The World of Jewelry and Gemstones

When you think of diamonds, South Africa might come to mind, but South Africa hasn’t been a major producer of diamonds for decades. In fact, one the rising stars in diamond production is Canada. Since major commercial mining operations began in 1991, Canada has risen to become the 3rd largest diamond producer in the world. Canada produced 15% of the world’s supply of diamonds in 2003. According to Statistics Canada: “Not only is Canada rich in diamonds, it is rich in high quality diamonds. From 1998 to 2002 roughly 13.8 million carats have been mined, collectively worth $2.8 billion. This is roughly a 1.5-kilogram bag of ice each day for five years, with each bag worth $1.5 million.”

Ruby is the rarest gemstone in the world, even rarer than diamond. In 30 years of attending large international trade shows, I have seen less than five decent quality rubies over 9 carats. By contrast, I could go to one diamond cutter’s booth that specializes in large diamonds and look at 15 to 20 diamonds from 10 to 50 carats. Although no one is keeping track, experts have estimated that rubies are 100 times rarer than diamonds. When comparing rubies and diamonds over 2 carats, my guess is that rubies are thousands of times rarer.

A common misconception is that the Hope Diamond is the largest diamond in the world. It may be the most famous diamond, but at 45.52 carats, it is not even close to being the largest. The largest faceted diamond is the Golden Jubilee, a monster 545.67 carat fancy yellow-brown diamond.

There is a big difference between a synthetic gemstone and an imitation gemstone. A synthetic gemstone is a man-made gemstone. It is chemically the same as its natural counterpart. On the other hand, an imitation gemstone is a completely different substance. For instance, an imitation diamond may be glass, quartz, or a cubic zirconia. A synthetic diamond is chemically the same as a mined diamond, but it was made by man in a laboratory.

Synthetic and imitation gemstones are always less valuable than natural gemstones.

Who keeps the ring when an engagement is broken? Jewelers Vigilance Committee addresses the issue in this article. Who Keeps the Ring? “The invitations were sent out, the wedding cake was ordered. Mary lost several nights sleep over the perfect flower arrangements and even more over her dress. Then the unthinkable happened. Her fiancé Paul called to tell her that the wedding was off. While Mary was still trying to digest the news, Paul casually asked her to kindly return the engagement ring that he gave her. She gasped and almost fainted on the spot. Hanging up with Paul, her next call was to her lawyer, just to make sure that her ex-fiancés request was absolutely ridiculous.”

From BBC News:

“Twinkling in the sky is a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats, astronomers have discovered.
The cosmic diamond is a chunk of crystallised carbon, 4,000 km across, some 50 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Centaurus.

It’s the compressed heart of an old star that was once bright like our Sun but has since faded and shrunk.

Astronomers have decided to call the star “Lucy” after the Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds….”

Read the entire article here.

Ammonia is a good choice for cleaning jewelry, but tarnished sterling silver jewelry must not be soaked in the same jar or bowl as gold jewelry. If tarnished sterling silver jewelry is cleaned in any solution with ammonia, the used solution should NEVER be used to clean gold. If you do not follow these directions, the gold jewelry will become silver plated. You will have to bring it to a jeweler to remove the silver plating.

As a lifelong member of the jewelry trade I was pleased to see Dateline do an expose’ on the jewelry trade even though a story like this can hurt my business. It hurts the honest as well as the the dishonest because when a couple is trying to decide whether to buy a diamond or go on a cruise for their 10th anniversary, they may conclude,”I don’t know if I’m getting a good deal on the diamond but I do know when I’m having a good time. Let’s go on the cruise”. Personally, I have refused to participate in the practice of using inflated appraisal prices and overgraded certificates to decieve the customer, but I have had many suppliers request that I use these tactics. Some have even asked me to use the International Gemological Institute(IGI) reports sited on the TV expose’. I thought Cap Beesley’s (who is highly regarded in the trade) comments in the article concerning the accepted tolerances within the trade due to the subjective nature of diamond grading, although true, missed the mark. If virtually all of the diamonds are over graded then the issue is no longer inherent subjectivity or tolerances. The isssue is INTEGRITY! Industry leaders, I fear, are reluctant to come out with the whole truth as it may hurt the whole jewelry industry, which will ultimately affect their personal livelihood. In the industry it is widely understood that there are numerous certifiers and appraisers that will supply over grading and high evaluations and we know who they are. IGI is notorious for exactly the kind of deception Dateline uncovered. These deceptive marketing ploys are widely used by big box stores and large chain jewelers. J.C.Penny was convicted of using deceptive pricing and also of using deceptive statements in disclosing fracture filled diamonds. They were fined a substantial amount of money as a consequence. Have the mass merchants responded by straightening up their act or do they consider the fines just the cost of doing business? Are independent jewelers immune from this scourge? Not entirely because they have lost so many sales where a 30% to 50% discount from a big box store is still higher than their regular price. Some will conclude if you can’t beat them, join them. So, can an average consumer protect him/herself ? Yes! 1) If it seems to good to be true, it is. 2)The consumer should become as educated in the four C’s as they can. You should never give a sales pitch more weight than what your eyes and gut feeling tells you. I would never buy a diamond from a piece of paper. I have to see the diamond. This is true for the consumer as well. 3) The independent jeweler has self intrest constraining his/her behavior that the mass merchants do not share. The independent jeweler will personally confront or interact with his customers on a daily basis, at the store, in church, and in his neighborhood year in and year out whereas the staff in a big box jewelry department rarely stays the same from one year to the next. Also, if an independent jeweler where convicted of the same crimes as J.C.Penny they would likely be put out of business. 4) If the consumer wants a certificate they can trust, they should limit themselves to AGS and GIA. I am not suggesting that these are the only honorable certifiers, but these two are widely available and should be used by virtually all jewelry stores. If a merchant has no AGS or GIA certified diamonds available, the red flags should go up. They may be using the very marketing strategies exposed by Dateline.

I was watching TV and saw this investigative report about appraisals and diamond grading. It wasn’t news to us, but I’m sure folks outside the jewelry industry don’t know how appraisals and diamond grading certificates can vary quite a bit depending on who provides them. That is why you should do business with a jeweler you trust. The article is an interesting read. Below is a small excerpt. “It’s just a polished lump of carbon, but really a diamond is so much more. It’s often the most precious and meaningful piece of jewelry people buy. Last year, Americans spent an estimated $30 billion on diamonds. But how can people be sure of what they’re getting for their money? Is there such a thing as “a deal” when it comes to diamonds? A “Dateline” hidden camera investigation uncovered secrets about how diamonds are evaluated and sold….” Read the entire article here.