What is a synthetic diamond?

Diamond: Why is it so precious?

There is a big difference between a lab-created diamond, imitation diamonds and natural diamonds. To read about the advantages and disadvantages of buying these imitations, synthetics and treated diamonds, please visit www.designdepot.blogspot.com

There are 2 things that we talk about in gemology... Imitation (look-alike) and synthetics. Both are totally different things as the names say it pretty clearly.

SYNTHETIC

A 'Synthetic' or 'lab-created' or 'man-made' or 'created' diamond or any gemstone is the one that was created by human intervention usually in a laboratory. The chemical and physical properties are consistent with those of a natural gemstone.

A synthetic diamond of gem quality is graded in the same way as a natural diamond. The key factors are the 4 Cs - Cut, color, clarity and carat besides the others. It tests positive on standard diamond testers and the obsolete scratch test. It scores 10 on the Moh's scale for hardness.

There visual difference between a flawless, near colorless and colorless synthetic diamond and natural diamond is negligible. In case of slightly included diamonds, the synthetic diamond can be distinguished from a natural one by looking at synthetic inclusions such as carbon residue, metallic inclusions etc.

The other distinguishing characteristic  of a synthetic diamond is the hourglass pattern for which a keen eye, magnification and experience. The value of a synthetic diamond can be as low as 30% of its natural counterpart.

Purchase of a synthetic diamond is your personal choice. The only important thing is the revelation of the true value of that product. You should only have to pay for what you buy. Before you decide to pay for your diamond, make sure you get certification from an accredited body and study the report carefully. Besides just the quality of your diamond, read about the treatment and whether it is synthetic or not.

A lab created diamond can also be further 'treated' the same way as a natural one, to enhance color and 'erase' inclusions. So watch out for such treatments since this can reduce the price considerably.

IMITATION

A SYNTHETIC diamond is a man-made or lab created version of a real diamond. It is exactly same in the chemical as well as physical properties as a natural diamond. So it is obviously the hardest known substance (10 on the Moh's scale) and its refractive index and other properties are the same as a natural diamond.

An imitation diamond could be any other gemstone that looks like a diamond such as cubic Zirconia, colorless sapphire, synthetic moissanite and other diamond imitations. These imitations are simply colorless stones with properties VERY DIFFERENT than a natural diamond. Any of these are lower in hardness and get scratched fairly easily as compared to a diamond. Some of them are more brilliant (syn moissanite) and others are lesser in brilliance than a real diamond. The prices are always lower than that of a real diamond.

The price difference of an imitation as compared to a natural diamond could be anything from a few cents onwards to several hundred dollars.

Blackening or Tarnishing of Silver

Sterling Silver tarnished over a period of time

Over a period of time, silver jewelry and articles tend to blacken. The reason is very simple: even though silver is fairly inert, it reacts with the sulfur present in the atmosphere to form silver sulfide which is dark in color. This corrosion causes temporary surface discoloration of silver which can be simply washed away with luke warm water and soap or detergent.

While washing your silver jewelry in water, please be aware of any stones, adhesives, treatments or materials which may get spoiled in water. The soap or detergent you use may contain bleach which can cause corrosion in stones such as peridot and enamel work or it may bleach some colored treated stones.

One of the best solutions for cleaning silver is silverex, a commercially available cleaning agent for silver. Again, make sure you read the instructions before using silverex on your studded and treated jewelry.

The most common and one of the best home remedy for cleaning silver articles is fluoride based toothpaste and luke warm water. Soak your silver articles in a bowl filled with luke warm water and toothpaste for about 10 mins to ½ hr. Gently scrub off the extra soap and dirt and wash in luke warm clean water.

Some important tips while washing your jewelry…

• The toothbrush you use should be very soft
• Do not wash your jewelry in the sink without the drain plug for fear of losing the jewelry in the drain
• The water should not be too hot because it may corrode some stones, affect color treatment and adhesives that may have been used in your jewelry
• Count the pieces of jewelry before you begin washing them
• Check your jewelry for loose stones before you wash them
• Make sure your cleaning area is out of reach of little children
• The best would be to let your jewelry air dry or else wiping gently with a paper towel should work just fine as well
• Since silver is extremely soft, make sure you do not drop your jewelry and scratch it
• Do not wash more than one piece of jewelry at a time since they could scratch each other and spoil the finish

One of the Most Welcoming Jewelry shopping experiences

Nancy and David Fine Jewelry

THE STORY: This is how we got there:

This story started a few months ago, when I re-associated with an old jewelry friend from India. He wanted my help to market his extremely fine quality fine jewelry products in US. After several attempts of getting my regular Sterling Silver Jewelry buyers to buy these high end one-of-a-kind jewels, we started with cold calling.

With little know-how of the stores and very light weight recommendations, we went cold calling starting from North Jersey till we came across the warm and cheerful jewelry store in Millburn, Nancy and David Fine Jewelry Store.

ABOUT THE PRODUCT: Something of an intrigue

Yash is a designer by heritage, education and passion. He has created some of the most spectacular jewelry pieces that you can think of. A short while ago, he came up with this absolutely fabulous new collection of jewelry line, "Adrishya" (which means INVISIBLE). The concept, unlike the actual manufacturing, is rather simple- a marvelous fusion of two techniques, the extremely modern invisible setting and the ancient Polki setting.

The invisible setting is unbelievably modern in every sense. The technique requires machine casting and stone cutting in a very contemporary fashion and most of all the styling is very clean and modern.

Polki on the other hand is almost ancient in the way the stones are polished and set. The technique calls for generations of practice of dealing with stones and metal.

The big deal here, is the final outcome of the way these two techniques merge together to create FABULOUS jewels with excellent quality of diamonds and colored stones set in 18K gold.

The style is contemporary and bold, magnificent and elegant.

THE STORE: An Exhilarating Experience

It looks less like a store, more like a welcoming friends home. And then you open the door to be welcome to a jazz of glamor and glitter with diamonds all over. The classic range is right in front of you in counters lined up along both sides of the long store. It is extremely high end but not in the least bit inhibiting. You walk in to a range of exquisite pieces. These are obviously classic but there is a difference. These are not definitely not your run of the mill Tiffany style jewels.

Along the wall on one side, there are small showcases boasting of exclusive designs in fascinating gemstones. Here you will not find an array of designers with cookie cutter designs, instead you will find fabulous jewels some designed and others hand picked by Nancy and David themselves.

You move in further down and you will now find the most fascinating jewels in colored stones and truly 'designer' in nature.

While you absolutely fill your senses with the beauty of jewels and the enriching sights and just when you are almost overwhelmed with the gorgeous collection, they offer you the richest of wines from there onsite open bar.

The Experience:

When you walked in, you knew you came in for a shopping experience... when you walk out, you realize that you have enjoyed your day out. It is simply relaxing and enjoyable. It is truly the lure of that experience alone that can bring you back into the store. The excellent jewelry that you will land up buying is just the bonus memoir of that experience.

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Surbhi S Gupta

732-986-8132