Fluorescence

Fluorescence is a type of color reaction to Ultraviolet radiation.
Fluorescence is seen under Ultraviolet light  in colors such as blue, white, and in some cases yellow, red, orange, and green, with an intensity of very slight, faint, medium, strong, and very strong.
To understand better what is fluorescence (without touching the chemical part) imagine taking a cup of water and pouring some milk in to it, that milky color is what fluorescence looks like.
UV light is everywhere, the sun produces UV radiation which most of it gets blocked by the Ozone Layer, but UV light is presence everywhere.
Fluorescence has nothing to do with clarity or color, it is possible to see a D color, FL clarity with very strong fluorescence.
Does fluorescence affect the value?
Depending on the appraiser that you ask, some will say yes and others no.
Investment Diamonds shouldn't have fluorescence, for the simple reason that some appraiser say it has an effect, always remember Investment Diamonds have to be bulletproof to all bullets, not just to some, sometimes the words of one appraiser can destroy your investment, so why give him the opportunity.

Weight estimation formula for round Diamonds

Once the Average Girdle Diameter and the Depth are discovered it is possible estimate the weight of a Diamond just by applying a simple formula.
The formula is as follows;
Average Girdle Diameter x Average Girdle Diameter x Depth x 0.0061
So a Diamond with a Average Girdle Diameter of 6.5mm and Depth of 4mm will wight:
6.5 x 6.5 x 4 x 0.0061 = 1.03ct
It is important to know that the formula works only for Diamonds with good proportions, in some cases some modifications have to be made, so never rely only on the formula (non of the changes is extremely big, however if the estimated weight is 1.00ct it is possible that the Diamonds real wight is 0.94ct which have a lower per-carat price).

Specific Gravity

Diamonds like every other mineral have a Specific Gravity, Specific Gravity (in the Diamond industry) is the ratio of the Diamond weight to the weight of an equal volume of water, in other words the ratio of the density of a Diamond to the density of water.
The rule is that higher the Specific Gravity the heavier a mineral is from an equal volume of a different mineral with a lower Specific Gravity.
 For examplae:
The Specific Gravity of a Diamond is 3.52, the Specific Gravity of a Cubic Zirconia is 5.80 (approximately), so a Cubic Zirconia of the same size as a natural Diamond will weigh more.

The Table

The Table has an extremely important role in the brightness and fire of a Diamond.
It is the biggest facet and largest visible part of the Diamond with an unaided eye, the table is essentially a door that lets light enter end exit the Diamond.
The Table size is generally expressed by its relation to the Diamonds diameter, some times it is expressed as "Table Size" and in most cases as "Table Percentage".
For example if the Diamond diameter is 100mm and the Table is 56mm, the "Table size" will be 56mm and the "Table Percentage" will be 56%, if the Diamond diameter is 8.05mm and the Table is 4.66mm, the Table size will be 4.66mm and the "Table Percentage" will be 57.88% [the equation is ("table size" x 100) divided by the Diamond diameter).
Most modern cut diamonds have a Table Percentage starting at 55% to 65%, Some old cuts have 45% or lower.

Total Depth Percentage

Once you know the Average Girdle Diameter and the Depth, the next step in order to get the Total Depth Percentage would be as follow:
Depth divided by the Average Girdle Diameter X 100 = Total Depth Percentage.
For Example:
Depth = 3.50
Average Girdle Diameter = 6.20
(3.50 / 6.20) X 100 = Total Depth Percentage.
(0.564) X 100 = Total Depth Percentage.
56.45%  = Total Depth Percentage.
For Jewelry the ideal Total Depth Percentage is somewhere between 55% - 65%.
However when it comes to investment the ideal Total Depth Percentage would be 58% - 62%.
It is important to add the even if the Diamond is within the safe Total Depth Percentage there is no guarantee that its a excellent cut, there are many other factors involve, and it only takes one to jeopardize the investment.

Depth.

Depth is the second step needed to obtain the Total depth percentage, depth is the distance (in millimeters) from the top of the Diamond (the table) to the bottom (the culet).

Average Girdle Diameter.

Average girdle diameter is the first and most basic measurement taken, as you know every proportion of a Diamond is essential to its interaction with light, a shining Face-up look is extremely important in a Diamond.
The average girdle diameter is calculated by measuring the diameter of a round diamond from several locations in the girdle, adding the smallest and largest and dividing by 2. (all the measurements in a Diamond are expressed in millimeters)
For example:
after taking 4 measurements the biggest was 2.30mm and the smallest 2.22mm.
2.30mm + 2.22mm = 4.52mm
4.52mm / 2mm = 2.26mm 
The Average girdle diameter is 2.26 mm.
Average girdle diameter is only one of two steps needed to get the Total depth percentage which is the most important factor in the Diamond cut.

Diamond Passport

 

This characteristics are the most basic for a proper Diamond evaluation, so we are going to take some time to explore each one and see what happens when they are not the way they should be.

A, B, C so why D

As to the famous question of why the Diamond normal color scale starts from the letter D instead of starting with the letter A, there is a very interesting reason with a brilliant outcome.
Imagine you have a colorless Diamond, and you call it "A" color, your friend who happens to have a colorless Diamond to, decided to call his "AA", that immediately makes your Diamond a  non"AA",  the next day when a third friends decided to call his colorless Diamond "AAA" all the other colorless Diamonds become not so colorless because they are no "AAA".
In other words the GIA had to start a new system that had no connection to any existing system, in order to avoid confusion, and this is how the letter D become the first one to start the scale.
Some people say that the reason was to leave an open space in case a new color is discovered, the GIA color grading people realized that if they want to enter history they have to leave open door to possible future discovery of new colors.
So just in case anyone tries to sell you and A B or C color diamonds, tell him you found an "AAA" Diamond for a better price and find your way out as soon as possible.

Tip #5 before buying a Diamond

By now you probably figured that Investment diamonds are very selective, in fact they are less than 0.05% of all diamonds, they must have a specific size range, jewels with many small diamonds are not an investment, it’s a luxury or expense but not an investment [100 small point diamonds (total 1 carat) will never be worth the same price of a single diamond that weight one carat]

You must know that when buying a diamond in a jewelry brands name that the name never adds value to the diamond,and as we mention before it might be a nice luxury, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it has absolutely no investment value, which brings us to the next point:

never buy an investment diamond in a jewel-mounted (only when they are loose), once the Diamond is mounted ( 99%  of the time) the diamond looses its investment value.

Tip #4 before buying a Diamond

 If you want to invest in diamonds you have to be in contact with a diamond professional  and  not with a salesman in a store, always ask for the professional, make him show you the diamonds clarity with a microscope (very few shops have professional diamonds microscopes).

Buy only when you feel confident with the professional and make sure that the "professional" understands in diamonds, just like you make sure your doctor understands in medicine. 

 

Tip #3 before buying a Diamonds

The fact that you know the color and clarity of the diamond does not mean in any way that you can calculate the price of the diamond by yourself, Diamonds are not gold, the weight and purity is not enough.

The value of the diamond is set with many different features such as Color, Clarity, Weight, Shape, Polish, Cut, Symmetry, and  many more, and the bad news are that if only one of then is not the way it should be, say goodbye to your money. 

Make sure to read the report carefully, have every feature explained to you, consult, and take good care of your money. 

 

Tip #2 before buying a Diamond.

Always ask the seller for a certificate, with an option to change the diamond or get your money back if the Diamond characteristics don`t match the certificate or the invoice.

Our best recommendation is the GIA certificate, its the only one that is 100% trusted internationally, and its known in the Diamond industry that you don`t mess with a GIA certificate.

There are some other OK laboratories but non is as trusted as the GIA.

Tip #1 before buying a Diamond

NEVER buy a Diamond yourself , always use the help of a trusted professional.
This might sound funny to you, which is a good sign, but the countless cases we have seen of people thinking they just made the deal of their life and instead they made the seller`s deal of his life proofs that its a common mistake.
Make your homework, ask all the questions you can, don`t play with the money you worked so hard for. 

I - included

The I category is not used for jewelry, in very rare cases you can find some I diamonds, usually when it comes to jewels with many small diamonds, in some cases and I diamond will be seen.  

I diamonds have many defects external and internal which are easily seen with the naked eye.

In some cases of major external defects, many jewelers take their I diamonds and repolish them so they lose some points but the clarity improves and they become SI.

SI - Slightly Included

SI1 and SI2 are the lowest type of diamond used for jewelry, this diamonds have many defects that are seen easily under a x10 luope, however, being that they are not visible to the naked eye, they are used a lot in jewelry.

SI Diamonds are never to be used as an investment, they don't represent real value, and they are a little hard to resale.

VS1 - VS2 "Very Slightly"

The VS1 and VS2 are similar to the VVS group because they both have the same type of defects, the difference is the amount, while the VVS group has only few insignificant defects, the VS group contains more.

In some cases one big defect will to lower the diamond Clarity level to VS from VVS, for example if the defect location is in the diamond face, or in case the defect is reflected all over the diamond.

VS is a commercial group and is used generally in high class jewelry, most VS Diamonds are not used as an investment, however there are some exceptions as we will explain later on.

VVS1 - VVS2 "Very very Slightly"

The VVS1 and VVS2 are to very special, VVS stands for Very Very Slightly, and they possess a very high clarity level, in this group you can find some slight internal and external defects which are extremely hard to see under 10x loupe, and very insignificant external defects, the VVS group is a beautiful group and is used by many as an investment. 

Its extremely important to understand that Very Very Slightly should not be looked down at under no circumstances, VVS is probably a better investment than FL or IF as we are going to explain later on. 

   

FL- IF "Flawless"

The first group is the FL and IF beauty at its glory, nothing wrong what so ever with the diamond, this might come as a surprise to you because all diamond are beautiful and clean, but the truth is that under 10x loupe you can see some defects which are not visible to the naked eye, therefore the FL, IF group is the most rare and expensive one, there are many Diamond dealers that haven't seen one and might never get to see any.

The only Flaw with the Flawless is its flawlessness, believe it or not many Diamond dealers are used to see some flaws in their Diamonds, that is actually one of the ways they confirm the authenticity of the Diamond, so when a Flawless comes by it turns on the rad light.