polished Diamonds. High Quality Diamond Rings at 1/2 retail Prices available at: => Polished Diamonds.com.au – We Blog at Diamond Rings Blog
Sparkling Diamonds this Christmas: Diamond Color Guide
Color grading system for diamonds
In history, diamonds have been a much coveted gemstone. Treasure chests of kings and queens have been abundantly filled with such extravaganza. Be it men or women, high or low, diamonds made a special place in hearts.
Around cultures, diamonds have played a prominent role in mythological records. In Indian culture, possession of diamonds marked the four main castes. Brahmins possessed colorless diamond; Kshatriyas valued brown/champagne colored one; Vaisya called in (the color of a kodali flower); and the Sudra were identified with a polished blade like color or gray/black diamond. Kings and royalties possessed the most valued red and yellow as royal gems.
In other major cultures, it was credited to have magical powers. It could remove the evil eye over the wearer, bring good luck, and provide super strength.
A diamond is the simplest yet hardest form of carbon. Treated as a precious gemstone, chemically it is a plain, crystallized from of the element. Regarding its unsurpassable physical properties, its wearable durability is due to its hardiness. Along with it, brilliance and color are the deciding factors of its salability.
There are many colorful varieties in this magnificent one. The most popular one calls for the colorless or white. However, fancy diamonds come into shades like pink, light blue, light green, light blue, and lavender which occur rarely.
Historically, India has been the erstwhile source of quality diamonds and the most important one until eighteenth century. The colored diamonds were sold at high prices than its colorless counterpart.
Talking about color, as mentioned above, within 4 Cs, color is a main criteria to find the most beautiful and brilliant diamond. Others are clarity, cut, clarity, and carat weight.
Affecting the cost, body color is very essential because it’s the first thing that buyers notice first and admire. Most attractive ones count on the colorless or white diamonds which are extremely rare.
Moreover, it’s the skill which is needed to look at a diamond and evaluate its color. Actually, the various color shade varieties are graded on a color grading system. It is suggested to best examine a stone when unmounted or loose.
Currently, color grading system introduced by GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is used extensively for color grading of diamonds. Color grading system also works on the fire within or brilliance of diamond through the pavilion or bottom.
For your ease, a table consisting color grades is given below:
Diamond Color Grades
COLORLESS D,E,F Loose diamonds appear colorless
NEAR COLOLRLESS G,H,I,J When mounted in a setting, these diamonds may appear
colorless to the untrained eye
FAINT YELLOWISH TINT K,L,M Smaller diamonds look colorless when mounted. Diamonds of ½
carat or more show traces of color.
VERY LIGHT YELLOWISH TINT N,O,P,Q,R These diamonds show increasingly yellow tints to even the
untrained eye, and appear very “off white”.
TINTED LIGHT YELLOWISH S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z
Gemstone Jewelry and Diamond Rings at angara.com
A GUIDE & STYLE FOR A PERFECT DIAMOND CUT
Subsequently you’ve got the ring; I mean a dazzling, bright and brilliant engagement ring. Well now after that step is to make a choice of the perfect wedding ring that will complement your engagement ring? Basically what one must understand and practice here is ones individual fashion and experience.
As per experienced gemologist there are ways to simplify your diamond investment. Nevertheless the wedding couples shopping experience should be fun, exciting and done with confidence. Just go and imply these experienced steps and get the best wedding ring.
Diamond cut bridal ring is the most vital preference for many to-be couples and pivotal it is the bride who have a preference more of round-cut diamonds or bugget diamonds. Brides in the present day are more fascinated in bridal bands full with diamonds than the plain gold.
In case if your engagement ring has a diamond with emerald cut, then consider a bridal band with baguettes or side stones to complement the set, for the reason that emerald cut diamonds has an understated sparkle to it.
Princess-cut diamonds have a propensity to attribute geometric styling. It would be perfect to prefer a bridal band in addition with princess cut diamonds. Proviso your engagement ring has a solitaire, pear, oval or marquis-shaped diamond, a round band embroidered with diamonds possibly will go with best.
One of the most popular diamond shapes still is the round brilliant stone. Proviso the oval and princess-cut diamonds are comparatively newer cuts, popular among younger brides.
You may want to think about a wedding set made with birthstones. This new trend has brides and celebrities preferring a few of the newest colors of diamonds in shades of yellow, pink, brown and purple.
Basically the guide and style can’t be effective without the knowledge of diamonds, i.e. the 4C’s. Cut is the most imperative factor of the four C’s, for the reason that a properly cut diamond will twinkle at its most radiant, and it will be the prettiest. The set of dimensions and angles of the diamond. Carat is the weight of the stones. Clarity grades array from flawless to imperfect, with flawless being tremendously rare. It represents the number, size and location of natural birthmarks within the diamond. Quantity of color that can be seen by a diamond grader when the stone is scrutinized lying upside down in special lighting conditions. Color ranges from D, which is totally colorless, up to Z which has strongly perceptible color. Most high-end eminence bridal jewelry today is set with diamonds in the colorless to near colorless range from D to K in color.
To choose the metal for Rings and band is also a confusing job. Let me make it simple for you. Make sure that you remember yellow and white gold, platinum are the best for men and women, where as titanium are excellent only for men.
Furthermore to make your diamond shopping a great pleasure, research for various diamond choices through internet. Reputed jewelers will always be an added advantage. Take personal experience into consideration from your friends and relatives. Select jeweler who has its diamonds certified from GIA and has implemented laser inscription in its service.
I am Alex scott, I am associated with website DiamondExotica.com. Diamonds have been a source of fascination for centuries. They are the hardest, the most imperishable, and the brilliant of all precious stones.I will share information regarding the Engagement Rings,Solitaire Rings,Wedding Rings..
A Guide To Buying Diamonds Earrings
Diamonds earrings have always been a popular choice for men to give to the one they love. Also, women choose these earrings because these are sturdy and beautiful. Therefore, before setting out to buy the pair that you have coveted, see if these are worth your money.
Diamonds earrings are expensive—a fact in life, really. Before you buy diamonds earrings, it is better to do some background research to determine which cut or shape should you buy. Diamonds are far too expensive for you to make instant decisions.
Four Cs.There are four Cs that you have to watch out for when you set out to buy diamonds earrings. The value of the diamond depends on these 4 Cs; thus, the value of the earrings depends on the 4 Cs too.
Carat. This is a familiar term to most of us because this is how gold is categorized too. However, although a lot of people are familiar with the word, not many know what it actually means. Carat is the measure of the weight and mass of the diamond. The higher the carat, the more expensive the diamond gets; thus, the more expensive your diamonds earrings will be.
Oftentimes, this is used as the main factor that would determine the value and the popularity of the diamond. For example, the Tiffany Yellow Diamond is recalled mostly as a large octahedron that weighed 287 carats (uncut) then was cut to 128 carats. This diamond is known as the largest golden-yellow diamond. It became popular more because it was large than because it was yellow.
Clarity. Diamond, the hardest material of natural origin, is so hard that only another diamond can scratch it. However, in the process of its turning from ordinary carbon into diamond, there are certain defects in its crystal lattice so that various imperfections can be found either inside or on its surface. The internal defects are called inclusions. Of course, diamonds earrings made of material with no defects will be far more expensive than with even a single defect. The more defects, the lesser the price.
Color. Loose Diamonds are commonly transparent and colorless. However, colored ones are rarer and are, therefore, more valuable. In general, diamonds earrings made of darker and more intense coloration will be more expensive than lighter ones. Also, blue, pink, and green ones are more expensive than yellow and brown ones.
Cut. Perfectly cut diamonds are very expensive. Moreover, those cut to different shapes would be more expensive. For example, lily cut or heart-shaped diamonds earrings will be many times more expensive than those with circle cuts.
However, imperfect diamond earrings will actually work to your advantage because, naturally, these will have lesser value than a perfect one; thus, you will be able to own a diamond that is affordable but still beautiful. Furthermore, these imperfections will act as unique fingerprints to determine your diamond. Also, jewelers have a way of hiding the imperfections so that the inclusions will not be visible especially to untrained eyes.
Always, it will be the size, the color, and the cut of the diamond that will determine its beauty. Those with higher clarity are more expensive; but since clarity does not really have an impact on the diamonds earrings’ beauty, it is better that you don’t choose your earrings based on this criterion.
When you have decided to buy your diamonds earrings, be careful in storing them. Remember that diamonds can scratch other diamonds, so make sure that they do not come in contact with each other.
For more information read our loose diamonds guide – <a onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Buy-Loose-Diamonds”>how to buy loose diamond</a>.
Angela Dolson is an expert author. She writes interesting articles about jewelry trends and styles that makes readers know more about the things.
Gold Diamond Rings – Practical Guide
One of the things (if not the first) to be prepared before your wedding is a wedding ring, and the choice usually it’s a gold diamond rings. History tells, gold diamond rings is used in weddings since hundreds of years ago. Ring means bond, while the diamond means forever. So we can say diamond ring = bond forever. The material used to make a wedding ring is usually gold. There are advantages and disadvantages of each material that used to make the ring, but most people choose gold because gold is the most common material used, never go out of fashion, and if it begin to dull, it can be polished again.
14K or 18K
As I know, there is no gold wedding ring made of 100% gold (24k) because it’s too soft (but there is 24K jewelry ring). To make a gold wedding ring, it must be mixed with other materials, usually alloy copper for rose gold or yellow gold ring and nickel or palladium for white gold ring (some people reported allergic to nickel, so you better choose palladium). Gold ring is divided into several types i.e. 9K, 14k and 18k. But for wedding or engagment ring usually is 14K or 18K gold ring. 14k gold contains 58% gold and the rest 42% is other materials, while 18K gold is 75% gold and the rest 25% is other materials. Because the other materials that used to mix with gold is harder than gold, the 14k gold is harder from 18k gold. So if you’re an active person, I suggest you to purchase 14k gold, if you are the person who will remove the ring at work or you work behind the desk, you can buy 18k gold.
White Gold or Yellow Gold
Yellow gold looks more classic, but sometimes it looks too vivid, so it doesn’t match with the clothes or jewelry that you used. In contrary, because it’s neutral color, white gold can be used in almost every occasion.
Diamond ring setting
There are several types of diamond ring settings, such as the bezel setting, Ballerina setting, bead setting, Channel Setting, Setting Cluster, Flush Setting, and Pave Setting. Settings may affect how the diamond will reflect light (whether the ring setting will block the light) and of course it will affect how the ring looks, just select the ring setting that most suit your personality.
Diamond Cut
There are several types of diamond cut (round brilliant cut, princess cut, step cut, etc) that will make a diamond shape looks different. but what most important is not what type of diamond cut, but it’s the two aspects of the cut, which is polish and symmetry. If the diamond not well polished, the surface of the diamond may not reflective and the sparkle won’t come out or it will be blurred. If the symmetry is poor, it will cause the light that enter the diamond won’t reflect to the surface of the diamond, and the light will exits the diamond.
Ted Crist is an avid writer, providing two minutes guide on diamonds, rings and jewelry. Feel free to publish, use or edit my article (for grammar corrections), but I would be very appreciate if you put link back to DiamondsRings99.com. Article: Gold Diamond Rings
Buying Guide For Diamond Jewellery
by Monty Alexander
“Diamonds are a girl’s best friends”, but diamonds have the ability of making friends with everybody. The above words are very true, have you ever heard of a person who dislikes diamonds. We have been hearing about diamonds since birth and maybe that’s the reason why we feel so connected to it. Diamonds are treasured as gemstones since the time when they were used as religious icons in ancient India. Scientifically, Diamond is the hardest natural material known on Earth. It is a crystal of tetrahedral bonded carbon atoms. Because of the material’s exceptional physical characteristics, diamond is used for many purposes other than jewelry.
While purchasing diamonds there are four C points which have to be kept in mind, the below mentioned points may help you in procuring the real thing, the real diamonds.
DIAMONDS are graded by four characteristics:
CUT There is a special formula for diamonds also. According to standards, round brilliant diamonds are cut with 58 facets. More light should be reflected to the viewer’s eyes and it is possible when these facets are proportionately featured on the diamond and which is very important. Cut also refers to the shape of the diamond piece such as round brilliant, oval, marquise, pear, heart shaped and emerald. The new ones are Asher square cut and Royal radiant cut.
CARAT Carat actually refers to the weight of the diamond. The price increases with the size. A pint constitutes 100 points. There are just 5 carats in a gram. Always go for the actual point size rather than a fractional weight, you sometimes get cheated this way. Jeweler’s sale 90 diamond saying it a 1carat diamond. Always measure the stone to be on the safer side, because diamonds are not purchased every day…http://buydiamonds-buydiamond-jewelry.blogspot.com/
Diamond Color: Shoppers Buying Guide
Diamonds can be found in every color of the rainbow from clear, colorless (white) to black as coal. Some colors like blue, red, and green are extremely rare and very valuable. Brown is the most common color of diamond with about 80% of diamonds used for industrial purposes like drill bits and saw blades. For most diamond shoppers, their goal is to find a diamond as white (colorless) as their budget will allow.
Most diamonds suitable for gem use have trace elements of nitrogen that causes some level of yellow tint. The diamond industry uses a color grading system developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) that ranges from D (completely colorless) to Z (fancy yellow color). Each letter grade corresponds to a small range of color and the color grade of a diamond is determined by comparing it to a set of master stones whose color grade has been determined by a grading laboratory like the GIA.
The top three color-grades D, E and F are considered Colorless. Color-grades G, H, I, and J are known as the Near Colorless and color grades K, L and M are labeled Faint Yellow. It is important to have the color grade designated by one of the top diamond grading laboratories such as the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or AGS (American Gem Society). Color grades on other documentation can be exaggerated and not accurate relative to industry standards.
The bigger the diamond, the more obvious its color will be, just as a carafe of wine shows more color than a glassful. Some shapes of diamonds show more color than others do. Shapes like the princess cut are relatively bottom heavy and have more diamond material to look through. Individuals see shades of yellow differently and some shoppers prefer the warm look of the Near Colorless range rather than the cold, whiteness of the Colorless grades.
Another factor that influences diamond color is fluorescence. About a fourth of diamonds have a characteristic that when exposed to ultraviolet light, they glow a color, usually blue. The fluorescence is no longer visible once the light source is removed. The intensity of the fluorescence can vary from Faint, which is barely visible to Very Strong, which is easily visible in a brightly lighted room. A little blue fluorescence can sometimes make Near Colorless diamonds appear even whiter than their true color. Some very strong fluorescent diamonds appear milky or oily in appearance and thus not as clear. The presence of fluorescence in a diamond generally reduces its value with higher levels of fluorescence reducing the value the greatest.
There are some processes, like High Pressure/High Temperature (HPHT) or irradiation, which can alter the color of a diamond. With certain types of brown diamonds, the HPHT process can produce Colorless or Near Colorless color. With HPHT, other types of brown diamonds can be converted to fancy colors like yellowish-green, greenish-yellow, and even shades of pink or blue. Irradiation can result in a variety of fancy colors, even though they are often visibly different shades than natural colored diamonds.
Yellow is the most common and affordable of the colored gem diamonds. There are four color-grades of yellow diamonds with enough saturation to be rated Fancy Yellow; Fancy Light Yellow, Fancy Yellow, Fancy Intense Yellow and Fancy Vivid Yellow. Each deeper shade brings a higher price.
What do these color grades, fluorescence, and color treatments mean to the diamond shopper? There are many color grades between the top D color and J, which is the bottom of the Near Colorless range, with the price of a D being about double that of J color. Most of the difference in price is at the lower color grades where there is also the most visible difference to the eye. The price increase from a J to I can be about 20% while from an E to D is closer to 2%. Diamond shoppers need to examine diamonds with their own eyes so they can determine what color they will be happy with relative to the price.
Most shoppers find that for well cut round diamonds, I color provides a nice, white color and a good value. Fancy shaped diamonds tend not to be as brightly faceted as the round brilliant cut so H color is an excellent choice for value and beauty. However, some shoppers will prefer and can afford higher colors and other shoppers will choose lower colors based on what they find appealing to their eye and their budget.
Avoid diamonds with high levels of fluorescence or any kind of color enhancement unless you specifically want that, have been properly advised, and are paying the lower corresponding price. Beware of jewelry stores who stock larger number of diamonds with fluorescence or will not show you the GIA grading report before you purchase. A merchant who is hiding these factors from you is certainly not someone you want to trust with your important diamond purchase.
Denny Reinke is the Vice-President of Diamond Source of Virginia, an online diamond retailer specializing in loose diamonds, diamond rings and diamond jewelry located in Richmond, Virginia and on the web at www.DiamondSourceVA.com You can also visit Denny?s blog at www.diamonds.blogs.com
A Guide to Buying Diamonds
A Guide To Buying Diamonds
Those who are thinking about buying diamonds either as an investment, for mounting in custom diamond jewelry, or simply as an addition to a collection, it is a good idea to educate yourself on the subject. Not all diamonds for sale are necessarily a good value; the old Roman advice caveat emptor is especially applicable when it comes to buying diamonds.
Getting Started
There are two things you need before you start buying diamonds:
1. A thorough knowledge of the diamond market
2. Where to obtain reliable appraisal services
The latter is especially important. Any appraisal of certified diamonds should be undertaken by an independent agency that has no connections to or interest in the wholesaler or retailer who is offering the diamonds for sale in which you are interested.
This may require a bit of detective work. The problem is that the world diamond market is controlled by a relative handful of corporate and international banking interests. However, it is well worth your while to find such appraisal services so as to insure that your interests are protected when buying diamonds.
The “Four Cs”
The laboratories that analyze diamonds for sale examine these gems for four different objective characteristics:
* Carat: this is the weight and mass of the gem, equal to .2 grams.
* Cut: the way the stonecutters have shaped the gem, i.e. “round” or “square” and how well this has been done
* Clarity: this looks at any internal flaws, such as a “cottony” appearance within the gem
* Color: certified diamonds can range in color from crystal clear to dark amber and even black.
This analysis is done prior to the actual appraisal, but is an important part of the process.
The Appraisal
While a lab report is based on objective, observable criteria, an appraisal is more subjective. The purpose is to determine the market value of these gems, primarily for the purpose of insuring them.
So – how much will you pay when buying diamonds? This is what the appraisal will determine.
Some cuts are more valuable than others. Princess cut diamonds, which have grown tremendously in popularity over the past thirty years, are the product of a unique cutting method developed in 1979 by a Los Angeles jeweler. These gems combine elements of “round” and “square” cuts; the princess cut diamonds results in the lowest amount of waste, so the diamond retains more of its original mass and weight.
These are only a few of the issues that should be kept in mind when buying diamonds, but they are the most important.
Jonathon Blocker specializes in diamond jewelry and buying diamonds. He is a consultant for GemFind.com, a trusted name in the jewelry industry since 1999.
Diamond Clarity: Shoppers Buying Guide
Diamond shoppers typically want a diamond that is big, bright and has lots of sparkle. Yet when they go to the jewelry store, the attention seems to be on carat weight, color and clarity. What is diamond clarity and how does it influence the beauty of the diamond?
All diamonds have inclusions in them because nature forms diamonds in the high temperature, high-pressure regions deep below the earth’s surface. Diamonds are crystals of carbon and the crystals formed in this harsh environment are never perfect. Inclusions are the tiny identifying characteristics inside a diamond. Some of the more common types of inclusions are feathers, crystals, pinpoints, clouds, needles, and twinning wisps. Diamonds also have characteristics on the surface, called blemishes. Clarity affects a diamond purchase when inclusions and blemishes are visible to the eye, when they adversely influence the path of light through the diamond, or when they negatively affect the durability of the diamond.
The diamond industry has established clarity grades to identify various levels of clarity in terms of visibility. The visibility of a particular inclusion or blemish is dependent on its location within the diamond, its physical size and the affect it has when viewed under different lighting conditions. The clarity grades rate diamonds on the visibility of inclusions and blemishes under 10-power magnification.
Flawless and Internally Flawless (IF) are the highest clarity grades and indicate no inclusions are visible under 10-power magnification, with the Internally Flawless allowing only very minor blemishes. Even Internally Flawless diamonds have visible inclusions when viewed under higher magnification.
VVS1 and VVS2 grades indicate very, very small inclusions, which might take 30 minutes to find with a microscope.
VS1 and VS2 grades have very small inclusions that are visible under the microscope but seldom every visible to the unaided eye.
SI1 and SI2 grades have small inclusions under the microscope and are sometimes visible with the aided eye.
I1, I2 and I3 grades have inclusions that are obvious with the unaided eye.
It is important to have the clarity grade designated by one of the top diamond grading laboratories such as the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or AGS (American Gem Society). Clarity grades on other documentation can be exaggerated and inaccurate relative to industry standards.
What do these clarity grades mean for the diamond shopper? There are many clarity grades and often a big price difference between Flawless clarity and clean to the eye clarity. Most diamond shoppers want a diamond that has no visible inclusions. For brilliant shapes like rounds, ovals, princess, and radiant cuts, that usually means at least SI1 clarity. For step-cut shapes like the emerald and Asscher that have fewer facets to hide the inclusions, at least VS2 clarity is generally preferred.
If these are the target clarity grades, why do shoppers buy diamond with higher or lower clarity? Sometimes shoppers are under the false impression that higher clarity will make a diamond more beautiful. This is a myth promoted by jewelers who have high clarity diamonds they need to sell or want to sell because they require higher prices and therefore more profit. Some men feel only a perfect diamond (flawless) is good enough for a perfect woman. Some shoppers simply want to buy higher clarity, just because they can.
Shoppers who purchase lower clarity diamonds with eye visible inclusions often do so because lower clarity is the only way they can achieve bigger size within their budget. Sometimes diamond shoppers are swept up in the excitement of the purchase and end up with a diamond that looked great in the store lighting but has visible inclusions in normal lighting with closer examination. The bright lights in a jewelry store often make it hard to see inclusions that are easy to see at home or in office lighting.
The purchase decision of a diamond is a mix of logic, emotion and convenience. The shoppers who are happiest with their purchase long term are those who understand their own shopping priorities and then find a diamond that best meets those requirements. For diamond clarity, the shoppers need to determine how important it is to them not to see any inclusions with the unaided eye. Then they have to decide how important the higher clarity grades are regardless of whether they influence the beauty of the diamond or not.
Of course, the price of the diamond ultimately comes into play; even for those shoppers who claim price is not an issue. Most shoppers are seeking their own personalized mix of size, color, clarity, cut, and price when making the purchase decision for their special diamond.
Denny Reinke is the Vice-President of Diamond Source of Virginia, an online diamond retailer specializing in loose diamonds, diamond rings and diamond jewelry located in Richmond, Virginia and on the web at www.DiamondSourceVA.com You can also visit Denny?s blog at www.diamonds.blogs.com
A Spence Diamonds Guide to Jewelry and Allergies
Choosing just the right jewelry for you goes beyond how good it looks on you, or how good it makes you feel. Some people have allergies to certain metals, so it helps to understand what to look out for if your skin is extra-sensitive, or you are prone to allergies. In our Spence Diamonds showrooms, we’re always ready to answer your questions about how metal allergies can affect you, but in the meantime here’s a bit of Metal Allergy 101:
Most often, rashes and infections on your skin caused by jewelry are a result of nickel allergy. Ever had an itchy red spot under a jean stud or watch buckle? Maybe when you had your ears pierced you developed an unusually uncomfortable reaction?
Nickel is the metal that causes the most rashes. And it is also quite commonly used in almost anything metal, for e.g.: jewelry, kitchen utensils, scissors, paper clips, keys and of course the coin by the same name. Nickel has a more whitish appearance, so such metals as white gold, silver and all kinds of silver-coloured metals (other than sterling silver) can and likely do contain some amount of nickel. 18 or 24 carat yellow gold do not contain nickel, but 10-carat yellow gold may have traces of nickel, too.
How Do You Know if You Have an Allergy to Nickel?
The first sign of nickel allergy is red and itchy skin, in the areas that have come in contact with metal, such as under a ring or necklace. Later on, tiny water blisters appear, making the skin moist and even oozy, and can even cause it to peel off. At this point, you probably want to be searching for jewelry that cooperates with your skin a little better. If the condition carries on for a long time, your skin may become red, scaly and cracked, and the rash can spread to other areas of your skin that have never even been in contact with nickel! So it’s worth doing your homework on how to avoid such a reaction.
Some Good News, Some Bad News
The bad news first: Once you’ve become sensitive to nickel, you’re likely to stay that way for the rest of your life. The good news is that over time, you may become less sensitive to nickel allergy. But there is hope as there are still plenty of metals that you can safely wear, including 18 and 14 carat gold, sterling silver, and a number of other hypo-allergenic metals. In addition, if you discover an allergy to nickel with an existing piece of your jewelry, Spence Dimaonds offers an electrochemical process called rhodium plating that coats the ring and protects your finger from exposure to nickel. It is a very easy and very common process that will not harm your ring in any way. If you’d like to know more, we’d be happy to answer your questions about rhodium plating in one of our showrooms.
If you think that you might have an allergy to nickel, ask a member of our staff in one of our Spence Diamonds showrooms to help you select an item that will not only add a bit of sparkle to your life, but will also be safe and comfortable next to your skin.
Spence Diamonds is Canada’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Visit any one of Spence Diamonds’ 7 locations or shop online.
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