The fact is the jewelry industry in undergoing major changes, the fact that we have this web page is just indication of this.

In this current editorial we would like to address a major change facing the jewelry industry today: Diamond pricing and representation of quality. It never ceases to amaze us that so many people will purchase such an expensive item as a diamond and only take the word of the seller as to what kind of a diamond the stone is. Is the seller a Gemologist? Are they a Graduate Gemologist? Did they earn their degree thru the mail (correspondence) or did they actually attend the Gemological Institute of America in residence to acquire the degree? Or are have they taken "some courses" or "don't need that stuff because of all their experience"? The truth is a diamond is graded by several factor and these factors are not opinions but facts that state the exact grade of the stone. What is happening today (and believe us it is a huge problem) is gross over grading and misrepresentation of diamonds. We have this word of caution for you, if it sounds to good to be true then the smart person walks away! Please be careful, shop around but insist that a diamond is either accompanied by a GIA or AGS certificate or that it has been graded by a Certified Gemologist Appraiser member of the American Gem Society. And finally know what you are comparing when you compare two different stones; know that two diamonds can weigh the same, have the same exact color and clarity grades and still one stone can be much more valuable that the other not necessarily because one seller is "making more money" on selling the stone but in many cases because of superior proportions in the stone cutting

Sincerely,
Smith Jewelers
Danville, California

DIAMOND QUALITY - "The 4 C's"

You have probably already heard about "The 4 C's" however many people we have talked to really don't understand what is meant by this term. Their are many in our industry (unfortunately) who use this fact to distort these basic building blocks to describe a diamond's quality for often times unethical ends. We invite you to take a little time to understand the facts:

1. CARAT WEIGHT

This is the actual weight of the diamond. A 5.00 carat diamond is equal to one gram. A "Point" is equal to 1/100 of a carat:

• Example a 1.10 carat diamond has 110 points.

2. COLOR

Although most people think of diamonds as being "white" in fact most have tints of color (usually faint yellow or sometimes brown). Diamonds are graded on a scale that describes the intensity of this color tint. A "D" color is actually a description of a diamond that does not have any tint of color. The scale then proceeds from D all the way thru Z. Beyond Z the diamond is described as a "Fancy Yellow or Brown." In fact some intense fancy yellows are more valuable that "D" color diamonds! Below is the color grading scale:

3. CLARITY

This described the amount of inclusions, referred by the public as "flaws" in a diamond. Almost all diamonds have some inclusions and the intensity of these are described on a scale that ranges from Flawless (FL) and Internally Flawless (IF) to Imperfect to the third degree (I3). An I3 diamond has major inclusions that are so severe they may threaten the diamond's durability. An Imperfect to the fist degree (I1) diamond has inclusions that are visible to the unaided eye. A Slightly Included to the second degree (SI2) stone has inclusions however they are generally not visible to the unaided eye. Below is the clarity grading scale:

4. CUT

The most important factor, more correctly should be called Proportions of the diamond. The "cut" does not refer to the shape (round, marquise, pear etc.) but how well the diamond was cut from the rough stone. The fact is many diamonds today are not cut as well as they could be. The reason, many cutters sacrifice some of the diamond's potential beauty to achieve a stone that weights more. Proportions is one area us at Smith Jewelers Danville, California have concentrated a lot of our efforts on. The fact is there is an ideal way to cut a diamond (a diagram is below) and diamonds cut this way are far superior in fire, brilliance and "life" than stones that have been compromised in cutting. This factor is especially important as far as the price of the diamond is concerned. Many of today's so called dealers, brokers etc. not only grade the color and clarity grade of stones inaccurately but will not explain that the poorly cut diamond of one carat they are showing you should only have weighted .65 carats if it was cut correctly! Below is a diagram of an ideal cut diamond:

DIAMOND "CERTIFICATE"

If you have done much shopping for a diamond you most likely have herd the term "Certified Diamond." This term is also misused today by many to refer to diamonds that have some type of paper documentation but from whom? We believe you should only be looking for diamonds that have one of the following three "pedigrees":

1. A diamond from and graded by an American Gem Society jewelry store with a Certified Gemologist Appraiser on staff (such as Smith Jewelers and other fine independent Jewelers across the United States and Canada).
   
2. A diamond that has been graded by the Gemological Institute of Americas Gem Trade Laboratory.
   
3. A diamond that has been grade by the American Gem Societies Gemological Laboratory. Anything less than one of these three is in our opinion a very risky undertaking. We see the results of it here daily, people bring in diamonds for appraisal or consolations who were told that the stone was a certain grade or cut when in fact is something less and often much less.