Determining Best Value Diamonds

Diamonds are very expensive, which is why anyone who buys a diamond wants to make sure they are getting best value diamonds for the money they spend. When you buy a diamond from a jeweler, whether it is a retail location or a wholesaler, it should be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

The stones in GIA diamond rings have been analyzed and assessed by GIA, which is the world's largest non-profit gemological research institute. This institute grades only loose diamonds and when you are satisfied that you have a best value diamond, then you can choose the setting for the ring.

There are many ways in which diamonds are analyzed to determine whether they are conflict or non-conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds come from parts of the world where the sale of the diamonds is used to finance wars and acts of terrorism.

Such diamonds are not permitted to be imported into the US, Canada, and European countries. To make sure that such stones are best value diamonds in this regard, there is a process called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is not an appraisal of the value of the diamond, as you find with GIA diamond rings and IGI appraisals. Instead it is a certificate attesting to the fact that the diamond you purchase has not been mined or bought from one of the countries on the list of those associated with blood diamonds.

This process lays down a minimum requirement for the shipping of diamonds all over the world and must accompany diamonds shipped into the country, especially from African countries. In this way, you know that you have best value diamonds in that no one has been harmed in the mining process and that the money from the sale will not be used for killing.

Appraisal of the diamonds is the best way to find if you have best value diamonds. GIA diamond rings and IGI appraisals look at four main features of the diamonds in order to assess its value. This is called the four C's of diamond rating and each stone is assigned a letter grade according to the system.

The GIA actually instituted this system of rating that is now used internationally. The report you receive is very thorough and covers just about everything you want to know about the diamond you have purchased or are considering purchasing.

The four C's of best value diamonds refer to the cut, clarity, carat and color of the diamond. Just because a diamond is white and shiny does not mean that it is of good quality because there may be imperfections in the stone that only a certified gemologist can discover.

Many people look at the carat of the diamond, which is its weight, but the other features are just as important. There are five main cuts of diamonds, for example, and if the cutter is a master at the trade, then cuts will be done to perfection. A poorly cut 2-carat diamond may not be as good a value for the money as a smaller size with a perfect cut.

The closer a diamond is to having no color whatsoever, the greater its value. Diamonds that are pale yellow in color are not the best value diamonds to buy because these have a lower rating on the scale. The most highly rated diamonds are those with the letter grades of D, E and F. However, there are also fancy diamonds which are very valuable showing colors of pink, green, blue and bright yellow. These are very rare and are therefore very expensive.

Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in best value diamonds from IGI appraisals and GIA diamond rings. For design-your-own diamond jewelery, check out http://www.diamondwave.com/.

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All That Glitters - 2009 Gold Jewelry Trends

It is a brand new year, and change has come in so many ways. After a tumultuous 2008 around the globe, we can only have hope that 2009 will begin a wonderful new year of love and beauty. Gold jewelry, always in fashion, has trends that change with the way the world evolves through the seasons. 2009 is no exception, and there are lots of fun, new looks in gold jewelry to try in the beginning of this new year.

Centerpieces as jewelry? You may not want to grab your fruit bowl and hang it around a chain on your neck just yet, but one the hottest trends emerging this year look like something you might see on the middle of a dining room table. A gold chain is wrapped in beautiful, vibrant stones in various shapes and colors, creating an effect unlike any other. The necklaces look like a stunning bouquet of flowers and also like a clear bowl full of smooth, warm stones. This look can either be paired with a simple pair of gold hoop earrings to let the necklace take center stage, or you can dare to be bold and wear outlandish earrings to match.

Topaz and crystals and gold-oh my! What is so stunning about this combination? Everything. Topaz is a really brightly colored gemstone, and paired with the subtle clarity of crystal, it is allowed to shine. If these gemstones were paired with any type of silver, the silver would just blend in to the other cool colors and the overall effect would trend toward drab instead of vibrant. When you throw in some gold, however, the jewelry instantly warms up and becomes a more versatile piece. Jewelry with this color combination will be seen on runways everywhere this spring-start looking for ways to incorporate it into your springs outfits.

Combining new with the old is one of the hottest trends for 2009. Designers are taking old concepts and old pieces of jewelry and combining them with newer pieces to create something completely fresh and wholly unique. Some of the pieces you might see have a Gothic feel to them, looking like a corset would look around a neck complete with the strings, beading and Gothic gold crosses.

If you loved the gold cuffs that were stacked upon wrists in the 1980's, then you will be thrilled to hear that this look is making a triumphant return for 2009. The sleek gold cuffs are easily paired with any going out look you can pull together, and they can be appropriate for work time as well. This gold trend should be easily affordable for all consumers, because even if you can't afford cuffs from a company like Tiffany, you will be able to track down a look-alike for a fraction of the cost and no one will be the wiser.

Keep an eye out for big, bold necklaces with metal shapes ranging from items like flags to origami shapes, strung to make and fun, funky and modern necklace. Jewelry designers this season are utilizing brass and gold in these unique shapes, making each necklace look like a piece of wearable art. If you have an eye for something that will catch everyone else's eye, these pieces are what you should be looking for. A piece like an origami bird necklace by one of this season's up and coming jewelry designers in the colors copper, silver, and gold will easily stand out against any spring garment this year.

While gold is the common thread between all of the hot jewelry trends for 2009, you can see that the trends range some simple and elegant to vintage to modern and edgy. No matter your style, you will be able to find a piece of gold jewelry to match this year.

Leigh Maher researches and writes about Celtic jewelry, and specialises in Celtic wedding rings, engagement rings and bridal jewelry. Click here for more information about Celtic wedding rings.

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How to Discover Your Gold Value - Breaking Down the Formula

Gold Value Calculations - The Formula We Need to Break:

G'day again and welcome to my special three part submission on just how appraisers and Valuers arrive at an appraisal or Valuation Replacement price by using formulas and calculations to arrive at a final figure.

It is during this process that we can understand just what we have to do to arrive at a valuation or GOLD VALUE based on four parts of the appraisers puzzle.

The first thing you have to do is find out the price of Gold today. While this is NOT absolutely necessary nor does it need to be done to the very cent - we do need a benchmark figure to start with.

Generally this price can be found around the Internet such as Kitco or any of the finance sites like Yahoo etc. You may even hear it on the evening news or quoted in the paper. Either way, it's simply the starting point to our gold value calculations.

As we are going to use a wedding ring in this example, even though the same system applies to bracelets, chains, bangles and necklaces, earrings and brooches or mens jewelry like cuff-links or tie-bars, we are going to keep it very simple and basic.

In fact I am going to use my own wedding band in this case study because it 'fits the bill' as it were.

It has NO gemstones - remember we said that this system of valuation would only work on items which does NOT have diamonds or gemstones of any type. It also can be considered quite plain and without any handmade workmanship of any kind.

If you needed these things taken into the Gold Value Calculation then you would need an enhanced version of this formula - which is actually available - or you would need to complete an Online Jewelry Appraisal (available at the website) or see your local qualified and FRIENDLY jeweler-appraiser-gemologist.

• The Wedding ring is made from 9 carat (karat) gold and is in yellow gold and weighs 5 grams.

The ring, together with the price of gold is all we need to break this formula down. Please remember though, that gold fluctuates daily and that is why many appraisers and valuers use a kind of moving average price to 'Smooth Out' the hills and troughs in the price to avoid the spikes seen in gold.

After all - you wouldn't expect to see the price of gold jewelry change in the local Shopping Mall and High Street Jewelers on a day by day basis would you? Just because Gold went up (or down) last night doesn't mean the prices of wedding bands will be different tomorrow in the jewelers window.

So lets take a simple value based on today's price - which at the time of writing is approximately $883 US Dollars per ounce and is sometimes referred to as the 'Spot Gold Price'.

So lets use that figure in our example as we break the Gold Formula down...

The actual formula is this: G/32/24xQxW

That is: G divided by 32 divided by 24 multiplied by Q and multiplied by W Phew!

Now remember the Golden Rule (hey another pun!) DON'T PANIC...

Let's take each part and Break it into something we can understand. This is supposed to be 'Simple' right?

• The G part at the beginning of the formula is just the price of gold today (833)
• The Q part near the end is the Quality of the gold you are evaluating (9)
• The W on the end is the weight of your jewelry (5)

Told you it was easy...

The 32 and the 24 I'll explain shortly. Stay with me here - you'll soon get the hang of this.

So - lets substitute the numbers into the formula for the Wedding Band example. If you are using your own jewelry item, then change the numbers for your item, although it might help to go through my explanation first.

The formula ( G/32/24xQxW ) becomes: G=883 the spot price of gold, with Q=9 the quality of the ring (9 carat) and W=5 which is the weight of the band.

This all comes out to... 883/32/24x9x5 Let's break it a little more.

The 32 is equal to the number of grams in one ounce and the 24 is equal to the number of carats in pure gold.

So that's it - that's how it works. Or to put it in one sentence...

$833 dollars for 1 ounce of pure gold is divided by 32 grams to find out what the value is of one gram of PURE gold and therefore is divided again by 24 to discover what 1gram of 1 carat (karat) of gold at today's price is worth.

Then all we have to do is MULTIPLY that figure by the quality in our jewelry (which was 9 carat) because that gives us 1 gram of 9 carat gold at today's price - and then multiply THAT by the weight - which was 5 grams.

ie: $51.738275 in basic gold value - Told you it was easy.

But we have NOT yet arrived at the retail or replacement price yet, because this is based on the 'Spot Price' of gold and NOT the price in the shop window.

For that we will have to look at the final part in this three part series to see how the jewelry trade all make money before you buy it.

There is also a far easier way if you use the Gold Value Calculator Tool available on the Website. But we'll keep that for the next lesson in this series on How To Discover Your Gold Value

David Foard has spent over 35 years in the Jewelry Trade as a qualified gemologist and member of the Valuers Council and is currently the resident appraiser and software developer at the Jewelry Appraisal Center.

To find out more about doing an Online Jewelry Appraisal for yourself, go to his main website at: http://www.online-jewelry-appraisals.com/ where there are hundreds of articles, hints, tips and secrets to jewelry and gemstone valuations.

You can also sign up to get discounts and specials including the Gold Value Calculator available here: http://www.online-jewelry-appraisals.com/gold-value-calculator

gemmo1@online-jewelry-appraisals.com

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