Don’t be Fooled by Enhanced Diamonds

The phrase ‘too good to be true’ can be applied to everything in life, including diamond jewelry. If you find a cheap engagement ring or bridal ring, or see signs for wholesale diamond rings, be sure that the seller isn’t cutting their price by cutting quality. While there are excusive retailers who can offer you genuine designer diamond rings and other natural diamond jewelry at a great price, many offer low prices because they are using enhanced diamonds.

Unlike high quality natural diamonds, enhanced diamonds are inferior stones that have been artificially treated to hide cracks, repair ugly inclusions and improve their color. These treatments are unnerving by any standard and include laser drilling and boiling in sulfuric acid to remove black or dirty inclusions, exposure to radiation to enhance or change the stone’s color, placing the diamond in extreme heat and pressure to improve clarity, using a sealant to hid cracks and pits in the diamond, and being coated with a substance to add a reflective effect.

While all of these treatments can result in a gemstone that is cheaper than a natural diamond, don’t be fooled. Enhanced diamonds cost less because they are lower quality, and therefore less valuable. In fact, there is heated debate in the jewelry industry about the use of treatments to enhance diamonds, as it can make stones difficult to grade and certify accurately.

Under US law , all enhanced diamonds must be declared and sold as such. One of the most common practices to enhance diamonds that must be declared is laser drilling to dissolve inclusions to improve clarity. These holes are clearly visible under a jeweler’s microscope and it is debated whether or not this process damages the integrity of stone.

The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is the leading organization in studying and grading diamonds and all other gemstones, and they also require that all diamonds that have been laser drilled must be disclosed as enhanced. When buying diamond jewelry make sure it comes with a clear appraisal that discloses full information about each stone.

If clear information about stone enhancements is not immediately available, or a customer service rep does not want to talk about this process openly then walk away and look elsewhere for a natural, high quality diamond.

Unfortunately, just because a diamond has not been laser drilled does not mean that it hasn’t been subjected to other enhancement treatments such as a being boiled in sulfuric acid. Most inferior stones actually have fractures that extend to the surface from inclusions deep in the stone that allow the acid to travel into the inclusion without holes being bored.

Would you consider buying a diamond ring if you knew the diamond had been immersed in sulfuric acid? Or buy a diamond bracelet that had been exposed to radiation? Would you buy any kind of gemstone jewelry that you knew had cracks that had to be filled with a sealant?

The GIA has announced that new treatments to artificially enhance diamonds are being developed all the time, making it more difficult for customers to identify and buy a genuine, natural diamond. They have reported finding diamonds being sold with “an uneven texture with abundant fractures” and “unevenness in their color”[1] although they couldn’t identify what techniques had been used to treat the stone. Another report noted that High Press/ Heat Treated (HPHT) annealing of diamonds is “one of the most serious challenges the diamond industry has ever faced”[2]

This worrying trend makes it even more important to only buy diamond jewelry from a source that you trust, and who are dedicated to only creating designer diamond jewelry using the highest quality, natural diamonds. Look for sites that advertise that they don’t use enhanced diamonds, and have clear certification for all of their diamond jewelry from

While enhancements may not be visible to the naked eye, they will certainly be visible to a trained jeweler or appraiser. While you may not be immediately concerned about the resale price of your diamond bracelet, engagement ring or gold diamond ring, any valuable piece of diamond jewelry is an investment in the future, and you will certainly want to make sure that any jewelry passed down from generation to generation is the highest value that it can be.


Sources:
[1] http://www.gia.edu/newsroom/issue/2798/1003/insider_newsletter_details.cfm#4
[2] http://www.gia.edu/gemsandgemology/18578/1826/524/back_issue_article_detail.cfm

Mystical Aquamarine, The March Birthstone.

Aquamarine gemstones vary in color and intensity, depending on their quality, and come in a range of shades from the pale blue of a waterfall to the strong azure of a deep ocean. Some aquamarine's also display a slight sea green tinge. It is this similarity to water colors that earned the stone it's name, which literally meant 'sea water' in the ancient Italian used by Romans. Aquamarine jewelry was popular even then, with gemstones rin, earrings, necklaces and brooches. Aquamarine gemstones have also been believed to hold many mystical powers related to water. It was thought to be able to purify water and grant it special healing powers, and early mystics would place aquamarine gemstones into vessels of water to be used in their healing and divination rituals. In the Middle Ages, the stone was also thought to have been a powerful antidote, and was used to treat poisoning.
Modern day healers still believe that Aquamarine has healing properties, particularly against infections, and it is said that wearing aquamarine earrings or an aquamarine necklace can help to ease the symptoms of tonsillitis and throat infections.
Sailors also believed that aquamarine gemstones would protect them at sea, guarding against evil spirits and helping to bring them good fortune on their journeys, so they created necklaces using the gemstone as a talisman.
Traditionally, aquamarine is said to bring good fortune to those who wear it, and many believe that the stone can rekindle romance, and increase trust and harmony in relationships. For this reason, aquamarines make a sentimental and meaningful choice of gemstone to add to a diamond eternity ring, or other designer ring. Aquamarine gemstones look truly beautiful in rings, and their soft blue shade is bound to be admire and appreciated by everyone.
The stones are found all over the world, but most gemstones used in designer rings, necklaces and earrings come from mines in Brazil and Russia. Aquamarine jewelry is highly desirable, as most of these gemstones are naturally pure with few blemishes, inclusions or other flaws. This means that they are also more affordable than some other gemstones such as sapphires. Pale, sparkling aquamarines make beautiful but cheap engagement rings, and there is no reason why a semi precious engagement ring should look any less beautiful than a diamond engagement ring. They also symbolize security and safety for long term relationships, so what better gemstone to use in a designer engagement ring
Aquamarine comes from the 'beryl' family of stones and is closely related to the emerald. emerald gemstones are more rare, and therefor more expensive, but they make beautiful emerald and diamond rings, and emerald stud earrings look great with any outfit. Aquamarine or emerald jewelry make ideal gifts for loved ones with birthdays in March. Or why not treat your Mom to a stunning 3 stone emerald diamond ring for Mother's Day