Diamond

The diamonds are the superstars of jewelry. These emblematic stones, whether they adorn earrings or surround another stone, always sparkle to tell a beautiful story, like on a bague de fiançailles en diamant, by embodying timeless luxury.

These treasures of nature with their incomparable brilliance are the hardest of all stones. Over the course of millions or even billions of years, diamonds form far beneath the earth's surface, under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. Rashes
volcanics make them rise towards the deposits.

The inimitable pure carbon crystal is mainly mined in Africa, in several countries that supply more than half of the world's diamonds, but many are also found in Russia, Australia and Canada.

A bague en diamant is today synonymous with beauty, commitment or prestige, in jewelry or création unique. However, we do not know exactly when this fabulous stone was discovered.

The diamond was mentioned in the 400s BC in India, but it is more than likely that it was used millennia before that, particularly in amulets. The diamond came from India when Europeans began to take an interest in it in the Middle Ages.

African diamonds were only discovered at the end of the 19th century. From the 15th century, men perfected the size of rough diamonds, for stones which will however long be reserved for members of royal families or nobles. In the 16th century, we see the appearance of diamond on bagues de fiançailles and other jewelry, but it was in the 20th century that diamonds really became popular. Especially in 1947, when the famous De Beers advertisement stated that “a diamond is forever”!

There are several diamond colors. The black diamond is relatively widespread and increasingly used for the creation of women's diamond rings or man. The rarest are red diamond, the green diamond and the blue diamond. The most expensive diamonds in the world are blue. With the pink diamonds, also rare, they are very popular with connoisseurs.

All these diamonds can be extremely expensive, but the yellow diamond, easier to find, displays lower prices. The brown diamonds are quite widespread, too, and less sought after than the others.

That said, the most coveted diamond for a necklace, ring or earrings is white or “colorless”. Whether for a loner, a diamond wedding ring, to accompany a saphir or another stone, its shine is exceptional and it has the gift of matching all styles of jewelry.

Carat, color, clarity, cut are the “4Cs”: criteria for evaluating diamonds (and other stones). Carats strongly influence the price of a diamond, but we must always take into account the 4Cs.

For buy a diamond, you should know that purity is noted with letters, according to the standards of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The highest level is FL (Flawless): no inclusion, even with x10 magnification. Next come IF (Internally Flawless), VVS1 (Very Very Slightly Included 1) and VVS2, for excellent quality diamonds.

In case of small inclusions, we use VS1 (Very Slightly
Included 1), if they are difficult to see with a magnifying glass and VS2, if they are more easily seen (or with the naked eye, sometimes). The other indications correspond to diamonds whose inclusions may be more or less visible to the naked eye: SI1 (Slightly Included 1), SI2 and I1, I2, I3 (Included).

These purity letters are supplemented by those which note the color of diamonds. D: colorless (very rare). E or F: very lightly colored, almost imperceptible shade. G or H: lightly tinted. I or J: almost colorless. From K to Z, diamonds have an increasingly visible hue, which affects their brilliance and value.