The Nature of Diamonds

As the hardest natural material on the planet, diamonds have always held a unique position amongst the minerals of the earth. Some diamonds found in South America and Africa were actually created in outer space and deposited on Earth as a result of the asteroid showers that took place about 3 billion years ago. However, the vast majority of the diamonds on the planet were created over the course of millions of years just below the continental plates of the Earth’s crust.

While most of the world considers the word diamond almost synonymous with their use in jewelry, more than 80% of the world’s diamonds have industrial not commercial gemstone applications. Due to a diamond’s hardness and its ability to with stand high temperatures, most industrial diamond is embedded in the grinding, drilling cutting and polishing tools that power industry. With the creation of synthetic, man made diamonds more applications in the electronics and computer industries have become possible.

The history of diamonds as gemstones begins in India at least 3000 years ago, where they were used as adornments for religious statutes. Until the 18th century, India was the primary source for the world’s diamonds, being replaced at that time by Brazil. In the late 19th century South Africa became the primary source of diamonds, and up until today South Africa still accounts for almost half of the world’s diamonds. Many other countries contribute to the balance of diamonds in the world, including Russia, Australia, Canada, the Congo and Brazil. While the diamonds used as gemstones are primarily white, diamonds come in a variety of colors ranging from black and varying shades of brown, yellow, and pink. There are also very rare instances where green, blue, and red diamonds have been found. This last group of diamonds, those with a color other than white are sometimes called “fancies” or “fancy colored diamonds” and depending on the exact shade or color of the diamond command a premium price way in excess of what a similar white diamond might command.

Diamond in its raw form is called “rough diamond” and in many instances looks nothing like its brilliant and sparkling cousin. After being taken from the mines this “rough diamond” is sorted and graded by its size and potential shape and quality. It is then sold or traded through a series of dealers before ending up in a diamond-cutting factory where it is polished into the form that most people are familiar with. This done mostly in Europe, specifically Antwerp, Belguim where about 80% of all rough diamond is traded. The vast majority of diamonds are then sent to cutting factories, smaller stones going to India and the larger staying in Antwerp, or going to other major cutting centers in Israel or New York. Today, with modern methods of shaping and faceting the stones, diamonds are polished to near mathematical perfection guaranteeing brilliance, proportion and luster. These polished diamonds are then resorted and graded by their shape, size, color and clarity to be sold to dealers all over the world where they are ultimately used to create all the many different styles and types of jewelry that are available to the public.

The business of Diamonds is truly a global business with sales of all grades of diamond totaling more almost $9 billion US dollars a year. The growth of this business has been clearly fueled by the increased affluence of societies all over the world and their desire to own and wear gem quality diamonds as well as the many industrial uses this unique mineral provides.

To Platinum or Not to Platinum

In the almost fifty years that my family has been in jewelry manufacturing business I‘ve seen jewelry fashion trends come and go, from the heavy 14kt yellow gold “door knocker’ type earrings of the 1960’s to the current fashion trends of silver, white gold, and platinum. Platinum’s history dates back to the time of the Inca’s in the pre Columbian society of Ecuador, but was not introduced to Europe until the mid 1500’s. While first discovered in South America, today the vast majority of platinum is mined in South Africa, with substantial quantities also coming from Russia and Canada. The are even small amounts of platinum mined in the United States.

Platinum is truly a rare metal with less that 2 ½ tons of the metal being produced worldwide each year, and per onze or unit it has always been the most expensive of the three precious metals. By comparison the United States alone produces more than 1200 tons of silver yearly. Outside of its use in the jewelry industry, platinum has a variety of other uses, not the least of which is in the automobile industry as a catalyst used in the assembly of catalytic converters. Platinum is also used in the manufacture of various electronics, medicines, and auto parts.

While today’s fashion trends favor a white metal over yellow, platinum has many other unique qualities which make it ideal for use in the jewelry industry. Platinum is an extremely dense metal and per unit is twice the weight of gold. This make a platinum piece of jewelry twice as heavy as the same piece in either white or yellow gold. Because of the denseness of the metal it will usually wear better and last longer. It is an extremely strong metal and platinum pieces can be fashioned more delicately and intricately than gold pieces with no fear of compromising the integrity or strength of the jewelry. For example, the screw posts on a pair of platinum earrings will maintain the screw thread longer than those on the same gold posts.

There is also a much greater percentage of platinum in a platinum piece of jewelry that gold in a gold piece of jewelry. Traditionally platinum jewelry is 90 to 95% platinum with 5 to 10% alloy added to the platinum to make it easier to fabricate and work with. Even 18kt gold, on the other hand is only 75% gold, with the remaining 25% a mixture of different alloys which are used for the same purpose in addition to turning yellow gold to white gold. Because Platinum is naturally a silvery white metal and does not oxidize or change color it will retain its luster for a very long time. All white gold on the other hand is plated with a metal called rhodium at the time of its manufacture and will need to be replated from time to time.

Jewelry trends do come and go, but platinum has always been used in the most highly fashioned and expensive pieces of jewelry. Whether from Harry Winston or Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels or Cartier, platinum has always held a special place for designers in their creation of some of the worlds most spectacular pieces of jewelry. Platinum jewelry when combined with either diamonds or colored stones give thoses stones added importance and luster due to the reflective qualities of the metal. Platinum brings out the specialness of each stone by focusing your attention to the sparkle of a white diamond in a perfectly white metal. It enhances the color of any stone, by offering a stark contrast with its own luster of pure platinum. Jewelry made from platinum will offer its owner a lifetime of use and pleasure and provide an heirloom worth passing to the next generation.