Tom B

Of the classic four C’s of diamond grading (cut, clarity, color and carat weight) the hardest for buyers to get their minds around is cut. The weight of a diamond is a simple matter for a scale. Color becomes apparent when the gem in question is set alongside a grading set that shows the range of hues commonly found in diamonds; lighter than that one, darker than this one. Under a microscope, the tiny inclusions that interfere with a stone’s clarity stand out like a blond hair on the suit coat of a man with a red-headed wife.

Cut is much more complex. A modern round brilliant diamond has 58 separate surfaces or facets, each of which has an ideal proportion and orientation to the others. Because of this complexity, there is not a clear-cut rating of cut to match that of color and clarity.

However, the ideal of a well-cut diamond is simple- One cut to guide light through it that produces the most brilliance and fire possible.

Think of this analogy. Suppose you lived in the desert and wanted to heat a tank of water to do laundry. If you had a bunch of mirrors, you could set them around the tank, arranging them so that sunlight was reflected directly on the tank. Enough beams of light and you could have that water boiling merrily away.

If, however, some of the mirrors slipped, sent light into a sandstone rock face or into the sand underfoot, the water may remain tepid. There are a lot of ‘tepid’ diamonds on the market, flat and lifeless.

To continue with the mirror analogy, the ideal cut for a brilliant diamond arranges those mirrors perfectly to bounce light from facet to facet and produce flashes of light as the stone is rotated.

A round brilliant that is cut to ill proportions might show a fish-eye-like ring inside, or a dark spot in the center of the stone, or other detracting flaws.

You might ask, if a diamond cut to modern proportions is so appealing, why aren’t all diamonds cut this way? The answer is cost. When the cutter sizes up a rough diamond, he is looking to get as much value from it as possible. Often, the crystal will have inclusions (carbon spots, crystal feathers, and the like,) that would end up in the middle of a standard-cut brilliant, ruining the fire of the stone. To cut around these to reach the clear areas from which a brilliant cut can be made could require wasting a large portion of the stone. However, by fudging on the proportions, by, for example, cutting the gems a little wider and a little shorter, two or three so-so stones can be produced. As long as customers are willing to pay for such stones, and aren’t willing to pay the difference to buy a diamond with ideal proportions, this method maximizes producer profit.

There are dozens of other ‘fancy’ cuts of diamonds, such as the rectangular emerald, the marquise (like a cat’s eye), the pear and the oval, all of which also have ideal proportions for maximum fire. However, larger stones in these styles are less popular and therefore not as prevalent in your local jewelry store.

So what can you do to assure the diamond you’re considering is well cut? Ask your jeweler to show you a well-cut stone. Note how the facets are symmetrical, the girdle (the outside edge) is neither fat nor knife-thin and uniform, how the proportion between the upper part and lower part of the diamond is roughly one to three. Most importantly, though, look at it face on. Does it fire?

For my money, I’d rather buy a smaller stone with excellent conformation than a larger one with goofy proportions. Regardless of what some in our bling bling world would have you believe, size and beauty are not the same thing. And proportion is the key.

Tom B

Gold is gold, right? A rich yellow, the color of a field of sunflowers or a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem sauterne.

But have ever compared the color of you wedding band against 24-carat gold artifacts from ancient civilizations? Then you many not be surprised that the world gold encompasses a wealth of hues, from green to rose and even purple.

Of course, pure, 24-carat gold is always the same color but we rarely encounter 24-carat gold jewelry. Pure gold is a very soft metal, capable of being stretched into amazingly thin foil sheets, even to the point that it becomes translucent. In a ring, it would very quickly lose its shape.

Therefore, most gold jewelry is made from gold alloyed with other, more durable (and usually less expensive) metals. Since gold is the only yellow metal, any alloy will change the color of gold.

The most common form of gold, 14k yellow, is a paler shade of yellow due to the addition of silver and a bit of copper. The same metals are added in lesser amounts for 18k gold, more common in European jewelry, and 10k, often found in men’s bands when heavy wear can be expected.

The most common alternate color for gold is white gold, an alloy that became popular first in the 1920’s when a shortage of platinum coincided with art deco’s enthusiasm for white jewelry. White gold can be made with several different recipes. The most prevalent has been copper/ nickel/zinc, which yields an adequately white gold that is relatively easy for jewelers to work with.

However, some people have an allergic reaction to the nickel in white gold, so other alternatives have been developed. The most popular of the non-nickel alloys for white gold is a palladium/silver/copper/zinc mix, which makes a fine white gold, albeit harder to work with and more expensive, since palladium is even costlier than gold.

Goldsmiths have found ways to extend the color range beyond these two, however. Red/pink/rose gold, produced by bumping up the copper content in the gold alloy, while not truly red, has a distinct cast in that range.

By deleting copper and using only silver as the alloying metal, gold takes on a striking pale green hue. The combination of yellow, green and rose gold is often used in tricolor chains and rings that intertwine the three gold hues.

Other unusual forms of gold include purple or amethyst gold (gold and aluminum), blue gold (gold and iron), and black gold (gold and a variety of additives). However, each of these has shortcomings in durability and workability, so I wouldn’t recommend them for use in rings or chains.

If you have a taste for the unusual, why stick with yellow when there is a rainbow of gold waiting for your display?

Sheri L

Depth is a crucial consideration in jewelry engraving - not just in the depth of your message, but in the depth of the cut. Engraving that goes deep into the metal is usually less prone to wear than shallower engraving. Since the whole idea of engraving jewelry is to have an everlasting message that can be easily read, or a beautiful pattern than can be easily seen, be sure to discuss durability issues with your engraver.

Engraving Techniques

Hand engraving and machine engraving are the two types of engraving available. Hand engraving is done with a graver. A graver is a chisel-like tool and good hand engravers are adept at inscribing different intricate text styles and symbols. Machine engraving works with a computer or templates and an engraving machine. The types of text styles may be limited in some machine engraving operations, however, machine engraving is often less expensive than hand engraving.

1. Choose by the look rather than by the method

Both types of engraving are usually still quite affordable, so it is often best to check out both options and select the type of engraving you want based on how it looks rather than by the particular method used. Machine engravers as well as hand engravers will have samples of lettering and other designs to help you decide on the look you want for your piece of jewelry.

2. Make sure your piece of jewelry is suitable for engraving

Be sure that the piece of jewelry you choose to have engraved has a large enough surface to contain the engraving work you want. For example, ring bands should be wide enough to contain all parts of the design or lettering with even spacing. A too-crowded look can ruin the look of the piece. Don’t be shy - get the engraver’s advice!

Meaningful Messages

While engraving names and dates is popular and can be very touching, don’t be afraid to be even more expressive and creative when having jewelry engraved for a loved one.

1. Be sure your message suits the wearer, the occasion and the piece

Wedding rings can be engraved with a single word that holds special meaning for the couple. The message you choose for a relative’s graduation will certainly be quite distinct from the one you choose for your husband or wife for your 25th anniversary. Remember that the message you choose will hopefully last for generations, so be sure to give your choice of engraving a lot of thought. .

2. Personalize the jewelry in an expressive and thoughtful way

Keeping #1 above in mind, don’t be afraid to be sentimental. For example, if a couple shares a special phrase, the message can be shared even more by having one half of the message engraved on each wedding ring. Engraving pet names or nicknames is another good way of personalizing jewelry if the recipient likes the name. If you share no special name or phrase, express something heartfelt and thoughtful that shows your feelings for the wearer and you can’t go wrong!