Introduction
First discovered in India, and most commonly associated with Africa, the world's biggest producer of Diamonds is actually Australia. Diamonds were first found near athurst, in New South Wales (West of Sydney) in 1851. Since then a variety of locations have been mined but today 90% of output is from the Kimberley region in Australia's vast north-western outback. This includes the extremely rare and valuable pink and red varieties. This area was first chosen for test-drilling because it looks so similar to the terrain around the African diamond fields.
Diamond-hunting can be a dangerous business: In the 1980's Diamond-hunters were lowered into the sea in shark-proof cages in coastal areas near Kimberly to protect them from man-eating crocodiles. As well as Australia, Diamonds have been mined in Brazil, Russia, and many African nations including South Africa where they were first discovered in 1859 with serious mining beginning ten years later.
While Diamonds have been known and used for millennia, they weren't faceted until the 14th century. The Romans used Diamonds to carve cameos from stone and the Chinese originally used Diamonds as a Jade-cutting tool.
Some of the world's biggest Diamonds are featured in Royal Collections. These include the two largest stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond (now in the British Crown Jewels) and the Regent Diamond, formerly part of the French Crown Jewels, until stolen in the French Revolution and eventually set in the hilt of Napoleon's sword.
In the 20th century, Diamond's unique hardness has been put to many industrial applications such as: grinding and shaping very hard metal alloys; polishing fine finishes on optical surfaces; cutting tools for aircraft engine components and other hi-tech materials made from metals, ceramics, plastics, glass, brick, concrete and various building supplies. Even your kitchen knife sharpener is probably impregnated with diamond powder!
The 4C's
Many people are confused about how diamonds are priced. The best explanation is that asking for the price of a diamond is like asking for the price of a house. A real estate agent can’t quote you a price for a house without knowing its size, condition, location, etc. This process is the same one used when buying a diamond. A diamond’s beauty, rarity, and price depend on the interplay of all the 4Cs—cut, clarity, carat, and colour.
The 4Cs are used throughout the world to classify the rarity of diamonds. Diamonds with the combination of the highest 4C ratings are more rare and, consequently, more expensive. No one C is more important than another in terms of beauty and it is important to note that each of the 4Cs will not diminish in value over time.
Once you have established those 4C characteristics that are most important to you, a jeweller can then begin to show you various options with quoted prices.
CARAT - Refers to the weight of a diamond.
Carat is often confused with size even though it is actually a measure of weight. One carat is equivalent to 200 milligrams. One carat can also be divided into 100 “points.” A .75 carat diamond is the same as a 75-points or 3/4 carat diamond.
A 1-carat diamond costs exactly twice the price of a half-carat diamond, right? Wrong. Since larger diamonds are found less frequently in nature, which places them at the rarest level of the Diamond Quality Pyramid, a 1-carat diamond will cost more than twice a 1/2-carat diamond (assuming color, clarity and cut remain constant).
Cut and mounting can make a diamond appear larger (or smaller) than its actual weight. So shop around and talk to your jeweller to find the right diamond and setting to optimise the beauty of your stone.
CLARITY - Refers to the presence of inclusions in a diamond.
Another vital grading characteristic in diamonds is their clarity. This refers to the number, position and size of the inclusions that occur naturally inside diamonds. The fewer and less obvious the inclusions, the more valuable the diamond. Here is an illustration that shows the clarity grading scale that has been established by the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Note: Diamonds are shown under 10X magnification):
Inclusions are natural identifying characteristics such as minerals or fractures, appearing while diamonds are formed in the earth. They may look like tiny crystals, clouds or feathers.
To view inclusions, jewellers use a magnifying loupe. This tool allows jewellers to see a diamond at 10x its actual size so that inclusions are easier to see. The position of inclusions can affect the value of a diamond. There are very few flawless diamonds found in nature, thus these diamonds are much more valuable.
Inclusions are ranked on a scale of perfection, known as clarity, which was established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The clarity scale, ranging from F (Flawless) to Included (I), is based on the visibility of inclusions at a magnification of 10x.
Some inclusions can be hidden by a mounting, thus having little effect on the beauty of a diamond. An inclusion in the middle or top of a diamond could impact the dispersion of light, sometimes making the diamond less brilliant.
The greater a diamond's clarity, the more brilliant, valuable and rare it is—and the higher it is on the Diamond Quality Pyramid.
COLOUR - Refers to the degree to which a diamond is colourless.
The most important thing to know about color when it comes to diamonds is, in general, the less color a diamond has, the more valuable it is, all other factors being equal. Diamonds are found in nature in a wide range of colours, from completely colourless (the most desirable trait) to slightly yellow, to brown. So-called ‘fancy colour diamonds’ come in more intense colours, like yellow and blue, but these are not graded on the same scale.
Diamonds range in color from icy winter whites to warm summer whites. Diamonds are graded on a color scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) which ranges from D (colourless) to Z.
Warmer coloured diamonds (K–Z) are particularly desirable when set in yellow gold. Icy winter whites (D–J) look stunning set in white gold or platinum.
Colour differences are very subtle and it is very difficult to see the difference between, say, an E and an F. Therefore, colours are graded under controlled lighting conditions and are compared to a master set for accuracy.
Truly colourless stones, graded D, treasured for their rarity, are highest on the Diamond Quality Pyramid. Colour, however, ultimately comes down to personal taste.
Coloured or specialty diamonds
CUT - Refers to the angles and proportions of a diamond.
Diamond cut is perhaps the most important of the four Cs, so it is important to understand how this quality affects the properties and values of a diamond.
A good cut gives a diamond its brilliance, which is that brightness that seems to come from the very heart of a diamond. The angles and finish of any diamond are what determine its ability to handle light, which leads to brilliance.
As you can see in the image below, when a diamond is well-cut, light enters through the table and travels to the pavilion where it reflects from one side to the other before reflecting back out of the diamond through the table and to the observer's eye. This light is the brilliance we mentioned, and it's this flashing, fiery effect that makes diamonds so mesmerising.
In a poorly cut diamond, the light that enters through the table reaches the facets and then 'leaks' out from the sides or bottom of the diamond rather than reflecting back to the eye. Less light reflected back to the eye means less brilliance.
Don't confuse diamond cut with shape. Shape refers to the general outward appearance of the diamond, not it's reflective qualities.
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