The Diamond Fanatic: November 2006

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Different Styles of Diamond Earrings

Below is information and details on the main 20 different styles of Diamond Earrings:

Diamond stud earrings are a must for every wardrobe as they complement any outfit. The setting should be understated and minimal like prong or bezel so that the diamond is the focus. Popular cuts are brilliant, round or princess.

Diamond gemstone earrings can be purchased in all manner of colours and styles. You can go for sapphires and diamonds or a complete mix of diamonds, rubies and emeralds – the choice is endless. They are wonderful gifts to commemorate an anniversary or special date in your life as some gemstones are also birthstones or zodiac stones.

Diamond hoop earrings come in various drop lengths and the larger designs look stunning when tangled in with you hair and sparkling as they catch the light. They are timeless pieces of jewellery that have no age boundary and come in sizes that can be matched to the face size and neck length of the wearer.

Diamond huggy earrings do just what they say and “hug” your ear curling round the lobe to give a very elegant look. Because of their closeness to the wearer’s face, when the diamonds catch the light the effect is simply stunning.

Diamond drop earrings can be purchased in varying lengths and designs. Many brides choose them as they are perfection when worn with an off the shoulder dress backed by a veil. They are great party wear with the diamonds lighting up the wearer’s face as they move and catch the light.

Diamond trilogy earrings are romantic gifts as the three stones represent the past, present and future of a relationship. The sizes can vary with a larger diamond in the centre setting.

Mens diamond earrings are increasing in popularity, especially a simple solitaire setting which looks just at home in the boardroom as it does on the dance floor.

Diamond chandelier earrings are long, oversized pieces of jewellery which often have added colour in the form of gemstones like sapphires, rubies and emeralds. They seem to the number one jewellery choice of famous women and celebrities at the moment. You do not have to spend a fortune on a pair of diamond chandelier earrings for them to look every bit as stunning as those worn by the stars.

Diamond small drop earrings are special to wear as they pick the light, intensify it and bounce it around as you move your head. They are particularly suited to someone who is small or has a short neck as they do not overpower the wearer.

Diamond cluster earrings are designed to carry a group of pearls or gemstones which are tightly packed together in plain designs or star or flower patterns to form a larger unit

Diamond cross over earrings are very elegant pieces of jewellery in a classic design which will never date and suit wearers of all ages. They give maximum sparkle if the diamonds are in channel or pave settings when the diamonds are set in a continuous line with hardly any of the gold or silver metal mount visible.

Diamond fancy earrings are so called because of the different diamond cuts they come in. These include marquise, brilliant, oval, heart, princess and emerald, and the diamonds are supplied in a rainbow of colours with yellow, blue and pink being the most popular.

Diamond round earrings complement any face shape whether it is rectangular, heart, round and oval. The fact that they sit so close to the ear means that they will not catch on your clothes or hair and are extremely comfortable to wear.

Diamond small fancy earrings can feature gemstones like diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires in different shapes and various cuts which can range from marquise, pear, round brilliant, emerald, princess, to oval or heart.

The design of Diamond Greek key earrings represent eternity as pattern has no beginning or end and is believed to originate from the Ancient Greek labyrinth system.

If you want to wish someone luck or if they have equestrian leanings then diamond horseshoe earrings are great gifts. With the horseshoe’s association with good fortune make sure that they are worn facing upwards so that the luck does not spill out.

Diamond illusion earrings are quite magical because the diamonds are mounted on glass and appear much larger than they actually are. With sympathetic setting these earrings can look a million dollars.

Diamond pearl earrings are the perfect partnership with the stones being the most flattering anyone can wear. Their colour and brilliance flatters any complexion and makes the wearer feel very special.

Diamond ribbon earrings look like a piece of looped ribbon but with a diamond sparkle instead of a satin sheen. The ribbon textile their design is based on goes back dates back to 1910 when ribboneze was first invented in America.

Diamond twirl earrings give movement and animation to your face and hair without actually going anywhere which is achieved by the light refracting off the diamonds.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Really Big Diamonds

The Cullinan Diamond is the largest rough diamond which was discovered by John Wells who was the manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company based in Cullinan in South Africa in 1905. It weighed more than 3,000 carats and is named after Sir Thomas Cullinan who owned the mine.

The Transvaal Government purchased this stone and had it cut into three parts and subsequently into eleven large gemstones. The story goes that when the diamond cleaver, Joseph Asscher, prepared to cut the diamond he had a doctor standing by and when he struck the diamond and it broke perfectly into two he fainted.

The Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa is the largest polished gem from the stone. It was presented to King Edward VII and is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross. The Cullinan II of Lesser Star of Africa is the third largest diamond in the world and forms part of the Imperial State Crown. Both are now part of the British Crown Jewels and are on display at the Tower of London.

The Koh-i-Noor (Persian: Mountain of Light) is also in the Crown Jewels. It originated in India and was once the largest diamond known in the world. It belonged to various Indian and Persian rulers, regularly being seized as a spoil of war. It was given to Queen Victoria two years after she became Empress of India in 1851. Prince Albert subsequently had the stone cut to its current 105 carats to increase its brilliance but reducing the weight by a vast 42%! It was then mounted in a tiara with more than two thousand other diamonds. The Koh-in-Nor is now set in the crown of the late Queen Mother and it rested on top of her coffin in 2002 as she lay in state.

The Darya-i-Noor< is one of the largest diamonds in the world. It is pale pink, which is one of the rarest colours in diamonds and weighs 182 carats (36.4 g). Its colour - pale pink - is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds. It currently forms part of the Iranian Crown Jewels which are held in the Central bank in Tehran but the Crown in which it sits can be seen in the Royal Treasure Museum.

Like the Koh-i-Noor this diamond was mined at the Golconda mines in Southern India. When the Nadir Shah of Persian invaded India in 1739 he stole the Darya-i-Noor and it has remained in Persia ever since.

Farah Pahlavi was a former empress of Iran who was exiled along with her husband in the late 1970s. She was forced to leave her amazing collection of jewels behind and amongst the items withheld was the Pahlavi Crown with the Darya-i-Noor as its centrepiece. This was made for her coronation by Van Cleef & Arpels. It took them six months to make and was studded with pearls, ruby emeralds and diamonds.

The Taylor-Burton< was a diamond purchased by the late actor Richard Burton for his wife Elizabeth Taylor’s fortieth birthday in 1972. The diamond weighted 69.42 carats after it was cut into a pear shape by Hollywood jeweller Harry Winston.

Following her divorce from Richard Burton six years later Miss Taylor announced she was putting the diamond up for sale to raise some money to build a hospital in Botswana. Henry Lambert, a New York jeweller, bought the Taylor-Burton for nearly $5,000,000 and subsequently sold it several months later to its present owner, Robert Mouawad. Mr Mouawad had the stone re-cut to straighten the edges slightly and it now weighs 68.09 carats

The Tiffany Yellow< is set in Jean Schlumberger's stunning Bird on the Rock brooch and has been seen by millions during almost seventy years of continuous display in Tiffany's store in New York. In 1971 the Tiffany Yellow returned to South Africa for an exhibition which marked the centennial celebrations of the Kimberly Mine, and fter an absence of forty years from London when Tiffany's re-opened their branch in Old Bond Street in 1986 they displayed the diamond at the opening.

The Tiffany Yellow was discovered in the 1870s in South Africa. The head of Tiffany's in Paris bought it for $18,000, on behalf of the firm and imported it to the United States in 1879. It was used to promote the famous film Breakfast at Tiffany’s which starred Audrey Hepburn as the delightful heroine Holly Golightly.

The Blue Heart or Eugenie Blue is a rare deep blue heart shaped diamond which weighs 30.82 carats.

Cartier purchased the diamond in 1910 and sold it to an Argentinian lady. It was set in a lily-of-the-valley corsage until Van Cleef & Arpels bought the gem in 1953 and reset it in a pendant of a necklace valued at $300,000 which was subsequently sold it to a European titled family. In 1959 Harry Winston, who is the famous Hollywood jeweller who supplies all the stunning pieces to stars during ceremonies like the Oscars, acquired the gem and sold it five years later mounted in a ring to Marjorie Merriweather Post who eventually donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC where it can still be seen.

The Porter Rhodes Diamond was considered to be the finest American diamond found up to 1880. It was discovered at the Kimberley Mine in South Africa by Mr Porter Rhodes who subsequently showed it to Queen Victoria who loved its great purity and beauty and Empress Eugénie said that it was "simply perfection”.

The Porter Rhodes was eventually sold to the London jewellery firm Jerwood & Ward, who had it re-cut in Amsterdam down to 56.60 carats and sold it to the Maharaja of Indore. He was a very wealthy man who abdicated in 1926 after a scandal had erupted over his affair with a dancer. In 1930 the second Duke of Westminster purchased it becoming the first of a long line of collectors ending with an influential American family who kept it for over thirty years before selling it to Lawrence Graff in 1987 who had it re-polished into a 54.04 carat diamond and mounted into a ring.

The history of the Hope Diamond began when the French merchant traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, purchased a large diamond from the Kollur mine in Golconda in India. It was triangular in shape and crudely cut with a colour was described as a "beautiful violet." It was believed to be cursed as it was the eye of an idol and had been stolen.

It was sold to King Louis XIV of France in 1668 and re-cut by Sieur Pitau, who was the court jeweller, into a 67 carat stone. It then became known as the "Blue Diamond of the Crown," or the "French Blue” and was set in gold and suspended on a neck ribbon which the king wore on ceremonial occasions.

After an attempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to flee France (they were subsequently beheaded) the jewels of the French Royal Treasury were turned over to the government and the French Blue diamond was stolen. In reappeared in 1812 when it was found in the possession of London diamond merchant, Daniel Eliason.

Rumour has it that it was acquired by King George IV of England, but when he died in 1830, debts were so enormous that the blue diamond was sold through private channels to the mega-rich Henry Philip Hope - the man from whom the diamond now takes its name. The Hope family were said to have been tainted with the diamond's curse as they went bankrupt. It remained in the family and eventually passed to Lord Francis Hope who ran up enormous gambling debts and was requested to sell the Hope diamond. Simon Frankel, an American jeweller, bought it in 1901 and took the diamond to the United States where it changed hands several times ending up with Pierre Cartier who mounted it in a pendant surrounded by sixteen white diamonds which are pear-shapes and cushion cuts. He sold it to Evelyn McLean who wore the Hope Diamond as a good luck charm, and a ball is soldered to the pendant where Mrs McLean would often attach other diamonds including the McLean diamond and the Star of the East. The necklace chain also contains 45 white diamonds.

It began its curse on the family when Mrs McLean’s first born son died in a car crash when he was only nine, her daughter committed suicide at 25 and her husband was declared insane and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1941. The diamond was put on sale two years after her death in 1949 in order to settle debts from her estate, and was bought by Harry Winston who loaned the Hope to socialites and celebrities on numerous occasions to be worn at balls to raise money for charity. Winston donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958 to act as the focal point of a new gem collection and to inspire others to donate.

The Hope Diamond’s most recent claim to fame is in the film Titanic starring Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet where the design of the infamous diamond necklace “The Heart of the Ocean” is based on the Hope Diamond.

This article was produced by The Diamond Store, an online Jewellery Store that specializes in the sale of all jewellery including: Diamond Stud Earrings, Diamond Hoop Earrings, Diamond Tennis Bracelets and Diamond Crosses.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Current Jewellery Fashion

The use of the internet to purchase jewellery is opening up global markets and we can now have our pick from a huge selection ranging from costume jewellery, chunky Boho chic, ethnic jewellery and limited edition designer pieces, as well as whole catalogues of diamonds, sapphires, pearls and other gemstones from jewellers all over the world. Online purchasing means more affordable prices, especially when metals and plastics such as titanium and acrylic are used instead of the more obvious platinum, gold or silver.

“Bling” is definitely in and as well as a demand for better quality diamonds, yellow metal gold is back in fashion in a big way with many craftsmen now using higher carat weights of gold with 18k, 22k and 24k gaining ground. As women become more independent they are deciding to treat themselves to a diamond right hand ring instead of waiting for one to be presented to her by the man of her dreams. Also coloured stones are big this season with off colour diamonds being treated with heat and radiation to create different shades. By far the most popular is the pink diamond, followed by pink tourmalines and pink sapphires.

Classic pearls are huge right now with advances in cultured pearl production offering a fantastic range of diamond and pearl earrings to choose from. Chinese freshwater pearls are now rivalling the quality of the Japanese Akoya ones and can be purchased at only a fraction of the cost. They are available in shades of pink, cinnamon, lavender, rose and blue as well as the traditional creamy white. Dyes and radiation are now also used to produce stunning colours like bright red which are worn in strands and as solitaire pendants.

Bangles are being worn on all the best dressed wrists (especially when scattered with diamonds) .With three quarter sleeves in fashion the wrist is very visible providing opportunities to draw attention to decorative watches, charm bracelets, timepieces and bangles in every imaginable material. One of the latest items to emerge as a fashion statement is the deep cuff slip on bangle.

Chandelier earrings are a good style to buy if you like the trend setting style of actresses like Keira Knightley. They look just as much at home with a pair of jeans and a T shirt as at the premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean”. The by word here is that with younger fashion you can dress up or down for any occasion and anything goes.

With the choice of so many different types of jewellery which is the style that best describes you? See if you recognise yourself in the table below which is only offered as a caricature:

Type	Lifestyle	Shops at	Jewellery style
Natural Healer	Dressed in kaftans reading Tarot cards while practising Feng Shui	Anywhere that sells organic, green or recycled products	Healing crystals/gemstones, bio magnets
Hippie Chick	Wears boho chic, kohl eyeliner and walks around barefoot	Ananda, Indian ethnic stores and flea markets	Ethnic jewellery, chandelier earrings and long carved strands of beads
Cocktail Madam	Materialistic, dresses stylishly and seductively	Azzarro, Vivienne Westwood, Browns, Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli	Cartier, Swarowski, Theo Fennell, Kenneth J Lane and Butler and Wilson
Teen Queen	Whatever the latest trend in Top Shop	Moschino Cheap and Chic, Top Shop and Warehouse	Loads of bling – sparkling earrings and bracelets, toe rings and handbag charms
Vintage Vamp	Antique lace, old knits and long flowing dresses and skirts	Flea markets, Ebay and antiques fairs	Antique drop earrings and rings, intricate bracelets and cameo on black ribbon

Whatever suits you best, you can be sure that there is a piece of jewellery with your name on it somewhere – hopefully at a price you can afford!

Purchasing Jewellery Online

Because an item of jewellery tends to be an expensive purchase it is no wonder that some people feel nervous buying goods from the internet. If it is used correctly the internet opens up a new way of shopping for millions offering convenience, ease of use and a huge source of information to help you make an informed purchase.

Many people still do not have confidence in the system having heard negative reports of identity theft, money being handed over and goods never arriving. For this reason we haveput together some advice and guidance for purchasing jewellery on the internet.

The two main pros for purchasing on line is that you can access jewellers from all over the world and therefore have an amazing range of products to choose from: and prices tend to be lower than the high street stores because internet jewellers have low overheads with no high street shop to maintain and they are often able to offer near break even prices. Also because the internet opens up the world as their marketplace, the competition is fierce and their volumes tend to be very high. Packaging and presentation tends to be superior quality.

Internet retailing does not permit the usual face to face sales techniques and deals can be harder to close. Online jewellers should therefore offer an excellent customer and after sales service to make their products the most attractive to prospective purchasers.

But the cons are:

•How do you know they are a legitimate trader?

•You cannot see what you are buying.

•If you are purchasing a diamond ring you might want to customise it and select an elaborate setting which can be quite tricky on the internet.

•Although it may be a glitzy-looking website, a less reputable online vendor might be operating out of their bedroom and shut down at any given moment.

The best ways of avoiding the cons are to put the following safeguards in place:

1.The vendor should have a RETAIL PREMISES ADDRESS. This should be a physical address with street name and postcode. Avoid those sites with just a PO Box number.

2.TELEPHONE NUMBER should always be a landline number, preferably an 0845 / 0800 number providing a dedicated customer service line. Always ring this to make sure it is authentic, manned during the specified hours and use it to have a chat with the customer service representatives to ascertain if they are helpful, professional and knowledgeable. If a mobile number is provided as the contact point treat this with caution.

3.EMAIL ADDRESS should be supplied to provide a direct link between the visitor and the customer service team. Always send an email using the facility asking them to contact you so that you can see how long they take to respond. If they take more than 24 hours to get back to you then the indication is that internet customers are not their priority. They should also offer an order tracking service via email.

4.COMPANY DETAILS. A UK company will have a VAT and company number on display and be registered at Companies House so that their details can easily be checked through that website.

5.CREDENTIALS. A reputable company will be a member of one of their industry trade associations having to abide by a Code of Ethics. You can check on the website of the trade association named that they are a full member. For example, an online jeweller should ideally be a member of the British Jeweller’s Association (BJA) Other reputable associations to keep a look out for are SAFEBUY www.safebuy.org.uk which is the internet industry self-regulatory body set up by the Consumers' Association and the Alliance for Electronic Business and is supported by the UK Government: and THE GOOD WEB GUIDE www.thegoodwebguide.co.ukwhich independently reviews the best websites online only giving an acceptable grade to the most informative, user-friendly and competitive ones.

6. PAYMENT An online payment facility is a good sign as it means that the company has been reviewed by one of the leading banks. But payment must made via a secure encrypted server which should be highlighted on the payments page along with the list of credit and debit cards that are accepted. The advantage of paying by credit card is that if anything does go wrong with a purchase in the UK the buyer is covered by the UK Consumer Credit Act 1974.

7. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE Distance selling regulations in the UK mean that a website is obliged to offer a minimum of a 7 day money back guarantee on the items it sells. The longer the refund period offered (14 or 30 days) the better it is for the customer. Make sure that you fully understand and agree the return and refund policy before placing your order.

8.TESTIMONIALS. There is no guarantee that any testimonials displayed on a website are genuine and vendors should have no objection if you request to be put in contact with one of reference sells.

9.PRODUCT WARRANTIES /GUARANTEES As it is not possible to physically touch and examine an item when purchasing online it needs to come with as much supporting documentation as possible. If you are buying diamond jewellery then it should have a Diamond Grading Certificates from one of the leading independent grading laboratories such as the IGI, GIA, AGS and EGLUSA. It is also worth checking that the vendor has some sort of proof that the stones are not conflict or blood diamonds.

All the above points are basic guidelines to help you establish whether an internet retailer is legitimate, reputable and professional. By working to these guidelines and carrying out product research you should be in a position to confidently make a successful online jewellery purchase.

The obvious products are the biggest sellers, diamond rings, diamond earrings and solitiare rings but gemstone rings are proving very very popular this year.

The Diamond Fanatic

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Different Styles of Diamond Earrings

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Really Big Diamonds

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Current Jewellery Fashion

Purchasing Jewellery Online

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