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| Cubic Zirconia |
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Cubic Zirconia - also known as CZ - is a man-made gemstone that closely resembles a diamond.Widely regarded by jewellery designers as the best diamond simulant available today, CZ gemstones are well established as an affordable alternative to diamonds as well as an important fashion statement in themselves.CZ gemstones look exactly like good quality diamonds but at the fraction of the price. Most people cannot tell the difference between CZ and diamonds.
Comparison with Diamonds
Most Gemmologists agree that CZ is the finest diamond simulant because it comes closest to matching the physical characteristics of a diamond. In fact, it is very difficult, even for a professional, to tell the difference between diamond and CZ using the naked eye!In appearance, the following characteristics make CZ looks just like a superior quality diamond:
Colour – CZ is normally manufactured in "colourless" form but it can also be produced in various colours – pink, blue, green and yellow. Colourless CZ is equivalent to D-colour diamonds - the best diamond colour available.
Clarity – CZ is grown in a laboratory controlled environment. If the CZ does not show perfect clarity, it is simply not used. The finest CZ’s are flawless - perfect in clarity. Flawless CZ is equivalent to flawless clarity diamonds. This is best diamond clarity available.
Carat weight – CZ is about 75% heavier than diamond. The size of a CZ gemstone is referred to in carats only as a comparison to diamonds. CZ gemstones are more accurately measured in millimetres, referring to the diameter i.e. 6.5mm or length or width i.e. 12mmx8mm.
Cut – the finest CZ is precision cut and polished according to the ideal proportions demanded in fine diamond cutting. Precision cutting allows maximum brilliance and dispersion.
Hardness: There are very few substances on earth harder than CZ. With a hardness rating of 8.5 on Moh’s hardness scale, CZ comes close to matching a diamond’s perfect 10. CZ is harder than topaz and natural emerald.
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| Enamel |
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Enamel is glass (a combination of silica and soda ash with the addition of small amounts of metal oxides to give the glass its colour) and is fused to metal at 800°C.
The process of enameling is one of the most demanding among the metalworkers' and jewellers' skills. The enameller requires a whole spectrum of technical expertise - the chemistry of glazes, kiln temperatures as well as the ability to construct metal forms suitable to contain the intended designs.
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| How to choose your diamond |
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Prices are set on the quality and size of the diamond. You need to look out for the FOUR ‘C’s: Colour, Carat, Clarity and Cut.
Colour:
Diamonds with very little colour are the most highly valued and are priced accordingly. Top of the scale is ‘D’, which is colourless, going down to ‘Z’, which is yellow.
Carat:
Carat is the weight of the diamond. 1 carat being 100 points which is 200 milligrams. Sizes can go from 1 point to one of the largest diamonds in the world being 108 carats, the KOH-I-NOOR (Mountain of light) which is part of the crown jewels.
The most popular sizes of a solitaire engagement ring range from ½ to 2 ½ carat.
Clarity:
Clarity is a measure of the number and extent of the flaws in the diamond. The fewer the flaws, the more valuable the diamond.
FL: Completely flawless
IF: Internally flawless; only external flaws are present, which can be removed by further polishing the stone.
VVS1 - VVS2: Only an expert can detect flaws with a 10X microscope. If an expert can see a flaw from the top of the diamond, it is a VVS2. If an expert can only detect flaws when viewing the bottom of the stone, then it is a VVS1.
VS1 – VS2: You can see flaws with a 10X microscope but they are extremely hard to find.
SI1 - SI2: The flaws are slightly larger and more apparent then VS. You still need to locate the flaws with a 10X microscope.
I1 - I3: You can see flaws with the naked eye. Consider avoiding I2-I3 diamonds.
Cut:
The cut of a diamond gives it its sparkle, its fire.
Too Shallow: Light is lost out of the bottom causing the diamond to lose brilliance.
Too Deep: Light escapes out of the sides causing the diamond to appear dark and dull.
 
Polish and symmetry are two important aspects of the cutting process. The polish grade describes the smoothness of the diamond's facets, and the symmetry grade refers to alignment of the facets.
Ideal cut: Represents roughly the top 3% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects nearly all light that enters the diamond. An exquisite and rare cut.
Very good cut: Represents roughly the top 15% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects nearly as much light as the ideal cut, but for a lower price.
Good cut: Represents roughly the top 25% of diamond quality based on cut. Reflects most light that enters. Much less expensive than a very good cut.
Fair cut: Represents roughly the top 35% of diamond quality based on cut. Still a quality diamond, but a fair cut will not be as brilliant as a good cut.
Poor cut: This includes all diamonds that do not meet the proportion standards of a fair cut. These diamonds are deep and narrow or shallow and wide and tend to lose most of the light out the sides and bottom.
Ideal proportions for a diamond
In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky calculated the ideal proportions of a round diamond as part of his Ph.D. thesis in Mathematics. An "ideal cut," according to Tolkowsky, has the following characteristics:
- Round in shape, and brilliant-cut (58 facets)
- Depth percentage: 59%
- Table percentage: 53%
- Crown height percentage: 16%
- Pavilion depth percentage: 43%
- Girdle thickness: Medium and even all the way around the diamond
- Symmetry: Perfect
- Perfectly aligned and formed facets
- Very small or absent culet
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| Mother Of Pearl |
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Mother of Pearl is a more affordable way to acquire the lustre of pearl jewelry. It is the lining of the shell that houses the pearl.
Mother-of-Pearl is defined as the hard, smooth, pearly, iridescent, nacreous layers that make up the inner surface of a pearl-producing mollusk's shell. According to Webster's Dictionary, the name has been around since the 1500s and no one seems to mind that it isn't really a pearl's mother at all. In fact, it should probably be called House of Pearl. The pearl's mother is the living mussel, for it is the living organism that lays down the aragonite and calcite that forms both the nacre of the pearl and Mother of Pearl.
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| Rhodium Plating |
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Rhodium is the most tarnish resistant member of the platinum metals group. As a protective coating, rhodium finishing virtually eliminates any chance of surface discolouring, even when exposed to extreme environmental conditions under normal temperatures. The surface hardness of plated rhodium is also highly resistant to incidental scratching and abrasion. In fact, with the exception of nickel plated surfaces, rhodium plated finishes are best in class for wearability amongst the precious metals.
As a result, rhodium's remarkable anti-tarnish characteristics have made it the ideal candidate for protecting the surface finish on white gold jewellery items, tableware, and other decorative objects. The most popular candidate for rhodium plated finishes have been objects constructed from sterling silver. Sterling silver has a tendency to quickly form surface tarnish from exposure to sulfur and other contaminants found in our normal environment. Contact with skin oils, perfumes and other common household chemicals can accelerate the rate of discolouring. Used as protective coating, a rhodium plated finish virtually eliminates the need for frequent cleaning and polishing on all sterling silver objects.
There are, however, some cosmetic trade offs when using rhodium plating over silver. All polished metals reflect light differently from each other. High polished rhodium finishes absorb more of the visible light spectrum than sterling silver surfaces. Rhodium reflects about 75% to 80% of incidental light. By contrast, a high polished silver finish will reflect upwards of 95% of all incidental light rays. However, due to the fact that rhodium does not tarnish easily, a rhodium plated finish will ultimately remain "brighter" much longer than unprotected silver.
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