Expert Articles Resource

Tips For Choosing The Right Diamond Cut

By Article Expert on Nov. 16, 2009.

If you are thinking about purchasing a diamond ring for your special someone, whether it is for a proposal or an anniversary, it is important to think about the cut of the diamond. The diamond cut is important because it says a lot about a person. Here is some tips to choose the best diamond cut ring.

Diamond Cut And Her Style?

The most important thing to think about when choosing a diamond cutfor an engagement or anniversary ring is what is the recipient’s personal style? Most diamond cuts cue in to specific styles. For example, right now the princess cut diamond ring is extremely popular. A woman who likes trendy things and appreciates following the latest fashions and fads will love having a princess diamond cut ring. However, someone who is more eclectic and who might, for example, prefer second hand stores and antique shops to trendy boutiques would probably appreciate an antique diamond ring or a cushion cut diamond ring that harkens back to a few decades ago.

In addition, before buying an engagement or anniversary ring you should think about your special someone’s flashiness style. Does your special someone like to be bold and flashy or does she prefer to be demure and muted? If your special someone likes to be the center of the attention and to flash whatever new object she has, you will probably do best buying something big, bulky, and flashy. If your special someone is more demure and does not like being in the center of attention, a smaller diamond cut would be more appropriate.

Price Range Of Diamond Cuts

You should also think about your price range when deciding on a diamond cut. While most of the traditional diamond cuts like ovals, circles, and even cushion cuts are pretty equal in price range, some custom diamond cuts can be very pricey. It is possible to get a diamond cut into almost anything, whether it is a heart or a star or any other geometric shape. But custom cut diamonds can be very pricey. If you are looking for something unique but cannot afford to have the diamond made into a unique shape, try searching in antique stores. You can usually find some very interesting and possibly even one of a kind pieces in antique stores and you will not pay even a fraction of the cost of a new ring. Before shopping in antique stores make sure that your special someone is alright with getting a second hand ring.

Pearls: Freshwater or Saltwater?

By Article Expert on Nov. 15, 2009.

When most people think of pearls they picture perfectly round, smooth spheres, with an iridescent creamy white appearance. In fact pearls come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and to find a perfectly round one is rare, not to mention trying to make a whole necklace of pearls that are all more or less the same. Natural pearls are the rarest and most highly valued variety, but nowadays most pearl jewellery is made from cultured or farmed pearls, which are grown on pearl farms across the world by inserting a bead nucleus inside an oyster or mussel shell to encourage the formation of a pearl. Aside from whether a pearl has formed naturally or been farmed the other major varieties are the saltwater or freshwater pearl, each of which have their own qualities.

Saltwater pearls are found in pearl oysters which live in the ocean, and produce the classic round white or cream pearls that have remained so desirable and sought after throughout history. Cultured saltwater pearls are more likely to be round than those grown in freshwater farms as they are usually formed by artificially placing a rounded nucleus inside the oyster’s shell to enhance the shape. Cultured saltwater pearls like the Japanese Akoya pearl are usually more expensive than the freshwater ones as they are bigger and more regular in shape. It is still possible to find natural saltwater pearls in the ocean, but they are becoming more and more rare because of increased levels of pollution.

The most common type of pearl available today are freshwater pearls, which are mostly produced in China using freshwater mussels and come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Freshwater pearls come in the natural colours of whites, pinks, creams and lilacs but they are available as jewellery dyed in every colour of the rainbow. Freshwater pearls are easier to farm succesfully than saltwater pearls, making them cheaper to buy as jewellery, although less likely to be perfectly round or to find enough to make a whole string of the exact same size and colour.

How to Tell the Difference between Real and Fake Pearls

By Article Expert on Nov. 13, 2009.

Pearls come in many shapes and sizes whether they are real or not, and it’s not always easy to tell the difference between those that are genuine and those that are imitations. Even amongst genuine pearls there are many different classes of both natural and cultured varieties, all with their own different properties and all valued very differently as pearl jewellery. You don’t want to be fooled when buying pearls, so here are a few ways to help differentiate between real pearls, whether they are natural or cultured, and fakes

The Tooth Test
It’s said that if you rub a pearl against the biting edge of your front teeth, the texture of the surface will tell you whether or not it is genuine. Real pearls normally have a more rough, irregular texture whereas fakes are glassy and perfectly smooth. This isn’t really the most reliable method of testing, as many fake pearls are created to feel as real as possible and cultured pearls in particular can often be very smooth, especially if they are dyed.

The Sun Test
A slightly more reliable method is to take the pearls out in the sun and look closely at the lustre, or iridescence, that you see on the surface. Apart from extremely unusual and rare specimens, genuine pearls won’t be perfectly matched under the sun and you will be able to see slight imperfections in the colour and lustre.

Surface Magnification
Don’t underestimate the power of a magnifying glass – a closeup look at the pearl earrings, necklace or brooch can tell you a lot, and is one of the most effective ways of distinguishing between genuine and fake pearls. The surface of a real pearl is crossed with hundreds of tiny almost invisible crooked lines, giving them an almost scaly look under magnification. It also helps to look closely at the drill holes in the pearl, which in a real pearl will be as tiny as they can be because larger holes devalue the gem. Real pearls usually have holes drilled from either end, so the hole is much smaller in the middle of the pearl.

Shape
One of the most obvious ways to identify real pearl sets is to look closely at the shape of each pearl and whether or not they are close to being identical – real pearls are hardly ever perfectly round, and it is almost unheard of to find a whole string of pearls of exactly the same size, shape and weight. Real pearls that are regular in this way are extremely expensive, and if not they are probably fake.

X-Ray
The best way to be absolutely positive of a pearl’s authenticiety is to pay a certified gemologist to verify it. For a fee they will be able to x-ray the pearls, allowing you to see inside to any imperfections or variations in density and discovering how the pearl was first formed and what the nucleus was. To be worth paying the price you need to first be fairly sure that the pearl is genuine, but some fakes can be very convincing and it’s the only way to really be 100% sure without damaging the pearl.