Chocolate diamonds have been in vogue for the past 5 years now and was popularized by the promotion of brown colored diamonds to precious stone status. Prevously, about a decade ago, no one looked at champage, cognac and brown colored diamonds. They were considered non gem material and highly flawed. Today that has changed with Argyles constant promotional efforts to present these earth colored diamonds as being beautiful and desirable diamonds.

I would say that they exceeded their ambition because nowdays even uncut diamonds of all colors are being used in jewelry and can be actually more expensive than white faceted diamonds.Chocolate diamonds have fed off the promotion of colored pearls notably the chocolate and pistachio colored variety from Tahiti. Check out the chocolate diamond wedding ring to the left. There are now many designers that design chocolate diamond rings and chocolate diamond earrings in a multiple of styles.

Most notable is The brand called Eddie Levian. I would say this brand has single handedly pursued colored diamond jewelry and has brought it to a point where earth colored diamonds are now being combined in many different ways with white diamonds. A chocolate diamond is set in prongs that are typically black rhodiumed because this brings out the true color of the chocolate diamond as it scintillates. White prongs reflect a lot of light and so would compete with the minimal amount of light return coming out of chocolate diamond jewelry.

Remember, it is the deep hue of the diamond that is of interest in colored diamonds and not so much the fire and brilliance as is the case with white diamonds. True, you need your chocolate diamond ring to have well cut diamonds so that the chocolate hue comes bursting out but you’re still also interested in the purity of color and how well the chocolate diamonds match and blend together. This is important because in most colored diamond jewelry the beauty of the design comes fom the juxtaposition of the chocolate diamonds in their black prongs against the bright white diamonds in their brightly rhodiumed prongs.

For instance in a chocolate diamond engagement ring the design usually calls for a richly hued chocolate diamond center stone. This is only possible if the stone is cut well enough so that there is good reflection on the pavilion facets for nice even light return. This will give the true hue of the diamond and bring out the beauty of the mounting as well.

In the case of a cocktail brown diamond ring (like the one to the right) or also known as a chocolate right hand ring, the chocolate hue is created with multiple small round diamonds set in rows or patterns and immediately juxtaposed by white diamonds of similar size. This brings out the pattern and design of the ring as well as the rich chocolatey color of the brown diamonds.

The diamond cluster ring is perhaps the most replicated diamond ring style since the 1970s. Many women from the baby boom generation probably own at least one diamond cluster ring. Theappeal of this type of diamond ring is the fact that multiple small diamonds are set close to each other covering a huge swath of ring area.

The most common shape is the circle with diamonds concentrically placed from a lower outer base building up towards the center of the head of the ring till all you need is one diamond at dead center to finish off the ring.

The beauty of the gold diamond cluster ring is that it scintillates with flashes of brilliance from all angles. Also, it has a very feminine look because usually each diamond is set for three prongs with one prong always pointing away from the ring giving it a nice dainty look like the rose gold cluster ring to the right.

Not all diamond cluster rings are round. One of the most popular styles is the waterfall diamond ring which has rows upon rows of diamonds three diamonds wide running up and down the center of the ring in a North South fashion. It simulates the look of a cascading waterfall and you will see this style on many women.

The other type of cluster diamond ring is the one shaped like a rosette with one small diamond in the middle surrounded by five or six diamonds of the same size or smaller as if to simulate petals on a flower. Check out the ring to the left which is a rosette ring in a bypass style. It is simply one diamond surrounded by six “petals” .

This style is also done in a bezel set finish especially when bigger diamonds are used. The image of the flower is a bit clearer when the diamonds are set in bezels.

The more modern type of ring is a white gold diamond cluster ring in a square shape. A central square shape with about four, nine or 16 diamonds set in prongs is surrounded by a square ledge set with smaller diamonds around the periphery either channel set or prong set.

This style is a bit more geometric which many modern women seem to go for. This style can also use princess cut diamonds invisibly set so that they’re no prongs showing except the outer lip running around the edge of the outer diamonds. You can see this in the ring to the right.

This was a great style during the 1980s and 1990s which has since fallen out of favor because this type of ring was difficult to size without having the diamonds become loose with a tendency to fall out.

This problem was difficult to correct because of the nature of invisible set diamonds which require that the diamond seats should fit into a groove burrowed by a laser on the underside of the diamonds. Because this was such a precise fit, any damage to this setting would jar the diamonds loose and would be difficult for a jeweler to put back by hand. Most jewelers would not touch a repair that involved invisibly set diamonds especially in cluster diamond rings.

Interest in antiques who we styles especially diamond jewelry has been on the rise particularly because rose cut diamonds and old miners cut diamonds have become exceedingly rare because many of them were seen as old-fashioned and were we cut into more contemporary styles like the?round brilliant.

You’ve been told to start your diamond shopping online before hitting the local jewelers and now you’re lost in a sea of paperwork. You have pages of GIA and EGL reports for all the diamonds you’ve seen on Bluenile strewn in front of you and you have no idea what’s the really important information here. I mean, who knows if that extra thick girdle really affects the brilliance on diamond A, it’s still a better deal than that other one which is slightly off of “ideal” in table percentage.

There’s no doubt that hundreds of diamonds; important diamonds ; are bought and sold for the most part on what a diamond certificate says. Does this mean they’re to be trusted ? What about the scandal that rocked GIA last year with the grader who was accepting money to assign good grades to some diamonds.

For the most part, the top Independent diamond grading labs have certain standards and may emphasize different aspects of diamond grading one over the other, but it all comes down to an opinion, albeit an expert opinion but an opinion nonetheless. That’s why you can get 2 different color grades on the same diamond from two different labs each with competent graders. Heck, you can even send the same stone back to the same lab 6 months later and get a slightly different report in terms of color and clarity and even a few measurements here and there.

So, I’m kicking off a series on Diamond Grading reports that will cover the ins and outs of different types of grading reports and the different labs that put out these grading reports.

First off let’s start with a list of the world’s major gemological laboratories whose products range from diamond grading documents to light performance reports

1. American Gem Society Laboratories- Reputation for credibility,consistency, and thoroghness
2. American Gemological laboratories- Primarily deals with colored stones
3. GCAL-Gem Certification and Assurance Lab- Provides more technical certs, recent to the Grading industry
4. EGL USA-European gemological laboratory- Has a mixed reputation for grading reports, not as highly regarded as GIA and AGS in terms of thoroughness, consistency, and rigor in diamond grading
5. Gemex Systems- The gemex report is a different animal in that it measures and grades the light performance of a diamond directly using a spectrophotometer instead of using parameters of cut in attempting to predict performance and beauty of a diamond
6. GIA Gemological Institute of America- Often considered the international benchmark for diamond grading and independent third party diamond evaluation

Diamond right hand rings became a favorite of many designers as a canvas upon which to display their design prowess. What easier way than to take a publicly advertised diamond product theme with De Beers dollars behind it and design their way into the limelight.

After all, right hand rings were about the individual with all their styling quirks. Right hand rings in this way allowed designers to go beyond their standard collections and expand their range to showcase traditional styling all the way to the audacious and ahead of their time styling and material.

Here is a piece from the manufacturer/designer Andin which is fairly basic in concept but simply elegant in excecution. At first blush it would seem to have more in common with a solitaire engagement ring rather then a right hand diamond ring.

First there is a mounting and second there is a single center stone. Now if a matching band came with it then perhaps but without that, all indications are that this could be called a right hand ring. It has a tailored one of a kind look despite its simplicity. A right hand does not always have to be showy and larger than life.

Contrary to the the previous ring, here is a larger than life diamond right hand ring with brown diamonds in the center set in Rose gold and white diamonds set in white gold. This is more typical of right hand rings in terms of scale. Previously this would have been called a diamond cuff ring but now this could definitely be called a right hand ring.

The centre motif is rose shaped and is appropriately rose gold. Wide cuff rings like this are not for everyone’s fingers because of the extra width.

If you have short finger you may want to consider a different style of right hand ring. In fact you may want to try the next style of ring shown below from the designer Diamonds in the rough if you have short stubby looking fingers. It features cognac diamonds in the rough set in 18k rose gold with small pink diamonds on the periphery.Rough diamonds are big now in the jewelry design world. Their prices have skyrocketed as a number of jewelry designers have introduced styles of their own only to realise that the prices have gone way up in the past three years.

Five years ago nobody was even looking at rough diamonds, diamond ring design was based on the premise of cut and polished diamonds whether modern or period cuts. Now rough diamonds are being paired with raw look gold for an inspired back to nature look. This coincides well with the green movement.

A variation on this trend is the not so rough look with an original design by La Reina to the left using included diamonds with a flattened rose cut to serve as petals on this right hand diamond flower ring.

The design is lavish with an inspired vision and quite an original among unique right hand diamond rings with a style that is neither vintage nor modern.

Right hand rings can also look designer without having a designer label and looking totally original. Black diamond right hand rings were perhaps the first type of colored diamond ring or rather right hand ring that became widely available with a diamonds that were not white. Black diamonds are actually much less expensive than the raw uncut off color diamonds now prized by designers and their followers.

It turned up en masse in black and white diamond jewelry in jeweler’s showcases back in 2000 and has had its ups and downs as popularity waxed and waned ?as designers favored other colors.Check out the ring below, a simple black diamond right hand ring in a band style with a twist.

Although black diamonds are not colored diamonds per se since black is not a hue but a shade or tint this takes nothing away from their popularity with designers of all calibres since black diamonds of all sizes are very reasonably priced all things considered.

Although treated blue diamonds have turned out to be just as popular, black diamond jewelry is till a great combination to wear with any kind of dress because it has a neutral appeal. ?There is a huge variety available at retail and at virtually any price point. It is even mounted in silver for a more casual luxe look.

Cushion cut diamond engagement rings first started out as old miner cuts dating from the 1700s. This was the start of brilliant cutting as far as diamonds were concerned because most diamond cutting before this was predominantly the step cutting technique that you see today in emerald and asscher cuts.

What happened was that diamond cutters would keep the basic form of the rough octahedron and flatten the top of one pyramid and round out the edges giving rise to the cushion shape or old miners cut. Antique cushion cut engagement rings arise from this vintage diamond cut which is characterized by a thick and high crown and a deep pavilion giving it a very blocky look. Many of these vintage cushion cut engagement rings were recut into modern round brilliants as they would surface and so many lost their antique value which is now even more prized today. The old miners cut eventually morphed into the old European cut as cutters took off more of the squareness to form the precursor to the modern round brilliant shape.

Cushion cut engagement rings have become quite popular recently as women now are looking for something different from the traditional round diamond and something away from the oldertraditional fancy cuts like emerald, pear and oval. The shape and faceting is shown to the right

Diamonds with a squarish shape appeal like the princess cut, radiant, asscher and emerald cut have experienced more demand over the years as women who received a diamond engagement ring in the past have looked to these cuts for some of their avnniversary rings and other diamond jewelry.

As a center diamond in a ring, the princess cut diamond is overall the second most popular diamond cut after the round and is the most popular square cut for square diamond engagement rings. For 2009 the cushion cut engagement ring has bested the radiant cut in terms of popularity as square shaped center stone engagement rings go according to JCK magazine’s survey of American jewelry retailers.

Cushion cut diamonds have a softer look compared to princesses and radiants because of their rounded corners and shallower cut. Although the cushion cut diamond engagement ring will not scintillate as much as the other squares mentioned because of fewer facets, nevertheless its old world shape appeal coupled with the fact that its corners will not chip as easily as the princess and is not as bottom heavy as the princess or radiant means that it has a larger face up than the others for a given carat weight. To some degree it makes up for the lack of scintillation with the broader flashes that originate from its larger pavilion facets.

Despite their recent popularity the cushion cut engagement ring can be hard to find at your local jewelers unless it is a jeweler that specializes in square diamonds. You are far more likely to see the asscher cut than the cushion cut. At first, the asscher cut seems to be the prettier diamond. The asscher is the more well endowed cousin of the emerald cut sporting a deeper step cut pavilion that has more scintillation. However in the end it is still a step cut. A finely cut cushion, especially some of the branded cushion cuts like the Cushette by Vision Cut of New York who are the patent holders for this cushion cut have a brillaince and scintillation that many women find more appealing than the square step cuts.

Instaed of the normal 60 or so facets of a normal cushion, the cushette has a total of 77 facets and each one that comes from Vision Cut is branded and numbered. Another company with their own proprietory cushion cut diamond is harry Kotlar and Company. Gabrielle Tolkowski also has a proprietory square cut of his own called the Carre which is produced by Suberi Brothers of New York although it does not have the shape appeal of a cushion but rather a princess cut.

Cushion cut solitaire engagement rings come in many types of settings. Antique looking hand engraved mountings are popular with the cushion, rekindling its old miners cut heritage.

Cushion cut micro pave engagement rings on the other hand are more popular than most others as micro pave continues to dominate engagement ring design in white gold and platinum.

Check out this classic pave cushion engagement ring style to the right. It’s a simple?classic?of an engagement ring that has a wide appeal

Various side stones can be used with a cushion shaped diamond however straight edges side diamonds like trilliants and princesses tend not to be used because they can distract from the?softness of the cushion shape. Instead, curvaceous half moons ?are more commonly used like this ring to the left.

Instead of side stones, the cushion shape can also be emphasized by ?setting it in a bezel surrounded by channel set diamonds or even pave set diamonds surrounding a prong set cushion diamond.

Care must be taken that the prongs are not so thick that distract from the diamond. With cushions especially it is far better to use the double claw prongs at the corners than thick beaded prongs like this ring down below.

Prices on cushion cut diamonds run the gamut. They are generally less expensive than a comparable round brilliant although given their hard to find nature and fewer specimensexhibiting really nice optics it can pretty much be dependent on supply and demand.

Sometimes it can be so difficult to find premium cut cushion diamonds in the sizes and quality required that many purchasers end up getting the branded cushions talked about earlier.

Most people have been educated to look for diamonds with little or no color. When you go to the bridal section of a jewelry store the first thing they want to show you is the color range chart from D-Z. They explain the colorless and near colorless range in great detail so most diamond shoppers never get to understand that diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow.

However those that follow celebrity fashion would heard of pink diamonds and the pink diamond engagement ring that Ben Affleck gave to Jennifer Lopez many moons ago. Check out this pink diamond to the right above. ?It is close in color to the ring that formerly belonged to J Lo.

The four Cs is what most people usually think of when talking about diamond quality criteria but with pink diamonds what is important is the color. The actual carat weight of the stone whether set in a pink diamond ring orpink diamond necklace is of course important to setting the value but is still secondary in importance.

Cut also is secondary in importance since the diamond cutter contracted to cut the natural pink diamond rough will try to retain the carat weight and depth of color. All things being equal a larger stone with the same level of color saturation as a smaller stone will undoubtedly show more color face up.

Cut can affect the body color of a pink diamond because it can change the apparent color of a stone in the face up position. It is certainly possible to have two pink diamonds with identical carat weight, cut, clarity and body color but yet the one with the superior cut and optics will have the better quality of light return that enhances the apparent color.

The apparent color that is seen from a fancy pink diamond whether in pink diamond earrings or pink diamond engagement rings will always be the color seen from the face up position.The body color seen from the pavilion is important from a color grade point of view but it is the face up color impression that counts when it comes to dollars per carat.

A pink diamond collector knows that the face up view is the only one that matters when it comes to pricing a fancy pink diamond for use in pink diamond rings or other types of jewelry. Check out the mix of pink diamond melee stones to the left. The purplish tinge of these diamonds indicates that these may of Australian origin. Pink diamonds are rarely seen in this quality and quantity unless they are quite small or treated.

Of course all pink diamonds are not created equal. There is considerable variation in terms of the type of pink hue in a fancy pink diamond. The Argyle mine in Australia is known for its purplish pink diamonds that can be quite deep in color. In fact one of the most famous auctions in the diamond world is conducted by Rio Tinto, the mining company that conducts its annual pink tender which is an auction of their prized pink diamond production for the year. South Africa produces pink diamonds as well but its pink diamonds tend to be paler and have an orange component in the hue that can give it a padparadscha sapphire look.

Faint pink is the term used to describe a pink diamond that is so barely pink that its pink hue is only visible through the pavilion but cannot be seen face up. A slightly darker pink than this is described as very light pink and light pink which is visible face up as a pale icy pink. It is only when the pink hue of the diamond is obvious in the face up position that it can be prefixed with the term “fancy”.

So starting from the very dark type of pink diamond that tend to originate from Australia you will have this hue termed fancy dark pink. This color range will go all the way down to fancy light pink. The in between colors are called fancy deep pink, fancy vivid pink, fancy intense pink and fancy pink.

The eternity ring is one of life’s great purchases and the choice of diamonds for this sentimental piece is one of the great decisions you need to make for your wedding. Usually women like their eternity diamond rings to match their engagement ring. Most of the time this is possible but sometimes brides like to go in a different direction.

For a white gold diamond eternity ring the most popular diamonds are rounds and princesses. Round diamonds give eternity bands a soft organic look, especially when the diamonds are mounted in shared prongs. Deftly alternating diamonds and prongs give it a wonderfully symmetric look. Shared prongs are generally beefier than pave diamond prongs and stand the rigors of daily wear quite well. The only real maintenance of this type of diamond band is maybe an occasional re tipping and re-rhodiuming if the metal is white gold. If the metal is platinum then there will hardly be any maintenance for their diamond eternity ring.

A princess cut diamond eternity ring is suitable for women whose engagement ring has a princess center stone. Princesses require more extensive matching than round diamonds because edges need to be perfectly straight if they are to be set in a channel setting with edges touching. Also, many lower quality small princess diamonds are not perfectly square and this can be seen in some gold wedding rings with the princesses not abutting right next to each other but looking like an ill fitting jigsaw puzzle.

The length may be a hairsbreadth  longer than the width. Although these differences seem infinitesimal, they are quite easily seen with the naked eye when you look at the loose stone. Some of these slightly off square stones can be passed of as square when mounted in a channel setting because the extra width of the princess stone can be hidden under the lip of the channel by digging out the channel a bit more where that stone is to be set in the diamond eternity band ring.

Asscher cut diamonds are now all the rage for diamond eternity bands because this semi step cut has such a distinctive reflective pattern even when the diamonds are fairly small. This type of gold diamond eternity ring looks quite different from a baguette diamond eternity ring because the diamonds are square and are often set in shared prongs just like rounds are in an eternity band. When round and princess diamonds get small, they tend to lose their ability scintillate in broad flashes because their facets are so small.

However an asscher cut diamond being step cut on top can throw out broad flashes of light even when they are as small as 5 pointers. Asscher cuts are also used in half eternity bands because they require an appreciable amount of depth in the mounting when they are 10 points and over. This is more  than a round or princess would need of the same carat weight. Some women like a simple row of asschers on the top half of the band because if they went all the way around, the band would not be comfortable.

Diamond eternity rings can be some of the most complicated pieces of jewelry to get right. This type of gold wedding ring from the get go has a few disadvantages that make it challenging to get the ring that you desire. For one, diamond eternity rings cannot be sized unless it comes with a sizing bar and most women don’t consider a diamond band with a sizing bar to be a true diamond eternity ring. Secondly, the diamonds in eternity diamond rings are exposed on the underside of your hand that draws the most wear to the ring.

Many women have experienced the trauma of losing their diamonds from their eternity rings through simple wear and tear. This is especially true of micro pave set diamond bands. Prong set, bar set and channel set eternity rings don’t have this problem as frequently.

The white gold diamond eternity ring is the standard for most women who end up purchasing these rings. White gold is the symbolic color of bridal rings in general and so you’ll have to consider a better color of diamond for your ring than if it were a yellow gold diamond eternity ring. D, E and F in the colorless range are ideal diamond color choices for white diamond eternity rings.

Of course, you don’t want your eternity ring to mismatch the diamond color in your engagement ring so its always safe to use the same color of diamond that was used in your engagement ring. You have to be careful to not go too far down the color scale into J and K territory because then this shade becomes quite apparent against the stark white rhodium plating that is often used on white gold diamond eternity rings.

Eternity band diamond rings are best bought at the same time that you get the engagement ring. Its always best to consider the style of ring that you want and how that’s related to how you’re going to wear your eternity ring. Many women choose not to wear their diamond eternity band rings on the same finger as their engagement ring. They prefer to wear it on the right hand ring finger and so many women make the mistake of getting an eternity ring with a very thin profile which gets lost when worn alone.

Women that want to wear their eternity ring with their engagement ring need to consider how the two will look together. If both band and engagement rings are wide and seem to take over the ring finger then the rings will be uncomfortable and will look odd. Engagement duos worn on the ring finger need to have some finger area around them in order to look balanced.

The pave diamond eternity ring allows slimmer profiled rings for women who have short stubby fingers and want their rings to look dainty. Be warned though that their are durability issues for women who are hard wearing on their rings and choose gold diamond eternity rings that are pave set.

The diamond wedding band sometimes ends up as an after thought after all the hoopla over choosing the perfect engagement ring for the proposal. The man usually has a lot of time to go out and do the legwork required for putting together the engagement ring so he can propose. If it takes longer then he estimated it would, then he simply postpones his proposal till the ring has been put together, made to the right size and appraised. When it comes to the wedding bands however, the date that they are to be given is usually fixed on the day of the wedding ceremony.

Putting weddings together is no walk in the park which is why we have wedding planners. Even so, most couples become totally absorbed in wedding preparations and thoughts of diamond wedding bands usually don’t come on the radar till all the other arrangements are in place. By that time it is too late to get the custom designed wedding rings done to perfection and many couples end up scrounging around trying to shop for ready made rings. Who knew that it would take at least a month to choose mountings, diamonds and turn it all into perfectly sized wedding bands?

The mens diamond wedding band is typically the simpler of the two and most men have no problems with simple channel set wedding bands with a single row of diamonds going across the top and center of the ring. These types of rings are frequently already made up and in jewelers’ cases and all it needs is a simple sizing which can take as much as 10 days or as little as an hour  if he’s willing to pay for expedited sizing.

A men’s diamond wedding band can also take time if the groom has taken a fancy to something like a tungsten diamond wedding band or a titanium diamond wedding band either of which cannot be sized but would have to special ordered in his size. This can often take up to three weeks if the item is not in stock at the manufacturer.

The woman’s wedding band on the other hand is going to be a bit more complicated because she will usually want it to go with her engagement ring in a certain way. She may try on many bands that may or may not fit against her engagement ring in the way that she would like. Most women  don’t take into consideration that they will more than likely want a diamond band that fits flush against their engagement ring with no gaps  and should match it perfectly.

The only way to accomplish this is to shop for both her engagement ring and wedding band at the same time. In this way the groom to be will have already selected a number of different styles of diamond bands that will fit properly against the engagement ring that he has chosen so that the chances remain high that his bride to be will certainly like at least one of the bands that her fiance has chosen. Most men prefer white metals for their rings so more than likely she will go with a white gold wedding ring.

Most women like a pave diamond band because of the way they look. They are extremely delicate and feminine looking while at the same time having that punch of sparkle from the diamonds. Some women like the muted effect of a baguette diamond wedding band or the geometric look of a princess cut diamond wedding band which will contrast elegantly against an engagement ring that has a big and bright center stone that begs for all the attention.

Baguette diamond bands are also more secure than pave diamond bands because the baguettes are nicely secured in thicker metal channels as opposed to the skinny .2 mm thick pave prongs. A white gold diamond wedding band is the standard for most women. Yellow gold has become passe for bridal purposes and silver is not precious enough.