Check out the Ring Sizing Guide to find your ring size.
Sterling silver, also called fine silver, is a beautifully lustrous cool-toned precious metal favored in fine jewelry among other products. The most reflective of all metals (excluding mercury), sterling silver looks stunning by itself and brings out the best hues in an array of colorful gemstones.
Sterling silver can be polished to a higher sheen than platinum. In fact, Ag, the chemical symbol for silver, comes from a word that means “white and shining.” The surface of silver can boast that shiny, polished appearance, or can be brushed, satin, matte, sandblasted, antiqued or oxidized (chemically blackened).
In order to be called sterling silver, a metal must be made up of a minimum of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% alloy (meaning other metals), including but not limited to copper and nickel. The alloy is added to pure silver to make the metal more durable, tougher and harder. Sterling silver is designated a fineness of “925.” Pieces with sterling silver may be marked “sterling.”
Finishes on Sterling Silver
Finishing, or plating, is a common treatment with sterling silver. Popular types of plating are rhodium plating, gold plating and anti-tarnish plating. Plating is used to extend the life and sheen of the jewelry. After sizing or buffing a piece of jewelry with a machine, it must be re-plated to restore the finish.
Caring for Sterling Silver
Sterling silver becomes tarnished as the result of a natural chemical process that occurs when sterling silver is exposed to chemicals in the air, rubber, wool and latex. Humidity also plays a role in accelerating tarnishing. It's easy to keep your sterling silver sparkling, though, by taking a few steps to prevent tarnish and other wear and tear.
Diamond:
The value of a diamond is determined by the Four Cs: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat weight.
Diamond Cut
The cut of a diamond (the depth, width and uniformity of the facets) determines the stone’s brilliance and sparkle. Even if a diamond has perfect color and clarity, a poor cut can make it look dull. A diamond’s proportions determine how well the light will reflect and refract within the stone, with symmetry of the cut being extremely important.
Diamond Color
Acting as a prism, a diamond can divide light into a spectrum of colors, reflecting light as colorful flashes called fire. Color within a diamond diminishes the brilliance of the stone by diminishing the spectrum of colors that are emitted. A colorless diamond disperses light throughout the entire stone. Therefore, the less color that is in a diamond, the more colorful its fire, the better its color grade, and the greater its value (and priced accordingly).
Diamond color is graded using an alphabetical range from D-Z (D being totally colorless). Diamonds graded better than J are colorless or near-colorless, with color that is typically undetectable to the unaided eye. Color K-Z is especially noticeable when set in platinum or white gold.
Diamond Clarity
Most diamonds naturally have small internal flaws called inclusions, which interfere with the passage of light through the stone. The size, number, position and color of these imperfections determine a stone’s clarity grade.
Our diamonds have been evaluated and graded by GIA graduate gemologists using the standards established by GIA (The Gemological Institute of America). Through these guidelines, we no longer provide clarity grades for SINGLE cut diamonds.
Diamond Carat
Carat is the standard unit of measurement used to determine a diamond’s weight. Although two diamonds may have the same carat weight, their color and clarity may be different, thus determining each individual stone’s value. Additionally, since larger diamonds are more rare than smaller diamonds, diamond value tends to rise exponentially with carat weight.
More About Diamonds
The most precious of all gems, diamonds have an incredible rarity factor. It takes a minimum of one million diamonds to be mined in order to find a 1.00ct gem-quality diamond, so each 1.00ct quality diamond is literally one in a million. Making them even more incredible, the mining of diamonds requires moving and sifting 250 tons of the Earth’s crust to find just one diamond. Mining companies literally move mountains to find diamonds.
Diamonds have the longest endurance of any substance known on Earth. Carbon dating has established that diamonds, on the average, are 3.4 billion years of age. They consist of pure carbon and there is no chemical difference between them and carbon powder (the lead pencil center). Obviously, however, the physical difference between carbon powder and a diamond is fascinating. Diamonds are created from a basketball-sized piece of pure carbon that becomes white-hot. It is squeezed to the size of a small pearl, turning from black to clear in the process and becoming the hardest material known to humans, ranking a 10.0 on the Mohs Scale . Because they are so hard, diamonds can only be ground and polished by using diamond dust that has been ground from other diamonds.
Diamonds are found in a rainbow of colors. The value of a fancy-colored stone depends largely on the rarity of its color, the saturation of the color, and the purity of the color. Probably the most famous colored diamond is the Hope, which features a deep-blue color and weighs an amazing 45.52ct. It can be seen at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
With diamonds found all over the world, America has a couple small producing diamonds mines, but it only produces industrial grades with non-gem grade material. These black and brown industrial-grade diamonds are widely used as cutting and grinding tools in various industries, such as oil drilling and stone carving.
Diamonds have come to symbolize the ultimate gift of love and romance and, in the United States, are traditionally used in engagement and wedding rings. The tradition of the diamond solitaire engagement ring may have started in 1477, when the Archduke of Austria gave a large solitaire diamond to Mary of Burgundy for her hand in marriage. Amidst this tradition of romance, the diamond is also the birthstone for April and given as 10th, 30th, 60th and 75th anniversary gifts.
Diamonds have been the pride of empires throughout time. Ancient Hindu followers believed diamonds were created by thunderbolts striking the ground. Ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were teardrops of the gods and splinters of stars that had fallen to Earth. The stones were believed to possess magical qualities and have powers far beyond the understanding of common man. Even the name stems from “adamas,” the Greek word for “unconquerable” and “indestructible.”
The diamond is considered the most magical of all gems. When worn, it is believed to promote spirituality, even ecstasy, and is often utilized in meditation. The diamond promotes self-confidence in relations with the opposite sex and is often worn to conquer infertility. The diamond is the stone of love and is worn to ensure fidelity. Owing to its sparkling and flashing nature, it has long been regarded as a stone of protection and peace. It can be worn today for courage and strength, and represents fearlessness and invincibility.
Since only diamonds can scratch other diamonds, it is important to wrap and store your diamond jewelry pieces separately so they do not touch one another. To clean jewelry at home, soak diamonds in warm, sudsy water made with any mild liquid detergent. Brush with a soft toothbrush and rinse and pat dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. Other effective cleaning methods include soaking diamonds in household ammonia, brand-name liquid jewelry cleaners, or even a glass of vodka.
Cubic zirconia is the most readily available, inexpensive and brilliant simulated diamond on the market today. Cubic zirconia does occur naturally in small quantities, but all of the cubic zirconia on the market is produced in a laboratory.
On the Mohs Scale, which measures the hardness of minerals, cubic zirconia is an 8.0 to 8.5. It is important to understand that hardness is not necessarily related to durability. Even though diamond is the hardest mineral (10.0 on the Mohs Scale), it can still be chipped or broken.
The only ways to tell the difference between cubic zirconia and diamond are by use of a thermal probe, by weighing the loose stone or by microscopic examination of surface features and inclusions. Cubic zirconia weighs approximately 65% more than diamond. Therefore, while a 6.25 mm round diamond weighs about 1.00 carat, the same size cubic zirconia weighs about 1.65 carats. If you know the weight of a cubic zirconia, you can figure out the diamond weight equivalent by multiplying the cubic zirconia weight by 0.6, or 60%.
Few natural diamonds on the market today are perfectly cut, and those that are cost much more than the usual diamond. Unleashing the fire, beauty and brilliance of a stone depends on its precise cut. Simulated diamonds are an excellent balance between quality, beauty and price.
Glossary
Brilliance: The white light leaving a jewel, traveling upward, which is visible to the eye. Brilliance is sometimes referred to as “sparkle.”
Dispersion: Flashes of rainbow colors. Also called “fire.”
Hardness: Resistance to scratching. The higher the number, the more resistant.
Luster: The shininess of a jewel.
Toughness: Resistance to breakage.