As the holiday season approaches, there’s no better way to show your loved ones how much you care than with a little sparkle. From diamonds to a pinky ring, these eye-popping pieces will make your sweetheart ooh and aah!
A bilng diamond is formed when carbon atoms bond with each other. Diamonds are considered rare and highly valuable because of their hardness, color, clarity and cut.
Sparkle
The sparkle of a diamond can be a defining feature that makes it a signature gem. It can also make a diamond more appealing as a center stone in a jewelry piece.
A diamond’s sparkle is influenced by its cut quality and the way it is polished. More facets in a diamond’s shape, such as round or princess cuts, are generally considered to be more brilliant and sparkly than fewer facets in other shapes.
During the cutting process, an experienced diamond cutter uses carefully angled facets to capture light and reflect it back into the diamond. The precise angles, proportions and alignment of these facets direct the light inside the diamond to create a spectacular sparkle.
The best-cut diamonds will display three special optical effects called brilliance, fire and scintillation. These are the features that set a diamond apart from others, making it a must-have for any jeweler’s collection.
Fire
When we think of diamonds, the words brilliance and fire often come to mind. But there’s more to it than that.
Light enters a stone, slows down and refracts into different colors as it travels through the material. This is called dispersion.
It’s also the basis for what we see as rainbows and color refracted through a prism.
But how we perceive fire is a variable aesthetic that depends on the nature of the lighting, how a diamond is cut and our own eyesight and physiology.
When a diamond is properly cut it will return a significant amount of light to our eye. In the best cases, it will also display a full suite of shifting chromatic colors.
Brightness
Diamond brightness (or brilliance) is the result of white light refracting inside and outside of a diamond. When a diamond is well cut and proportioned it can reflect a high percentage of light – the more light reflects, the brighter.
This is the reason why diamonds with good cuts are worth a premium.
A diamond’s brightness is determined by its main facet angles and the way it is cut. If a cut is off, it will dim the brightness of the stone.
Another factor that affects a diamond’s brightness is its color and clarity. The lower the color, the more the brightness will diminish.
Diamonds with poor fire tend to have poor brightness and vice versa, so it’s important to choose a diamond that has the ideal balance of these two performance components. This is the best way to achieve a diamond that sparkles beautifully.
Color
A blingtastic diamond is the ultimate accessory, but not all are created equal. While a blingtastic diamond can cost a fortune to acquire, you don’t have to break the bank or your wallet to have one in your home or on your person at all times. For those who prefer to keep it light and simple, there are a plethora of options on the market including plastic, glass, and even silver. The latest fad in the industry is the creation of high tech lab-grown diamonds that are more like jewelry than gemstones. Bling diamonds are available in a variety of colors and styles. The most popular are the diamond cut diamonds. To find the perfect diamond for your budget, here are a few tips to help you make the best choice.