Things to know about diamonds

How does a diamond come into being?
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The story of a diamond’s genesis could not be more fascinating and seems to originate from a science fiction movie: 3,500 million years ago it was formed 150 kilometers below the earth’s surface. It is subject to 50 kilobars of pressure and temperatures up to 1,500° Celsius, before it is explosively transported to the surface in a lava fountain. The diamond is unspeakably sultry and beautiful and highly coveted by the most beautiful women on earth. Wonder what else it has to offer.

Multifaceted
How a diamond turns into a brilliant

If you think a diamond sparkles and glows on its own, you are right, but have a look at the result once the diamond has been cut. Over time diamonds in brilliant cut have come to be referred to as brilliants. Both terms, however, are not the same and their use as synonyms, which is so frequent, is not correct. The diamond is the source material – only the roundly cut diamond with at least 57 panes deserves the name “brilliant-cut diamond”. The Antwerpian Gabriel Tolkowsky, diamond cutter in the sixth generation, is the inventor of the modern, round brilliant cut, which elicits the maximum glow from the diamond. This glow has magical properties: It spreads to the eyes of its wearer.

WANTED! A diamond’s fingerprint
Five criteria to consider when purchasing a diamond

The higher a diamond’s quality, the more magnificent its glow and the more magical its charm. Two diamonds of the same size may resemble each other, but upon closer inspection they differ in value. Five criteria determine the quality and value of a diamond. They are called the “Five C’s”: Carat, color, clarity, cut, and confidence are part of every international diamond certification.

CARAT – weight
A diamond’s weight is measured in carat. One carat equals 0.2 grams. This rather peculiar conversion dates back to an old unit of weight: the weight of the baobab seed.

COLOR – hue
A diamond’s ideal color is utter colorlessness. In a truly colorless diamond, light easily penetrates the gemstone and re-emerges in prismatic colors. Capital letters from Z (canary yellow) to D (purest white) are used for the certification of white diamonds. Impurities and structural shifts result in a broad range of natural colors. Varieties include yellow, brown, red, pink, green, blue, and black diamonds. Only when hues are their most intense and colorful the expert refers to the term “fancy color”. Those diamonds are sought-after and rare.

CLARITY – purity
No diamond is utterly devoid of inclusions: It just depends on the magnification. Inclusions may be microscopically small, visible with a magnifying glass or even with the naked eye. An expert determines the classification with 10x magnification through the microscope.

CUT
A diamond’s cut and polish and the array of angles and proportions to each other determine the brilliance and glow of a diamond. Apart from classic cuts like the brilliant cut, emerald cut, drop cut, princess cut, step cut, heart cut, and marquise cut fantasy cuts are also very popular.

CONFIDENCE
This fifth “C” is increasingly gaining importance in the face of ongoing discussions about diamonds from conflict areas, tinted stones, and artificially produced gemstones. Purchasing a diamond or a piece of diamond jewelry is a matter of trust and confidence. A lot of experience, impeccable professional training, and the good reputation of a jeweler are vital for the purchase of diamonds. Our team includes four certified diamond experts – Hannes Gamper, Christine Gamper, Maria Gamper and Thomas Gamper are happy to offer their expertise.

Adamas – the invincible
Did you know that diamonds need solitary confinement?

With 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness the diamond is the hardest naturally occurring mineral on earth. This makes the “king of gemstones” not only particularly robust but also an elegant and no-fuss allrounder. Bear this in mind when storing your diamonds and diamond jewelry. Keep your pieces of jewelry in your jewelry box separated from each other to prevent scratches on gold, pearls or other gemstones. The hardness of a diamond differs on each of its crystal faces. This is the only way to cut diamonds by means of a diamond.

Real or fake?
How to find out whether a diamond is the real thing or a fake

A diamond’s sparkle enchants and makes us dream. Criminals and tricksters misuse this dream and offer imitations and synthetic diamonds as the real kind. Especially at trade shows, in the Internet, on exhibitions, and sometimes even in retailing both natural gemstones and synthetic gemstones or imitations are traded under wrong and misleading labels respectively to attain higher sales values. Sometimes the vendor is unaware of this due to lack of expertise and sells synthetic gemstones under melodious names like Galliant, Fabulite or Diamondite as genuine diamonds.

Synthetic diamonds are created artificially in a laboratory. Imitations, however, may be naturally occurring gemstones that resemble real diamonds and thus serve as a surrogate.

Please make sure to purchase diamonds and diamond jewelry in reputable specialist stores and lay emphasis on a certificate of authenticity form the leading certification institutes like GIA and HRD. The saying holds true: You get what you pay for, irrespective whether you buy domestically or abroad.

Diamond testers assist the diamond expert in identifying counterfeits. Thanks to his expertise he can distinguish a real diamond from an imitation because of the following criteria:

1. If you weigh a diamond on a precise jeweler’s scale, you are guided by the specific weight of diamonds. If the weight is too high, the diamond in question could be synthetic.

2. Diamonds have a specific weight of 3.52 g/cm³

3. Diamonds are superb heat conductors. They feel cold to the touch, but your finger’s warmth is quickly absorbed. However, diamonds do not conduct electric currents.

4. Synthetic diamonds are produced in laboratories. Thus you will not see any inclusions under a jeweler’s lamp. By contrast naturally occurring diamonds of even the highest quality feature tiny inclusions.

The optical path in diamonds
How does the sought-after total reflection occur?

Among other aspects the cut proportions of the upper and lower parts and the ratio of the diamond’s table to its crown are decisive for the perfect glow and light reflection of a diamond. The illustration to the left displays the optical path of light in an ideally cut brilliant. The light beams enter the diamond and are reflected to the eye. Total reflection occurs in a perfectly cut diamond – the incoming light is reflected completely. If the cut is too flat, light emerges at the sides and is not optimally reflected. The same problem arises with diamonds that are cut too sharply.