1204 lines
73 KiB
Plaintext
1204 lines
73 KiB
Plaintext
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RELEASED ON 02/01/92
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Now, after decades of turmoil, hatred, and deceit, it can be told...
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######### ########### ### ### #########
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########### ###########: ##### ##### ###########
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####:::####: ::::::::::: ###### ###### ####:::####:
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####: :::: ###### ####### ####### ####: ::::
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========####|#####===#######|=====################=======#########============
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========####|######==####||||=====####|#######|####=======|||||####===========
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####:::####: ####: ####: ######: #### #### ####:
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###########: ########### ####: ####:: #### ###########:
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#########:: ##########: ####: :::: #### #########::
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::::::::: :::::::::: :::: :::: :::::::::
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___ __ ___ __ __ ___ __ _
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/ /_/ /_ / / /| / / / / / /\ /_ / / / /_> \/
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/ / / /_ /_/ / |/ / /_/ /_ /_/ __/ / /_/ / \ /
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==============================================================================
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WRITTEN, CREATED, AND TESTED BY VIDEO VINDICATOR
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==============================================================================
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INTRODUCTION
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Well, in the spirit of more advanced moneymaking topics, I am releasing this
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file, which is geared more towards either the very experienced carder, or the
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more advanced thief (for further information on either of these topics, please
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refer to my previous files). My objective with this file is to give you, the
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evil reader, a basic grasp of what is necessary to make money and not get
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burned with gems. And believe me, you can get burned fairly easily. So if
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you're just interested in this for investment reasons, or if you've carded a
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gem or four, or if you broke into some house and got a very nice ring, then
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read on.
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Ok, I also want to claim full responsibity for the misuses and abuses that
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can be learned from this file, I do not care what laws apply to whom in what
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state in that part of the country, so on with the file...
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THIS FILE AND CARDING
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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One of the real difficulties and major drawbacks in any type of credit card
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fraud is actually making money from it. And I mean aside from selling the
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items you card, since that is relativly risky and high-profile, whereas a
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small bag of gems can be placed almost anywhere, and be of great value. And
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believe it or not, there are places that do sell mailorder gems (The Sharper
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Image is a prime example, although they no longer to (I was one of their best
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customers too!)). I would list some, but they tend to die quickly and they
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are not easy to come by. Since they also are very hard to identify (ie, have
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no serial numbers), they can be sold easily in the nearest large city. This
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is intended for people AT VERY LEAST 18 years old, the older the better, since
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I don't think little Johnny (at age 15) will get a very nice reception trying
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to sell four $2,500 diamonds.
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DIAMONDS, EMERALDS & RUBIES: THE INSIDE STORY
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Gemstones, and in particular diamonds, are interesting subjects because of
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several factors:
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1. Their value is subjective, although the wholesale prices are supported
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by the De Beers family and the price table is maintained through
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advertising and withholding of stones. Individual stones are graded on
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a subjective basis and as such, the values increase or decrease
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abruptly if a further grading session disagrees with the original.
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2. Gems offer a fairly stable method of converting large amounts of cash
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into small, liquid, easily transported possessions.
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3. It is still possible to purchase gems in some areas of the world for
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substantially less money than in the United States and they can and
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are smuggled into the country for profit.
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4. Synthetic gemstone manufacture and faux substitutions open an area of
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easy-to-maneuver and hard to detect high ticket fraud.
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The gem and particularly diamond industry operates in a knowledge vacuum.
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There are a number of interesting facets, no pun intended, of buying, selling
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and scanning jewels that people in the jewelry business prefer not to let the
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public become aware of. If you are considering purchasing, investing in, or
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otherwise becoming involved with any sort of gem quality crystal, there are a
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number of things you can do to protect your investment.
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DIAMONDS
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~~~~~~~~
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For thousands of years diamonds have been a form of decoration, currency and
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investment medium. Diamonds have risen in price over the years fairly consist-
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ently with inflation. At some points investment in the right stone would have
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returned a much better percentage than similar amounts of stocks, bonds or
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gold. On the other hand, an investment in the wrong thing or an investment
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made blindly because of lack of knowledge, can and in many cases has caused
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the buyer to actually lose money.
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Remember, diamonds are normally sold on a retail basis. This is where you, the
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consumer, buy most stones. As one purchases stones of a higher quality and
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larger weight, stones that are designed for investment purposes rather than
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ornamentation, it is possible to actually buy at or near wholesale prices.
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When one goes to sell the stone, if one simply walks into a jeweler or New
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York-type diamond seller, one expects to lose from the retail price the stone
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may have been purchased at.
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A number of factors establish the value of a diamond, one of which is the size
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of the stone. There are certain levels where the value of a high grade stone
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jumps appreciably simply because the stone is over this weight. In general, a
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large high-rated stone is worth logarithmically more than a number of small
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stones equaling the larger stone's weight. It is, as one would expect,
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considerably harder to find flawless or near flawless large stones.
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When the jeweler or professional goes to buy a stone there are several things
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he will evaluate in order. Generally the stone is graded using the four C's of
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diamond grading. These are:
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1. Clarity
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2. Color
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3. Cut
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4. Carat weight
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There are established methods and models for grading stones and one could
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reasonably expect to take a stone of a certain grade from one professional to
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another and come out with a similar rating. One should also remember this
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grading is subjective and there will be times when two accredited gemologists
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will give a different rating, possibly affecting the stone's value, by hundreds
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or thousands of dollars to the very same stone. It is wise to be able to at
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least make a good amateur estimate of the various rating points on your own
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instead of having to blindly depend on someone you may not know.
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CLARITY
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~~~~~~~
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The first C is clarity. This is not the most important but is generally the
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first item looked at in a stone to be rated. Clarity does not refer to the
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concept of "being clear" with reference to a diamond. Clarity refers to the
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purity of the stone and lack of visible defects.
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These defects or flaws or as they are properly known, inclusions, may manifest
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themselves as dark, black carbon spots, white carbon spots, small cracks,
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"clouds", feathers, or other areas of visible diffusion within a diamond or on
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the surface of the stone itself.
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A truly flawless stone, one without any spots, cracks or inclusions, is very
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rare and extremely valuable. One can expect to find some flaws in most stones.
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The type of flaws, size of flaws, and location will have an effect upon the
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stone's value. It is important to learn how to judge a stone for clarity.
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The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has established a rating system for
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expressing the clarity of a particular stone. This rating system is based on
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the use of initials and numbers and goes on a one to 10 oriented system
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wherein 10 would be the best stone and one would be the worst stone.
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This system is not expressed in simple numbers but with words and initials to
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further establish the rating scale. The scale is as follows:
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10 - Flawless - no blemishes can be found.
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9 - VVS-1 - no flaws inside the table. Possible very small internal
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flaws outside the table. If any external flaws are present,
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must be very minor.
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8 - VVS-2 - very difficult to see flaws with 1 0x magnification power
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employed.
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7 - VS - 1 - flaws readily seen using 1 0x glass but almost impossible
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to see when the stone is viewed from from the back.
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6 - VS - 2 - the back looking down through the stone.
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5 - Sl - 1 - flaws unable to be seen with the naked eyes but quite
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apparent using 1 0x magnification.
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4 - Sl - 2 - inclusion may include carbon spots or clouds or feathers
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underneath the table or larger flaws outside of the table.
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3-1 - I-1 to 3 - this is the least valuable group. They are heavily flawed
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and the flaws can be determined with the naked eyes. There
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are going to be internal flaws inside the table, maybe
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clouds, groups of carbon spots, feathers and/or cracks
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that can be seen with the eye.
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VVS - Very, very, slightly imperfect
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VS - Very slightly imperfect
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Sl - Slightly imperfect
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I - Imperfect
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A flawless stone is simply that. No flaw can be found even with the use of a
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10x jeweler's loupe or 10x microscope. As you go down the scale, the VVS-1 may
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have one very small inclusion, generally not in the table (which I'll cover it
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later in the file) portion of the diamond but possibly on the edge. Again,
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this flaw is seen only from the front and only on using 10x magnification. It
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should not be visible to the naked eye.
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As we get into VVS-2, there may be more than one flaw wlth magnification but
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they're still extremely small. One small inclusion may be in the table area of
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the diamond.
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Into the VS grades, the flaws become larger and more prominent than their VVS
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cousins. VS2 may have larger flaws or a number of small spots possibly located
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in the table of the diamond that group together and are almost considered one
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flaw. They are generally in the same area.
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When we talk about 10x magnification, this can be in the form of a jeweler's
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loupe which is a fairly inexpensive must-have item for anyone serious about
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stones or a step upward which is the two eyepiece (stereo) microscope, which
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many jewelers will have on the premises and will let one borrow when perusing
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their stones.
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It is wise to always make sure that the magnification device employed is 1Ox.
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This is the standard and any variation from this will affect the rating of the
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stone to a great degree.
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Note that flawless VVS and VS rated stones are rated when looking at the stone
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right side up with a 1 Ox magnification device. If you pick up a stone that
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supposedly falls under one of these ratings and you can see inclusions with
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the naked eye, you're not looking at a stone that is properly rated.
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An Sl-1 rated stone will have inclusions that are very obvious under 1Ox
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magnification, but should still be borderline visible or not visible when
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viewed with the naked eye. The Sl-1 stone may have these borderline visible,
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small dots or inclusions in the table or edge of the stone. An Sl-2 rating
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will have larger flaws and probably more than one. These will be easily
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visible to the naked eye.
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In the I grades, the stones can be considered either quite flawed or imperfect.
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Flaws are probably inside the table. There may be flaws of more than one
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variety, clouds, cracks or groups of black or white carbon spots will be
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visible. This last group of stones obviously are the least valuable and the
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least interesting for anyone trying to convert from cash to gems and back
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again.
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Looking backward we can infer several things, the first of which being if you
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can spot a number of inclusions without the use of magnification device, the
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stone is going to be graded 1, whether l-1, I-2 or l-3 is open to some
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subjective effort, but it will be an I rated stone.
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If you can't find flaws with your eye alone but they do become visible when
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using a loupe, one can assume that the stone is an Sl rated stone.
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The differentiation between an S stone and a VS stone is that in a VS stone
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inclusions may not be seen extremely clearly even with the loupe. If the stone
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is turned over and laid on the flat front part (the face of the stone - this
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is the table) and one views down from the back of the stone where all the
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facets come to a point and the flaws are more readily seen here, one can
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assume it is a VS-2 or above rated stone.
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Note this viewing is done under white light and with the stone loose. It is
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very difficult to judge any of the 4 C's when the stone is mounted. Mounted
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stones are not generally considered for investment grade purchases. The stone
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should be loose and one should be able to turn it freely.
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COLOR
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~~~~~
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The second C used in rating diamonds is color. Diamonds come in literally
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every color in the rainbow and while a few specialty colored diamonds are
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extremely valuable because of their deep hues and unique color characteristics,
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these are the exceptions rather than the rule. In general, the closer a stone
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is to possessing no color, that is, to being colorless, the more the stone is
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worth.
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In order to establish the transparency or lack of color in a diamond, the
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loose stone is placed on a pure white background under a white light. There
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are special lights sold with adjusted color temperatures for this viewing or
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some people prefer to use the soft north sunlight when trying to view the
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color of a diamond.
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In color rating as in clarity rating, the dazzling brilliance and fire of a
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diamond are the viewer's natural enemy. They will confuse the eye and care
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must be exercised to not become jaded or tricked, but rather to view each
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characteristic individually and in comparison to other stones or photographs
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of stones.
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The most accepted color grading system is that again of the GIA. Their system
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is judged by using a series of master stones sold by the GIA or their
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representatives that establish hues and tints and can be laid side by side
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with the stone in question in order to view how "white" the stone really is.
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If at all possible, it is certainly worth one's time to visit a large gem
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dealer with the intent or apparent intent of purchasing a goodsized stone and
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ask to see a master set and become used to judging the color on several stones
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until you have a feel for the concept of whiteness, transparency and hues.
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Technology has now produced a practical and inexpensive (comparatively) method
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of possessing your own diamond master stones. These stones are available in all
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colors D through Z on the GIA scale and are excellent to have on hand to
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compare with any other stone you may be considering purchasing in order to
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rate the new stone. These stones are color correct because they're created to
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be exactly the color they're supposed to be.
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How can this be cheap? The stones are not diamonds. They're CZ's, cubic
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zirconia. These CZ stones look like diamonds, act like diamonds, smell like
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diamonds and can be matched to a real diamond in order to compare colors with
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an extreme degree of accuracy. A five stone set with a color test box is $300
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from:
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Danley Trading Corporation
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580 Fifth Ave.
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30th Floor
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New York, NY 10036
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800-227-2079
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There's also a device known as a color meter which electronically measures the
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color or lack of color in a stone. This meter is quite accurate although
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fairly hard to come by unless one is a member of the Gemological Institute of
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America.
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The GIA color rating system has been established using alphabetical
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nomenclature. The stones are rated from pure (totally colorless) down through
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a sliding scale to yellow, which is the least valuable stone. The GIA color
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rating system starts with the letter D and progresses through the alphabet as
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shown below to Z, which would be very yellow.
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A B C D E F ) Colorless
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G H I J ) Near Colorless
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K L ) Faint
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M ) Yellow-White
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N O ) Very Light Yellow
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P ) Light Yellow
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Q ) Yellow
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R S T U ) Light
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V ) Yellow to Fancy
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W ) Fancy
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X Y Z ) Yellow
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After the letter Z, indicators are used to suggest the stone is more valuable
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because of its hue; i.e., a "fancy" color. As you can see from the above chart,
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D, E and F stones are considered completely colorless. G, H, I and J are near
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colorless stones and take a lot of practice for the amateur to see any color
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at all, while after J the stones begin to pick up a small tint of yellow that
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is noticeable to practiced gemologists.
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To correctly grade a gemstone, the stone must be loose, not in a setting,
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should be on a perfectly white background, should have a white gem quality
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temperature light and should be viewed from the rear of the stone. In other
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words, the stone should be upside down Iying on its table. It is also
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extremely helpful to have stones of known color grades nearby for active
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comparison.
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Never attempt to judge the color of a diamond when it is set in any kind of
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setting, be it earring, ring, or whatever as it is strictly impossible to
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judge the color of a mounted stone that is taking on hues and tints from the
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mounting itself.
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Color is a very important consideration in choosing investment quality
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diamonds and, in fact, the differences in large sizes such as one carat and
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over from a D to an E color (again these are the top rated stones and are both
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considered colorless to the naked eye) can be double the price between these
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two grades. . .
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CUT
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~~~
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Bear in mind also that a good diamond cutter can cut a colored stone in order
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to make it appear whiter than it is WHEN THE STONE IS MOUNTED by doing a
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shallower cut that's more spread on the point where the facets come together.
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This will make the stone appear less yellow, again only after it's mounted.
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This is another reason one should never judge a stone that is in a mounting
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of any sort.
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The cut of a brilliant diamond may be the most singular important consideration
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in buying a stone within a set price range. Unless one is an expert and feels
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his knowledge is good enough to override general public consideration, there
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is only one cut to consider and that is the "brilliant" cut. Brilliant cut is
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a modern cut that is a completely round stone designed with 58 facets to
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maximize light reflection and "fire" within a diamond.
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There are a lot of stones still around which have what is known as a European
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cut. This cut was done in the 1920's and before and does not compare in value
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to the modern brilliant cut. The old cut or European cut stones were cut
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before exact ratios and angles were established and understood by the gem
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cutting society and, as such, do not maximize the reflecting and refraction
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qualities of the stone. European cut stones such as those purchased at pawn
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shops and estate sales, are much harder to resell and do not offer the
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liquidity of a brilliant cut diamond.
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There are other popular modern cuts such as the marquise, the oval and the
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pear which attract some buyers when designed for jewelry, due to their unique
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appearance. These cuts do not reflect as well as the brilliant cut and are
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rarely seen in investment quality jewelry. Again, the fancier cuts will be
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on the average much harder to sell (definitely harder to sell to a dealer)
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than is the round brilliant cut stone.
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Fancy cut diamonds have fewer angles cut to what is known as the "critical
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angle" and, as such, cannot be as brilliant as a round cut stone. The fancier
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a stone is, the more it differs from a brilliant cut, the greater the loss in
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light reflection will be.
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Another phenomena to be aware of in fancy cut stones such as pear shapes or
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marquise shapes, is something called the bow tie effect. This is a dark,
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cloudy area across the upper portion of the table on these stones. It is a
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quality inherent in the cutting and looks like a cloudy bow tie across the
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reflecting portion of the table. This obviously lowers the value of the stone
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considerably and, if one is thinking about a fancy cut stone, this effect
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should be taken into consideration.
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Fancy cut stones have only two bottom facets as opposed to the eight found in
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round cut stones to reflect the light back. While they still may appear to be
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fairly brilliant, the refraction, the fire of the stone, will suffer
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critically. This loss progresses from the marquise cut through the straight
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cuts such as the emerald cut diamond. These straight cut stones suffer a great
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light and fire loss and are not nearly as valuable as the same stone would be
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cut in a brilliant cut.
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An uncut diamond is normally sawn or split into two or more stones as decided
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by the diamond cutter. It just takes a simple error here to completely ruin a
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valuable stone and turn it into nothing but dust. Now you can understand the
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hypertension rate among diamond cutters and airport controllers...
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Once a rough diamond is split, the diamond cutter then decides how the stone
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will be laid out and cut. This operation means that a certain portion of the
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diamond will be ground off and lost and so this cut plan becomes an important
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step in finishing the final stone.
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The first step taken by the diamond cutter is to girdle the diamond. This
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process of girdling establishes the size of the stone and puts a "waste" on
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the stone (see the diagram). If a stone is poorly girdled, it will not appear
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completely round when viewed with the jeweler's loupe or microscope. A round
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brilliant cut stone should be perfectly round and symmetrical.
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Other mistakes in girdling will produce flaws that manifest themselves as a
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razor thin girdle which is prone to chipping or breaking (even though diamonds
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are extremely hard, they are brittle and can be chipped or shattered in thin
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areas). A too thick girdle takes away from the brilliance and fire of a stone
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and indicates a poor job on the part of the diamond cutter.
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A diamond cutter cuts (in a brilliant cut) 58 facets all done on exact angles
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in exact positions in order to let the diamond reflect as much light as is
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physically possible. The brilliant cut stone has 16 facets on top and 16
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facets on the bottom that reflect the light and give the stone its cut. Each
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facet is cut on a unique angle and is exactly straight when viewed with other
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facets in order to maximize light reflection.
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When you view a brilliant cut stone, around the table of the stone you'll see
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the kite and the topmain facets. These facets are the areas that allow the
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light to come through to the viewer. Beneath these you have eight star facets
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and then 16 upper girdle facets before you reach the girdle itself. Beneath
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the girdle you have an additional 16 lower girdle facets. All these ancillary
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facets contribute to the light reflection through the kite and top main facets
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and the table portion of the stone.
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What is the advantage of the 58 facet brilliant cut stone? What does one
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expect to see when viewing a diamond? There are two qualities that make a
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diamond attractive to the eye. The first one is known as life and indicates
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the amount of light that is reflected back from the diamond to the viewer.
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The second quality is known as fire, which is an indication of the amount of
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refraction from the facets and split into colors as in a prism effect.
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|
Besides the 58 facets, a number of other factors contribute to the perfectness
|
|
of a brilliant cut stone. The stone's table should be 53% of the area of the
|
|
stone. While the ratio between the depth of the stone or the length of the
|
|
stone if you view it from the side, to the spread of the stone which is the
|
|
maximum diameter of the girdle, this ratio should be 60% depth to spread.
|
|
The angles on a stone must be cut exactly to critical angles. Any deviation
|
|
will produce a less than perfect reflection of the light waves entering the
|
|
stone. A jeweler will have special gauges to measure these angles. These
|
|
gauges are available but they are expensive. Or one can buy a loupe that is
|
|
marked with angle markings (about $50 from suppliers like Edmund Scientific).
|
|
When angles are viewed through this loupe, they can be accurately measured .
|
|
The first measurement to take is the degree of the angle from the table to the
|
|
girdle of the stone. This is known as the top critical angle and should be 34
|
|
1/2 degrees. Underneath the girdle, the bottom angle from the girdle to the
|
|
point of the stone is also a critical angle and should be cut at 40 3/4
|
|
degrees. A further measurement is that the girdle should be about 1% as thick
|
|
as the diameter of the stone, although this is not quite as critical as the
|
|
other measurements and can be judged by the eye after a bit of practice.
|
|
A stone which is not cut with the critical angles in the right degree, will
|
|
either be shallow cut or deep cut and will not reflect the light back through
|
|
the center of the stone (the table of the stone) with the same brilliance as
|
|
a stone that is cut to the correct angles.
|
|
If the stone is shallow cut, the light will reflect off the edges of the stone
|
|
but not through the middle. If it is cut too deeply, the center of the stone
|
|
will appear to be dark and it is called "heavy." In the past some cutters cut
|
|
the upper angles at a less than 30 degree cut. This "spread cut" helps hide
|
|
deficiencies in a stone but makes the girdle angles sharp and likely to be
|
|
broken or chipped and the stone is not as valuable as a normally cut stone.
|
|
If the correct tool for sizing angles is not available, one can estimate that
|
|
if the table appears to be larger than it should, and the width to height
|
|
(that is the depth spread ratio) is below 60%, one can assume that the
|
|
critical crown angles are shallow.
|
|
It is possible to polish a diamond to a high degree to compensate for shallow
|
|
or deep cut angles at first glance and make the stone appear to be more
|
|
brilliant than it, in fact, is. If the stone is chosen for investment quality,
|
|
a measurement of these angles is almost essential .
|
|
|
|
|
|
CARAT WEIGHT
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
The fourth and final C in evaluating a diamond for purchase is the carat
|
|
weight. The term carat is a reference to biblical times when diamonds were
|
|
compared against a carob bean because carob beans tend to have a uniform size
|
|
and weight. One carob bean became the equivalent of one carat. The carat is
|
|
still the primary unit of diamond weight used today. However, a carat is
|
|
further broken down into 100 sub units called points. One point equals 1/100
|
|
of a carat.
|
|
When you buy diamonds it is often mentally economical to break the price of
|
|
the stone down to a per carat basis. A rather crude example would be if you
|
|
were buying drugs you would break the price of a kilo down into a gram weight
|
|
to establish what you are actually paying per unit. The same is true in
|
|
diamonds. You should divide the weight of the diamond into the price to get
|
|
the carat weight.
|
|
The next thing to realize is that carat weights do not follow a linear
|
|
progression in terms of price. There are certain man-made break points in
|
|
diamond pricing. The first break is at .50 (1/2) of a carat. The second break
|
|
is at 1 carat and then succeeding breaks occur at each carat thereafter.
|
|
These breaks, although arbritrary, are valid and a diamond that is .52 of a
|
|
carat will cost considerably more than a diamond that is .44 of a carat. A
|
|
diamond that is over 1 carat, say 1.03 carats, will cost considerably more
|
|
per point or per carat than would a diamond that is .94. Because this break
|
|
is so critical, one should always see a diamond weighed in front of one on a
|
|
scale that has been verified by using an accurate unit of measure. In other
|
|
words, put a one gram weight on the scale and see if it actually reads one
|
|
gram.
|
|
Because of the price involved, these break points are quite important and one
|
|
does not want to pay the price differential for over a 1 carat diamond for one
|
|
that's actually a couple points under. When it comes time for resale, the next
|
|
buyer will not be so generous in his consideration of the weight.
|
|
These price breaks are very substantial and are one of the few things in
|
|
diamond selling that is not subjective. As such they are quite evident in all
|
|
diamond sales. The difference per carat weight in a diamond that weighs from
|
|
1 to 2 carats may be as much as $1,000 per carat or more, on a 2 to 3 carat
|
|
diamond. This holds true on a 3 to 4 carat diamond also. One could expect to
|
|
pay not $1,000 more but $1,000 per carat more. This tends to increase as one
|
|
gets into the heavier weights and good grades of stones because the stones
|
|
become much rarer. It is much easier to find small good stones than it is to
|
|
find large stones of the same quality.
|
|
Wholesalers and for that matter, diamond retailers, buy their diamonds on a
|
|
per carat basis and if you are going to buy from anyone in the business, you
|
|
should consider the stone in that same light.
|
|
It is practically impossible to quote diamond prices in a paper like this
|
|
because they are subject to change and market fluctuations. Retail diamond
|
|
prices are also subject to seasonal conditions and one will find that holidays
|
|
and gift giving times such as Christmas tend to bring about severe prices from
|
|
retail outlets while the spring and summer months will often evoke a more
|
|
favorable estimate from a retailer who needs to make his rent that month.
|
|
Wholesale diamond prices should not change too much due to seasons or gift
|
|
giving times. Wholesale prices will vary when the market demands exceed supply
|
|
and also tend, as with gold, to function somewhat independently and opposite
|
|
of "soft" currency such as the dollar.
|
|
The price one pays is determined by how much the seller wants to sell the
|
|
stone and how much the buyer wants to buy it. Obviously in certain situations,
|
|
stones are cheaper than they would be in a high markup area such as with a
|
|
retail jeweler.
|
|
A stone may come with an appraisal sheet from one of the two gemological
|
|
societies recognized in America. This sheet, as we have seen, details a number
|
|
of qualities about the stone and will establish an appraised price. A couple
|
|
things one should be aware of about appraisals; the first is that they're
|
|
invalid generally.
|
|
Appraisals are an instrument designed for insurance companies to establish a
|
|
possible price on a diamond that includes a number of factors such as increase
|
|
in value during ownership. The appraisal sheet will be inflated over the value
|
|
of the diamond. One never expects to pay full appraisal price for a diamond
|
|
and if one does, the term "saw you coming" falls quite aptly into place.
|
|
Appraisals also vary from person to person even with accredited gemologists.
|
|
The same stone can bring about two entirely separate appraisals that may
|
|
differ in value by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Again, the appraisal
|
|
is a piece of paper that allows the insurance company to set a value on the
|
|
stone, not that the insurance company will necessarily pay off the appraisal
|
|
at full price either.
|
|
One cannot make a living by buying diamonds, having them appraised and then
|
|
reporting them to the insurance company for too long.
|
|
Appraisals, on a very general basis, tend to be nearly double the price that
|
|
a stone will actually sell for. This is a very wide statement and some
|
|
appraisals will, of course, be closer to the actual value of the stone than
|
|
will others.
|
|
Appraisals cost money and if you are good enough to sell the qualities of the
|
|
stone after a little bit of practice, your own word and your own peace of mind
|
|
will be more valid than a piece of paper. You are buying a piece of paper
|
|
that someone else may not want to buy.
|
|
One should actually consider that one is buying the stone, not a piece of
|
|
paper telling one how valuable the stone is. This could be compared to buying
|
|
a car because the owner wrote an article about how exciting the car was.
|
|
Needless to say one should base the actual purchase price on the vehicle
|
|
itself...
|
|
Reasons for getting an accredited appraisal are having the stone you want
|
|
insured, or when you go to sell the stone, having an appraisal that verifies
|
|
the stone's quality to an unsophisticated buyer and that lists the price
|
|
considerably higher than you actually expect to get for the stone, which may
|
|
help sell the stone.
|
|
This is a nice line of thinking as long as you are the seller and not the
|
|
buyer. This is a buyer beware type of business and you should know what you're
|
|
getting and should take all safeguards possible to insure you're getting what
|
|
you think you are. If you're buying in a slightly dubious situation and
|
|
perhaps are not as concerned with the stone's pedigree as some people would
|
|
be, you should be prepared to never see the seller again and live or die on
|
|
your evaluation of the stone, not a piece of paper from an appraiser.
|
|
It should also be pointed out that in certain situations one would not want to
|
|
take a stone in to an appraiser. I will leave this to the imagination of the
|
|
reader.
|
|
Although appraisals are intended for an insurance company's benefit, one
|
|
should realize that if an insured stone is stolen or otherwise destroyed, the
|
|
insurance company may want additional information regarding the purchase of
|
|
the stone along with an independent appraisal. There are exceptions to this
|
|
rule. If this stone was a gift or was left to one in an estate, obviously an
|
|
appraisal becomes the primary instrument of value determination and, as such,
|
|
is extremely useful to have on hand.
|
|
As a sidebar here, there are ways of destroying or damaging a diamond, even
|
|
though a diamond is one of the hardest materials known to man. As previously
|
|
pointed out, they are brittle. If you strike a diamond with a hammer, you'll
|
|
dissolve it into useless industrial dust. If you touch a diamond to an
|
|
acetylene torch of significant temperature, you will observe an extremely
|
|
interesting and costly phenomenon where the diamond turns back into the same
|
|
black carbon that it came from.
|
|
Graphite, in other words. Once this happens the only recourse is to hope the
|
|
diamond was large enough to burn in the furnace and get some heat because
|
|
there is no way of changing it back quite as readily to its crystalline form.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DIAMOND: AVAILABILITY AND PRICES
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
Diamonds are found literally the world over from black specimens in Brazil to
|
|
flawless whites in Arkansas. Unquestionably the largest supply of diamonds
|
|
comes from South Africa where the mines are owned and run by the De Beers
|
|
family and have been for a number of years. The De Beers closely guard both
|
|
the stones and information about their production.
|
|
Diamonds are found typically in a type of formation known as a pipe because of
|
|
its resemblance to a pipe driven vertically in the ground. The top part of the
|
|
pipe normally contains "yellow earth" which contains natural stones which can
|
|
be fairly easiiy crumbled and separated out by specific gravity and the fact
|
|
that diamonds stick to grease. Most stones do not.
|
|
Once the yellow earth pushed from the pipe is used up, the second section is
|
|
known as "blue earth." This is a much harder, clay-like material that at first
|
|
was thought to contain no diamonds and be too hard to crack open because any
|
|
diamonds inside would be smashed by the cracking process. It was later
|
|
discovered this clay-like material dries in the sun or under artificial heat
|
|
to a consistency that allows it to be crumbled. It does contain as many or
|
|
more stones as the yellow earth section of the pipe does.
|
|
The De Beers have a unique position, more so than any other firm in any other
|
|
field of commodities. They literally control the price and availability of
|
|
diamonds the world over. They do this through something called the Central
|
|
Selling Organization (CSO). The CSO literally controls the sales of almost
|
|
all gem quality diamonds in the world.
|
|
They allow sales in a unique ceremony known as a sight allocation where upon
|
|
a De Beers authorized dealer is allowed to buy a certain number of stones
|
|
they select, wrap and deliver to him at a price they set. This is not an
|
|
offering but a take-it-or-leave-it situation and if one leaves too many
|
|
finally De Beer or CSO no longer deals with that particular person. He will
|
|
no longer be a sight holder. This relationship between the sight holders and
|
|
the CSO is an instrument to instill fear in the wholesaler who depends upon
|
|
a single supplier.
|
|
The CSO, in order to maintain its level of prices, buys or guarantees to buy
|
|
all natural diamonds produced in the world. They do this in order to maintain
|
|
an exact supply and demand ratio they feel is advantageous to the market.
|
|
Extra stones are stored in bank vaults, supposedly in London and a few other
|
|
countries and only marketed when the supply for them increases. De Beers and
|
|
their organization, the CSO, do not make public exactly how many diamonds are
|
|
being produced and how many are being released or what the price would fall
|
|
to if the natural odds of supply and demand took over, rather than the
|
|
structured sales organization.
|
|
For example, current gem prices are as follows:
|
|
|
|
Prices are approximate current wholesale purchase prices
|
|
paid by retail jewelers on a per stone basis.
|
|
|
|
Fine Good
|
|
Stone
|
|
April April April April
|
|
1987 1988 1987 1988
|
|
|
|
Amethyst 1 ct. $4-6 $4-6 $6-10 $6-10
|
|
Aquamarine 1 ct. $40-100 $40-100 $100-250 $100-250
|
|
Blue Sapphire 1 ct. $250-550 $300-600 $660-1300 $600-2600
|
|
Blue Topaz 1 ct. $5-6 $5-6 $6-9 $6-9
|
|
Emerald 1 ct. $900-1800 $900-1800 $1800-3000 $1800-3000
|
|
Red Tourmaline 1 ct. $25-60 $25-60 $60-120 $50-125
|
|
Rhodolite Garnet 1 ct. $15-25 $15-25 $25-35 $25-35
|
|
Ruby 1 ct. $875-2300 $1000-3500 $2300-3300 $2500-3500
|
|
Tanzanite 1 ct. $125-275 $160-250 $275-450 $250-350
|
|
Tsavorite 1 ct. $400-700 $400-600 $700-1200 $500-800
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round diamonds Price per carat
|
|
VS1 VS2 S11
|
|
|
|
Size Color 4/87 4/88 4/87 4/88 4/87 4/88
|
|
|
|
1/4 ct. G $1000 $1200 $950 $1000 $800 $840
|
|
H $950 $1000 $900 $950 $780 $820
|
|
1/2 ct. G $2200 $2400 $2000 $2200 $1700 $1800
|
|
H $2100 $2200 $1900 $2000 $1600 $1700
|
|
3/4 ct. G $2500 $2700 $2300 $2500 $2100 $2200
|
|
H $2400 $2400 $2200 $2200 $2000 $2000
|
|
1 ct. G $3900 $4200 $3500 $3700 $3000 $3200
|
|
H $3600 $3700 $3200 $3300 $2800 $2900
|
|
|
|
If you want to follow wholesale prices exactly, a quarterly newsletter is
|
|
available for $125 per year. For more information write to this address:
|
|
|
|
Gem World International, Inc.
|
|
5 North Wabash, Suite 1500
|
|
Chicago, IL 60602.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SINGLE STONE IDENTIFICATION
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
The odds on finding an uncut diamond, unless one happens to be walking on a
|
|
patrolled, electrified, mined and guard dog guarded beach in South Africa,
|
|
are fairly rare. However, uncut diamonds have a number of characteristics
|
|
that lend ease to their identification.
|
|
They normally appear as cloudy, white or slightly colored pebbles with a
|
|
unique coal, greasy feel to the touch as they are excellent conductors of
|
|
heat. Natural diamonds can be dipped in water and will not remain "wet". The
|
|
water does not stick to the surface. These diamonds do, however, stick to
|
|
common axle grease when passed over them, but most stones will not.
|
|
Natural diamonds also occur as crystals and normally have at least one side of
|
|
the crystal that is flat and appears as a facet. Sometimes more than one side
|
|
will take on this characteristic.
|
|
Positive identification of diamonds or other gems is achieved by a number of
|
|
more scientific methods. Specific gravity is a good place to start. This
|
|
concept is very simple. It is based upon the weight of a certain material in
|
|
relation to the weight in an equal volume of water.
|
|
If the material has a specific gravity of four, it will weigh four times as
|
|
much as with that much water. Specific gravity is usually checked by using
|
|
weighing scales that allow suspension of the specimen. First it's weighed in
|
|
air, then it's weighed in water. The weight in water subtracted from the
|
|
weight in air with the quotient divided into the weight in air. This gives
|
|
the specific gravity of the material.
|
|
Most gem materials have a specific gravity of less than four. If somebody
|
|
wants an accurate but fairly fast method, he can produce a few heavy liquids
|
|
and bottle them to suit his needs. There are a number of liquids such as
|
|
tetrabromo ethane and methylene iodine that will work. The first having a
|
|
specific rate of 2.95 that can be diluted with kerosene to any gravity one
|
|
wishes and the second, 3.33. It can be diluted with toluene to produce a
|
|
series of liquids of certain gravities in between. Leaving the material in
|
|
question in the bottle, you can tell at a glance if correct and what the
|
|
specific gravity and the density is.
|
|
The specific gravity of diamonds varies slightly depending on where the
|
|
diamond came from but will fall between 3.50 and 3.53.
|
|
The next reliable indicator used is a scale of hardness indicator. As most
|
|
people realize, diamonds are the hardest stone in the world. The hardness
|
|
scale normally refers to something called Mohs hardness.
|
|
The Mohs scale is a 0 - 10 scale. There is another scale that's 0 -15 making
|
|
it easier to differentiate between the marginal gems that fall between 9 - 10, but the Mohs scale is primarily in use.
|
|
Hardness simply refers to the ability of one material to scratch another.
|
|
Harder material always scratches a softer material.
|
|
The difficulty in making the scratch or appearance does not come into play.
|
|
Simply the fact that it can be made.
|
|
It should be pointed out that the Mohs scale does not correlate to the
|
|
relative hardness of the materials. In other words, a diamond is not something
|
|
that is 10x harder than something that is a 1 on the scale. The scale is
|
|
simply there to present a basis on which, when a material is scratched,
|
|
another material can be identified as harder.
|
|
Diamonds are a 10 on the hardness scale. Quartz is a 7 on the hardness scale
|
|
as are most types of tourmaline. Most garnets are 7 1/4 on the scale.
|
|
Synthetic emerald tends to be 7 1/4 to 7 1/2. Silicon carbide is a 9 1/4 to 9
|
|
1/2 on the scale, meaning it will not scratch diamond and diamond will scratch
|
|
it.
|
|
Opals begin at 4 1/2 and go up through 5 on the scale while turquoise is 5.
|
|
Rubies are 9 on the hardness scale.
|
|
It is also possible to set a piece of gem material between two Polaroid plates
|
|
that are set so that no light may be seen between them. The lower plate that
|
|
the gem sits on is known as a polarizer. The upper plate is the analyzer. The
|
|
polarizer is fixed but the analyzer is rotated.
|
|
If during a complete rotation, the material remains dark with no change, it is
|
|
called isotropic. If it is nonisotropic, it will change from light to dark
|
|
four times during a complete rotation. The normal nonisotropic pattern is a
|
|
sharp cutoff from light to dark, much as extinguishing a fire. By doing this
|
|
with a gem, it is possible to establish a refractive index.
|
|
However, this is a fairly mind boggling exercise and there are easier ways to
|
|
tell, at least with diamonds.
|
|
All precious stones have bad name counterparts, some of which are better than
|
|
others. Synthetic stones (or by the correct name "created gems") are defined
|
|
by law as "chemically, physically and optically" the same as real gemstones.
|
|
They are more expensive than imitation or faux stones which don't have the
|
|
real characteristics but they're considerably cheaper than natural stones of
|
|
the same variety. As long ago as in Victorian times, the French were creating
|
|
synthetic rubies, emeralds and sapphires, which is a surprise to some people
|
|
who buy estate jewelry thinking it contains a real stone only to find it is a
|
|
synthetic stone.
|
|
Today's methods are definitely more sophisticated and create gems so good that
|
|
only trained jewelers and gemologists can tell them apart from their natural
|
|
cousins... IF THEN!
|
|
It's possible to create flaws in a created stone although it's more common to
|
|
see created stones being too flawless or too perfect to be true.
|
|
Manmade diamonds have existed for years although they have primarily been of
|
|
industrial quality. Scientists have claimed it is impossible to make gem
|
|
quality diamonds. This is not true. About 25 years ago General Electric
|
|
discovered it could make perfect, flawless gem quality diamonds which were
|
|
impossible to tell from their natural cousins. They decided not to continue
|
|
the experiment in any mass version because it was "economically unfeasible."
|
|
In the 1950's the Soviets discovered a large diamond pipe in Siberia and began
|
|
producing gem quality diamonds. In 1962 the CSP decided to buy all uncut
|
|
diamonds produced by the Soviet Union as to allow them to be under De Beers
|
|
price control. They expected that, based on comparisons with their own mines
|
|
in South Africa, the Soviets would begin to run out of diamonds in about 1970
|
|
and, therfore, they could afford to buy all the diamonds they would produce.
|
|
Approximately once a month, a chartered aircraft lands in London and
|
|
$50,000,000 worth of diamonds are turned over to De Beers Diamond Trading
|
|
Company for the equivalent hard currency.
|
|
De Beers is not very fond of this arrangement but they feel they must do it
|
|
in order to keep up the diamond prices.
|
|
However, an unusual development occurred to the shock of the De Beers. The
|
|
size of the Soviet shipments did not stop in 1970 but rather increased
|
|
dramatically between 1970 and 1975, besides which the diamonds seemed to be
|
|
very homogenous in character, averaging 1/4 carat, flawless with sharp,
|
|
angular edges and a slight green tint. The Soviet diamonds seemed to be
|
|
remarkably uniform in size and shape and, unlike their African counterparts,
|
|
did not come in a multitude of round, square, flat, triangular or twisted
|
|
shapes but rather ere octahedons.
|
|
Coincidentally, the Soviets, under some pressure, have admitted they, with a
|
|
group of 1200 researchers, developed a way to manufacture a flawless gem
|
|
quality diamond. This process was officially developed in the 1960's by one
|
|
Leonoid Veres Yagin. The Soviets claim they are not manufacturing these gems
|
|
but they are natural gems that they keep selling to De Beers.
|
|
American agencies, after numerous requests, were finally allowed to visit the
|
|
Siberian mine and found it hopelessly inadequate in size and facilities to
|
|
process even more than a fraction of the diamonds the Soviets are showing the
|
|
De Beers. The De Beers insist these diamonds are natural and deny the Soviets
|
|
have the capability to flood the diamond market with a virtually unlimited
|
|
supply...
|
|
Besides these man made natural diamonds, there is the problem of cubic
|
|
zirconia or CZ. It is usually sold under a trade name such as Zirconia,
|
|
Phyanite and Diamonique. Technically, CZ is not a synthetic diamond but it is
|
|
a crystallization of the chemical zirconia that, when cut, has most of the
|
|
optical characteristics of a diamond.
|
|
CZ is not as hard as a diamond and it does have a different specific gravity.
|
|
It takes 1.70 carat CZ to equal 1 carat diamond in weight.
|
|
CZs, however, in the last few years, have become increasingly close to
|
|
diamonds and good CZs are impossible to tell from diamonds by the eye. In
|
|
fact, we had several gemologists look at unmounted CZ and unmounted diamonds,
|
|
and they admitted they could not tell the difference. The only one who did
|
|
pick out the CZ with some regularity was because, he said, the stones were too
|
|
flawless to be diamonds...
|
|
Hardly a reliable way to judge stones.
|
|
As one can see, the potential for fraudulent misuse of CZ is quite high and
|
|
there have been a number of occasions where people were sold CZ instead of
|
|
diamonds, turned their diamond rings into unscrupulous jewelers or gemologists,
|
|
only to have CZ put in the same mountings and returned to them. There have
|
|
been a number of cases of people looking at diamonds in a jewelry store, and
|
|
with a quick distraction, replacing the diamond in full view of the jeweler
|
|
with a CZ and giving that back instead. These will pass on sight. How do you
|
|
tell a CZ from a diamond? Well, luckily technology has come to the rescue.
|
|
There are a number of devices on the market that, for under $150, will
|
|
electronically test the material to see if it is a diamond or not. Diamonds
|
|
have unique electrical resistance patterns and CZ have their own. These
|
|
devices are simply touched to the material in question and will tell if it is
|
|
a diamond or a CZ. It is a good thing to have on hand if one plans on dealing
|
|
in gems.
|
|
There are a couple of different systems for forming synthetic rubies and
|
|
emeralds. One is to use a seed chip of the natural stone and then combine
|
|
chemicals, heat and pressure to "grow" rubies and emeralds. The latest
|
|
processes are known as flux processes, which combine heat and/or pressure to
|
|
work on the ingredients composing the gemestone to be synthesized. (The
|
|
ingredients are fairly easy to come by; i.e., carbon for diamonds or beryl
|
|
for emeralds.)
|
|
These flux processes are designed to produce richly colored stones and almost
|
|
always do. They usually have greater clarity than the natural variety although
|
|
sometimes offer distinguishing inclusions which telltale their origin.
|
|
The most famous emeralds are probably Chatham synthetics which grow in a
|
|
group of crystals. They were first grown in 1935 by Caroll Chatham of San
|
|
Francisco. The Chatham family still grows these gems but doesn't care to
|
|
discuss the process. The Chatham emerald sometimes has small spicule
|
|
inclusions on the face of the facets as a result of the crystal forming
|
|
solution.
|
|
Gillson is another variety of snythetic emerald. There is also a Japanese
|
|
gentleman by the name of Kazuo Inamora, President of Kyoto Ceramics, who has
|
|
three showrooms in Japan and one in Beverly Hills selling "created" rubies
|
|
and emeralds. These created stones have caught on quite well in other
|
|
countries including Japan and may or many not catch on here. As you can see
|
|
by my chart, the price difference between the synthetic and the natural
|
|
stones is quite great.
|
|
Once again, we've had experience with Chatham's emeralds and have had a number
|
|
of gemologists that had great difficulty telling the natural emerald from the
|
|
Chatham emerald. In many cases, they both would have passed off as natural
|
|
stones.
|
|
|
|
Natural: 1-carat Emerald (top quality) $20,000+
|
|
Man-made: 1-carat Chatham-created Emerald (top quality) $400
|
|
|
|
Natural: 1-carat Ruby $20,000+
|
|
Man-made: 1-carat Chatham-created Ruby $400
|
|
|
|
Natural: 1-carat Sapphire $5,000-$14,000
|
|
Man-Made: 1-carat Chatham-created Sapphire $200-$300
|
|
|
|
Natural: 1-carat Diamond $20,000+
|
|
Man-made: 1.70-carat CZ under $100
|
|
|
|
Natural: 16" cultured (7mm) pearl choker $1,500
|
|
Man-made: $88
|
|
|
|
Natural: 1- carat Star Sapphire $3,000
|
|
Man-made: 1-carat synthetic Star Sapphire $50
|
|
|
|
Natural: 1-carat Star Ruby $12,000
|
|
Man-made: 1-carat synthetic Star Ruby $50
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCAMS AND YOU
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
Dealing with small objects of high value such as precious stones, it's not
|
|
surprising to find there are a number of creative ongoing scams. The most
|
|
obvious, of course, is simply to sell a less valuable stone in a more valuable
|
|
rating. We have seen, in the case of diamonds, how even though subjective, a
|
|
small difference in the rating can make a large difference in the price.
|
|
Again, never buy mounted stones.
|
|
Substitution of less valuable stones is an offshoot of this where colorless
|
|
topaz may be substituted for diamonds since most stones are colorless and
|
|
have quite a bit of luster. The specific gravity of the topaz qill approach
|
|
that of a diamond. Of course, it won't pass other tests for a diamond.
|
|
Yellow quartz is often substituted for a yellow diamond. Red spinel is often
|
|
offered for ruby. The worst examples of this occur in areas where the real
|
|
stones are found.
|
|
"Natural emeralds" sold on the streets of Colombia, Peru and Brazil are often
|
|
made from the bottoms of 7-Up bottles...
|
|
Sometimes diamonds are manipulated by taking a yellow diamond and super
|
|
polishing it to look white. On occasion oil may be rubbed in to make it
|
|
whiter.
|
|
Obviously the stones should be examined as we've shown.
|
|
Burma, India, Ceylon, Brazil, Peru and even Hong Kong and Thailand are
|
|
notorious places for substitution of non-gem materials in gem sales.
|
|
Sometimes cut stones in upper and lower portions are cemented together. This
|
|
is known as a doublet. It is possible to take two diamonds, the upper portion
|
|
one and the lower of another and cement them together to create one diamond
|
|
without the inherent flaws that the opposite piece had before the fushing
|
|
processs.
|
|
It is also possible, and is almost as common, to find the upper portion of a
|
|
doublet is genuine while the lower portion is cut from a comparatively worth-
|
|
less material such as quartz or glass and then glued. If this is done with a
|
|
great amount of skill, it will have the appearance of a single stone. It is
|
|
legal to combine things such as diamonds, rubies, and sapphire doublets if
|
|
they are not sold fraudulently (hehe).
|
|
It is possible to drop the stone in water or acetone and if it's a glued
|
|
doublet, the glue will dissolve and the stone come apart. However, if glass
|
|
has been used that's been fused to a diamond top, this will have no effect
|
|
and the fusion must be found by careful, microscopic examination. This fraud
|
|
is extremely difficult to detect.
|
|
A better test is to immerse the stone in a strong, refracting liquid such as
|
|
methyelene iodide. This is diluted until suddently one part of the stone
|
|
becomes invisible. This occurs when the refraction index of a liquid is the
|
|
same as that of the stone and the quartz portion which has a much lower
|
|
refraction number becomes invisible, leaving the diamond portion visible.
|
|
This is an indication of a double stone. Indian jewelers are especially known
|
|
for their production of such doublet stones.
|
|
For the extremely naive, it is possible to buy a false doublet. Here the color
|
|
of the lower portion is imparted to the upper harder portion but neither party
|
|
may be gem quality. This is when a piece of rock crystal quartz, a rather
|
|
colorless stone, is used or glued to colored glass or colored stones. In this
|
|
case, the top part will take on the color of the bottom part, although neither
|
|
one is a gem stone.
|
|
Extremely cheap doublets have been passed off by using simple colored gelatin
|
|
or coloring and quartz or glass and a bit of glue.
|
|
Besides these tricks designed to use modified stone, there are scams such as
|
|
examing a stone or piece of jewelry and having a second made to match and
|
|
swapping the two. This can be done when someone goes to answer a newspaper
|
|
ad, does not buy it but takes a picture or impression of it. Then his friend
|
|
makes the phony and goes to "examine" the piece and switches the new for the
|
|
old.
|
|
It may also be discovered a stone has been replaced with CZ after the piece
|
|
was left for cleaning or appraisals.
|
|
Faked stones mounted in jewelry and then hocked is the oldest game in the
|
|
world. The perpetrator runs out of money, offers to leave his precious ring
|
|
as a security until he can get the money he borrows back to the person. The
|
|
person may or may not skip with the stone, feeling he has the $5,000 ring.
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOOLS OF THE TRADE AND WHERE TO GET THEM
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
Cellini Jewelers
|
|
14 N. E. First Avenue, Suite 809
|
|
Miami, FL 83132
|
|
|
|
They offer a jeweler's pocket calculator that does 15 of the most practical
|
|
equations in the jewelry business. This includes calculating gold daily costs,
|
|
costs for different diamond sizes, diamond weights based on the type of stone,
|
|
and inside profit level. It also shows the amount of alloy and gold needed in
|
|
manufacturing various carat levels of gold.
|
|
|
|
Kassoy Tools & Supplies for the Jewelry Trade
|
|
28 West 47th St.
|
|
New York, NY 10036
|
|
|
|
A number of fairly inexpensive good items for anyone interested in jewels
|
|
including a dependable diamond guard, which is a light and sound diamond
|
|
indicator with recharageable batteries and a metal warring buzzer. You simply
|
|
touch it to the stones, any size down to 1 point and it will tell you if it's
|
|
real or not. About $140. A Swiss leverage gauge which accurately estimates
|
|
the weight of mounted diamonds in every shape and size for about $200. An
|
|
electronic gold tester for about $400. You can determine the yellow gold
|
|
carat content of jewelry or any other gold within four seconds.
|
|
An instant reaction and LCD display tells you how pure gold, silver or
|
|
platinum is. About $400, plus the master sets of CZ and jeweler microscopes.
|
|
|
|
Gesswein Corporation
|
|
3998 Hancock Avenue
|
|
Bridgeport, CT 06606
|
|
|
|
Another electronic diamond alarm.
|
|
|
|
JDM, Nahayakawa Bldg.
|
|
1-23-7 Nishi-Shimaeshi, Imato-Ku
|
|
Tokyo, T1 05
|
|
|
|
A Japanese company that offers a device that actually evaluates the cut of a
|
|
diamond by passing light through it. The device is called a firescope and
|
|
directs a red light into the stone and measures the amount of light reflected
|
|
through the crown. One can use the firescope and look at a diamond and
|
|
immediately tell if the diamond is leaking light, which means it has non-well
|
|
proportioned areas on the cut. If the diamond appears in completely red, this
|
|
means it is reflecting and refracting all the light it should A great idea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EMERALDS
|
|
~~~~~~~~
|
|
Emeralds are a green crystal of beryllium-aluminum silicate. The chemical
|
|
formula is Be3Al2(SiO3)6 (use some of that great information you learned in
|
|
high school). They are hexagonal prismatic crystal with a hardness of 7 1/2
|
|
to 8 on the Mohs scale. They are not tough stones and may be broken easily by
|
|
mishandling or the use of severe chemicals or ultrasonic cleaners. If you own
|
|
an emerald, be careful of it. Don't wear it during sports. Don't have a
|
|
jeweler clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner as it may shatter.
|
|
Emeralds also break under applications of heat and should never be in a ring
|
|
that is soldered. Under ultraviolet light they may fluoresceslightly,
|
|
orangish red to red, or they may be inert.
|
|
Emeralds come from a number of sources. The best come from Colombia. These are
|
|
the purest colored and generally the finest stones. The emeralds from Brazil
|
|
are lighter, have more inclusions and are generally smaller than from other
|
|
areas. Zambia, Africa, produces some bluish stones and some near-Colombian
|
|
stones. Zimbabwe is home to a particular emerald known as the sandawana
|
|
emerald which is generally small with a rich green color. Anything over 1/3
|
|
carat is rare.
|
|
South Africa produces some low-quality emeralds. Tanzania produces a few very
|
|
good quality emeralds. Pakistan has just discovered some high-quality
|
|
emeralds. Afghanistan tends to produce flawed but good colored emeralds. USSR
|
|
does produce emeralds but doesn't like to let them out of the country.
|
|
Australia produces some dubious quality emeralds and North Carolina a few gems.
|
|
Austria and India occasionally produce emeralds.
|
|
Emeralds are not unusual as the word emerald simply indicates an extremely
|
|
nice version of a fairly common stone known as beryl. It is possible to buy
|
|
something legitimately called an emerald for about $5 a carat. Obviously this
|
|
is full of flaws, not transparent and so impure in color it looks more like
|
|
jade than an emerald. They would never be sold in a jewelry store but emeralds
|
|
do sell on TV and some of the better magazines for $5 per carat.
|
|
Gem quality emeralds range anywhere from $400 to $18,000 a carat, depending
|
|
upon their quality. As the stones get larger, they become increasingly rare
|
|
and sell for considerably more money.
|
|
Color is a critical factor in emeralds and constitutes about half of the
|
|
stone's value (clarity 30% and cut 20%).
|
|
Hue describes the primary color and any other colors in the stone. Most
|
|
emeralds are green hued with a bluish hue also visible, especially the better
|
|
Colombian-type emeralds.
|
|
Tone is the depth or darkness of the color as perceived by the eye.
|
|
Saturation is the amount of hue present in any given color.
|
|
Depending upon where the emeralds come from, they can exhibit a wide range of
|
|
color; i.e., Bra~ilian emeralds are usually lighter toned and less saturated
|
|
than their Colombian cousins.
|
|
The green in the emerald is caused by trace elements of chromium and/or
|
|
bandium. If the color is very light green, the stone is more correctly
|
|
referred to as green beryl, not emerald.
|
|
Emeralds are often oiled to help their appearance. Normally an uncolored oil
|
|
such as Merck cedarwood oil is used. The stone may soak in the oil for several
|
|
days and will actually take the oil in somewhat, helping bring out the color
|
|
and "wedding" on some of the dry inclusions, making the stone look better.
|
|
If one finds an emerald that is mild in color or has a grayish hue, it is a
|
|
good bet to soak it in oil a couple days and it may regain its green color,
|
|
not to mention its value.
|
|
A more unscrupulous "improvement" is to use dye or oil with color in it. It
|
|
is possible to influence the color of a stone by having it soak up colored
|
|
oil.
|
|
Other problems with buying emeralds are the fact that there are a number of
|
|
stones that look like emeralds and overlap colors. Tsavorite, a garnet found
|
|
in Kenya and Tanzania, looks quite a bit like emerald and has a pure green
|
|
hue, although it tends to be a little bit more yellowish and never has the
|
|
blue hue of emerald.
|
|
Chrome tourmaline is another stone that looks much like an emerald with a
|
|
moderately strong green color. Another emerald look-alike comes from Africa
|
|
and is called chrome diopside. All these stones can, and are, sold as
|
|
emeralds to the unwary.
|
|
Different emeralds from different areas tend to have individually shaped
|
|
inclusions; i.e., slight pyrite inclusions are typical of emeralds from
|
|
Colombia although they can be seen in stones from other sources.
|
|
A three phase inclusion that shows up under a 1 Ox or stronger microscope,
|
|
which has a distinctly liquid area, a gas bubble in a solid square rock
|
|
crystal, salt Iying superimposed on each other inside a jagged edged cavity,
|
|
is typical of emeralds from Colombia and proves their natural origin.
|
|
Tropiche emeralds from Colombia sometime exhibit six fine radiating arms of
|
|
black carbon inclusions, spoke-like in appearance. Another type of this stone
|
|
has six arms of emeralds extending from the center of the crystal with a white
|
|
shaped wedge area in between. When these stones are cut and mounted, they are
|
|
valuable because of their inclusions.
|
|
Emeralds are subject to not only customs duty but market restraints as there
|
|
is no OSO type organization supporting them. It is possible, if one is smart
|
|
and has verification equipment, to buy emeralds in other countries, notably
|
|
South America, and smuggle them to America for profit. Coincidentally, the
|
|
areas one smuggles emeralds from are the same areas one smuggles cocaine from
|
|
and these passport stamps tend to yell search me, search me. Some people even
|
|
go to the trouble of swallowing and then recovering emeralds although
|
|
obviously, we do not encourage or advise this dangerous practice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
RUBIES
|
|
~~~~~~
|
|
Ruby is a specie of corundum and ranges in color from orange-red to purple-
|
|
red. It is medium light to very dark in tone and quite strong in saturation.
|
|
Chemical composition of a ruby is Al203 It is a hexagonal crystal that often
|
|
comes in six-sided prisms, terminated by flat faces.
|
|
Ruby registers a 9 on the hardness scale and is quite tough, unlike the
|
|
emerald, and not nearly as subject to breakage. Under long wave ultraviolet,
|
|
a ruby will fluoresce red or orange-red to inert and under short wave should
|
|
fluoresce moderate red to orange-red.
|
|
Rubies come from a number of areas including Burma, which is usually
|
|
considered as the finest source of rubies in the world. The best Burma stones
|
|
are medium dark and vivid red.
|
|
Thailand produces stones which are a bit dark in tone and range from purple to
|
|
brownish red because they have a slight bit of iron in them. Africa (Kenya,
|
|
Tanzania) produces stones that are normally highly included although
|
|
reminiscent of Burma in color. Sri Lanka has occasional rubies but more often
|
|
sapphires that often mask as rubies.
|
|
In the U.S.A., North Carolina and Montana produce a few stones. Australia
|
|
produces fairly poor quality stones as does India and Colombia, Nepal and
|
|
Pakistan.
|
|
Rubies tend to be valued partially by the country of their origin. Some rubies
|
|
now come with authenticated certificates of origin and the word Burma will
|
|
bring a characteristically premium price even when considered next to a Thai
|
|
ruby that may appear identical to the Burma ruby under incandescent light.
|
|
Under fluorescent light, the Burma ruby will appear to fluoresce slightly and
|
|
take on a deeper saturation. This is a highly sought after quality. Burma
|
|
rubies also have some fine rutile needles that are commonly referred to as
|
|
"silk" that add rather than detract to the attractiveness of the stone and
|
|
further establish it as a Burma stone.
|
|
In order to establish a country of origin, a certified lab such as the American
|
|
Gemological Laboratories in New York, has to study the ruby for body color
|
|
under various conditions, fluorescence and inclusions. If a ruby is certified
|
|
as a top Burma ruby, the price may be 1 1/2 or twice what it was as an unknown
|
|
or as a presumed Thai ruby.
|
|
Rubies from Thailand tend to have a brownish or purplish overtone. Those from
|
|
Sri Lanka are generally very pink in color and more correctly referred to as
|
|
pink sapphire.
|
|
There are a number of ways to treat rubies to improve their color, clarity and
|
|
ultimately, their value. The quick fix method is to dye or oil the ruby which
|
|
will help hide fractures, inclusions and improve the color of the stone.
|
|
A further refinement of this is a diffusion process where stones are immersed
|
|
in a chemical bath which contains a number of chemicals including chromium
|
|
which gives the ruby its color in the first place. This color is carried in
|
|
the skin of the ruby by the chemicals and actually penetrates the skin. This
|
|
generally produces a light tone and the tone is only a skin which will dis-
|
|
appear upon repolishing.
|
|
The next common treatment is a heat treatment. Rubies stand heat far better
|
|
than emeralds do and it is fairly Gommon to heat both rubies and sapphires
|
|
which tends to improve the color by driving out bluish or brownish tints and
|
|
will tend to dissolve the transparency, lessening the "silk" inclusions on
|
|
heavily included stones.
|
|
These treatments all are dependent upon temperature, time and cooling rate,
|
|
but they will bring about a permanent change in the stone leaving no chemicals
|
|
or treatment to be removed.
|
|
In top ratings, rubies are rarer than diamonds but the actual supply of top
|
|
stones may vary greatly because of political situations. Many stones reach
|
|
the world markets because they have been smuggled out of places (especially
|
|
Burma) through Thailand and other friendlier countries. There is a fair amount
|
|
of profit to be made in the smuggling of rubies.
|
|
Smaller, included or industrial strength stones, are cheaper than their
|
|
diamond cousins because they are more easily available.
|
|
The rhodolite garnet often approaches ruby in color, although tends to be more
|
|
purplish than the ruby and less saturated but still are sometimes sold as
|
|
rubies.
|
|
Tourmaline also occurs in many color ranges including ruby red and is
|
|
sometimes sold as ruby.
|
|
A new stone called red spinel has a remarkable resemblance to ruby and is not
|
|
often seen on the market because it is generally sold as a ruby.
|
|
Rubies have been synthesized since the late 1 800's. There are two primary
|
|
methods of synthesizing rubies - the fusion method and the pulling method. In
|
|
the 1950's, several manufacturers began flux growing rubies which takes
|
|
considerably longer than the other methods and produces a stone much closer
|
|
to its natural version. Flux grown rubies tend to be extremely clear and
|
|
transparent with an orange overtone.
|
|
Fusion stones tend to be strikingly flawless looking while the flux methods
|
|
may actually produce a number of inclusions resembling silk.
|
|
One clue to synthetic rubies is the cut. Because the material is cheapsr and
|
|
waste is not as much a problem, machine cuts such as square or rectangular
|
|
cuts are more prevalent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
JEWEL IDENTIFICATION AND THEFT
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
Because each gemstone is unique when considered with all its variables (cut,
|
|
color, irregularities, inclusions, refraction, reflection) it is possible to
|
|
photograph a particular stone and record its measurements and ratings to
|
|
establish a unique fingerprint that will identify that stone as surely as a
|
|
serial number.
|
|
This procedure is now being carried out on certain stones by certain insurance
|
|
companies and individuals. The cost factor is prevalent.
|
|
Even if a stone is "fingerprinted" and then stolen, there is no centralized
|
|
source location that every buyer or even every jeweler or gemologist will
|
|
check before purchasing the stone. This record comes into play more often
|
|
when a stone is recovered and ownership is in question.
|
|
There are some exceptions to this rule. Stones that are of immense value or
|
|
highly individualistic are put on hot lists. Organizations such as Interpol
|
|
keep a record and submit copies of printed information along with any
|
|
suspects' names to various countries' police agencies, and a group called the
|
|
Jeweler's Security Association puts out bulletins and occasionally flashes to
|
|
their various members on particularly bold, large or unusual gem thefts.
|
|
The criminal counter to this type of recordkeeping is to immediately remove
|
|
any stones from their mountings and melt the mountings down for the precious
|
|
metal they contain. The stone is then sold individually or mixed in with a
|
|
group of other non-illegal stones and sold in a grouping. As anyone knows, if
|
|
the stone is held a while, the "hotness" becomes less of a factor in a sale.
|
|
Large, unusual or famous stones can be taken to a less than honest cutter,
|
|
who can cut the stone down into a number of smaller stones. This wastes some
|
|
of the material as does any cutting procedure and makes the stones
|
|
intrinsically less valuable as size is a coveted asset in investment quality
|
|
(or even jewelry quality) gemstones.
|
|
In spite of identification and insurance company efforts, jewels still remain
|
|
one of the most highly sought after targets and any jeweler or diamond cutter
|
|
realizes he must constantly update his security precautions and it is still
|
|
probably only a matter of time before he is hit. Insurance rates for these
|
|
people are fairly substantial as one would imagine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTES ON INFORMATION IN THIS FILE
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Just for the sake of knowledge, or perhaps you would like to find out more
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on this subject, here are the titles of several books I used to compile this
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file:
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The Outlaw Report The Gemologists Handbook
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Gem World Quarterly Cons, Scams, and other Swindles
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All available at your local library or Anarchy Collective Bookstore.
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CONCLUSION
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~~~~~~~~~~
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Well, once again, I hope you enjoyed this file, and that it helps you to
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perhaps make some cash, or transfer plastic to cash, etc. I would, as always
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like to hear your views on this file, so please leave them to me in Email on
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any of the boards listed below.
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I would now like to take some time to give thanks to the many people who I
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have dealt with lately... The White Rider (as always), Maximum Overdrive, Mind
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Walker, /<ludge, Strato Viper, Grandmaster Ratte', and anyone else whom I
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forgot (who was worth mentioning, of course!).
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And always remember...
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Uncle Sam wants YOU...
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=============================================================================
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Demon Roach [PW: THRASH cDc Board - A Classic - GREAT ] 24 806-794-4362
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|
Scantronics [Dedicated to telecommunictions since 1987 ] 24 619-423-4852
|
|
Church/Theives [IBM H/P system running on a Dual Standard ] 192 619-789-2235
|
|
The Works [Tons of Files cDc Board Give it a call ] 24 617-861-8976
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=============================================================================
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This concludes another wonderful file by Video Vindicator (C)opyright 1992
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=============================================================================
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