What Makes Green Diamonds?

From Instagram - The Aurora

After writing last Thursday's blog, I got curious about green diamonds. I don’t recall ever seeing one. This might be because they make up less than 0.1% of all fancy-colored diamonds on earth. After red, green diamonds are the 2nd rarest diamonds. Unlike most diamonds that get their colors from chemical impurities entering their atomic structure, green diamonds get their color from natural radiation. Over millions of years, alpha and beta rays emitted by radioactive minerals knock carbon atoms out of place in the crystal structure, changing how the stone absorbs light. In other words, radiation exposure creates carbon atom vacancies. This vacancy defect, also known as the GR1 center in a diamond, causes the green color.

According to Only National Diamonds, radiation from alpha particles usually only penetrates a few micrometers deep, leaving a shallow green "skin" on rough stones. Diamond cutters must plan and facet the gem with expert precision to evenly distribute this color throughout the stone. It may explain why we see more radiant cuts in this fancy colored gemstone. The radiant cut’s faceting maximizes light reflection, which intensifies and saturates the color of the stone, making it appear more vivid.

A very few green diamonds are also colored by more complex defects involving nitrogen, hydrogen, or nickel.

The world’s natural green diamonds come from South America and Africa. Nowadays, laboratory irradiation can also produce green diamonds. It’s challenging to tell natural-grown and lab-grown green diamonds apart. Both are real diamonds. It’s unlawful to sell lab-grown diamonds without transparency.

The scarcity of green diamonds makes them very pricey. Just like other colored gemstones, color is the most important of the fancy diamond Cs (followed by cut, carat, and clarity) in determining value. As their color becomes more saturated and vibrant, prices rise dramatically. Based on their GIA color intensity grade for a 1-carat stone, a Fancy Green color costs from $50,000 - $100,000; a Fancy Intense Green costs between $150,000 - $200,000, and a Fancy Vivid Green costs $300,000+.

Photo: Wikipedia
The Dresden Green Diamond

The Dresden Green, a 41-carat diamond originating from India’s Golconda mines, is the largest and most famous natural green diamond in the world. It is a chemically pure IIa diamond with VS1 clarity. Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, paid 400,000 thalers for the diamond in 1741. Perhaps someone should have told Diespach, the court jeweler of Saxony, that fads come and go before, in 1768, he mounted the Dresden Green as an elaborate hat ornament surrounded by 411 white diamonds.😁 Today, it is on display in the Green Vault at Dresden Castle in Germany. The renowned green diamond survived the Seven Years’ War, the Napoleonic Wars, World Wars I and II, its confiscation by the Soviets, who returned it to Dresden in 1958, and the 2019 Dresden Museum heist of royal jewels. Thankfully, at the time of the theft, the Dresden Green was on loan to the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan.

The Aurora Green (👆top image) is a 5.02 carat Fancy Vivid Green rectangular radiant cut diamond with VS2 clarity. The Aurora Green is surrounded by pink diamonds set in a ring. Found in Brazil, it sold for a wooping $16.8 million, the most expensive price ever paid for a green diamond, at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2016. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery bought it. Without fluorescence, its GIA-rated Fancy Green color is one of a kind!

Photo: Jewelry Point

Personally, I’d rather pay less money to get a bigger, more common white (clear) diamond. Other jewelry lovers may covet uniqueness over size. 

Ultra-rare fancy-colored diamonds are so wildly expensive that customers fork over a ton of moola for a tiny stone, so I wouldn’t buy, but visit them at Tiffany’s New York flagship store or the museums around the world that house them. First a dreamer, then a realist ... and perhaps an adventurous traveler is the way to get more bang for your buck!💚

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What Gives Fancy Diamonds & Sapphires Their Colors?

Gemstone Brittleness And Cleavage

These are Macy’s commercial-grade gemstones - amethyst, garnet, fancy colored sapphires, citrine, ruby, and emerald.

Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets take fewer knocks, but if you splurge on a ring, for durability, you might want to consider a gemstone's brittleness and cleavage, along with its hardness.

Princess Grace's ring

Hardness refers to a gemstone's rating from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest) on Mohs' Hardness Scale, which reflects its resistance to surface scratching. While a diamond rates a 10 for hardness, it's actually a brittle gemstone that, upon impact, will crack more easily than other gemstones.

Queen Camila's ring

Cleavage is the gemstone's grain. Just like with beef or wood, a crystalline structure (meaning its atomic arrangement) is internally symmetrical. Cleavage refers to natural, predictable planes of weakness within a gemstone's structure where its atomic bonds are frail. These are the areas where a crystal is more likely to shatter.

Wallis Simpson's ring

Brittleness describes how easily a stone breaks or chips if struck. All faceted gemstones are considered brittle, yet how brittle they are depends on their cleavage. A gemstone's cleavage is a major factor in its brittleness and significantly lowers its toughness.

Queen Marguritta II's ring

So what is toughness? If a stone has excellent cleavage (like a diamond or topaz), hitting it at the exact right angle along that plane can cause it to split cleanly in two. Toughness describes a gemstone's resistance to breaking, chipping, or cracking when a heavy blow is applied. As it happens, diamonds have perfect cleavage planes in 4 directions, giving them relatively poor toughness. Despite being the hardest stone on Earth, a perfectly placed hit can cause diamonds to split along their planes (i.e., grains) just like a piece of wood.

Queen Victoria's ring

A cutter of gemstones uses this knowledge to determine how to cut a gemstone. Customers can use it to buy safer and more durable gemstones for everyday wear.

Some gemstones, such as sapphires and rubies, have no cleavage. Their tightly packed atomic structures resist breaking, making them far less brittle and giving them much higher toughness over diamonds to wear as daily rings.

Emeralds have imperfect cleavage in one direction (basal cleavage). Their cleavage and natural internal inclusions (jardins) make them brittle and prone to chipping.

Josephine Beauharnais' ring

Tough Gemstones For Daily Rings are:

Corundum (ruby and sapphire), spinel, alexandrite, moissanites, quartz (amethyst, citrine, agate, jasper), jade (both types), garnets, and turquoise.

High Risk Gemstones for Daily Rings include:

Emerald, topaz, tanzanite, moonstone, sunstone, labradorite, kuzite, and diamond.

Queen Maxima’s ring

Still, if you love the higher-risk gemstones and yearn to wear them as everyday rings, you can do so by selecting protective bezel or halo settings; remove them when you work or wash your hands; and (less desirable) only wear them for special occasions. In other words, be mindful and prepared to baby them. 

jardins in an emerald 

Frankly, I think we should never work or wash our hands with soap without removing all our gemstone rings. I keep a ring holder by the kitchen sink and take off my rings whenever cleaning. Jewelry is never cheap, so why take unnecessary risks? You always want to keep gemstones pristine and sparkling! 

 Queen Alexandra (Alix of Denmark), Queen Letizia of Spain, Diana & Catherine of Wales rings

Famous royal engagement rings are featured throughout today's blog, but no one needs to be engaged to wear a ring!

Ring holder with my fun to wear, inexpensive white sapphire ring

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Michael Gabriels Lab Created Diamond Jewelry

Michael Gabriels lab-grown diamond ring

Diamonds over 2 carats increase in price exponentially, not linearly, because eye-clean, bigger diamonds are rarer and in demand. The jewelry industry uses the term magic sizes to describe the price jump at round numbers that occur at .05, 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 carats and up. If you buy a natural diamond ring slightly below the round numbers, for example, at 2.95 carats, you’ll pay less but get the same effect as a 3.00 carat diamond ring.

Nowadays, people who desire bigger carats are considering lab-grown diamonds for at least 50% less than the cost of natural diamonds of the same size and quality. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. Just like natural-grown diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are pure carbon arranged in a crystal lattice. They have the exact same chemical, physical, and optical properties as natural diamonds. The difference between the two is their origins. Natural diamonds are created over billions of years in the earth, while lab-grown diamonds are created in weeks in a laboratory using advanced technology that mimics the natural geological process of diamond formation. 

Do you want to know how lab diamonds are created? Two methods are used: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT), which mimics the Earth’s mantle, and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), which uses carbon-rich gas to grow diamond crystals atom by atom. Both methods produce 100% real diamonds. HPHT produces high-quality, often larger crystals and intensely colored diamonds with strong, consistent crystals, while CVD offers greater control, producing exceptional clarity and larger, high-quality, colorless stones such as pure type 2a (IIa) diamonds (i.e. diamonds without metallic inclusions, which are very, very rare in natural diamonds). Only an expert with a spectroscopy in a laboratory can tell a natural diamond and a lab diamond apart. Natural diamonds usually contain small amounts of nitrogen gas that become incorporated into the diamond structure. UV light (fluorescence) can highlight the growth structure of the diamond being tested. Lab-grown diamonds can also be identified by the types of inclusions they might show. CVD, HPHT, and natural diamonds will all have their own distinctive inclusions. Type 2a diamonds produced by the CVD method are the most chemically pure type of diamond, containing no measurable nitrogen, boron, or metallic impurities. They have exceptional transparency and brilliance, comprising less than 2% of gem-quality diamonds. Of course, that would add to their expense.

Often, you pay 50%-70% less for lab-grown diamonds, which usually have better color (D-F) and clarity (VS1) than natural diamonds. In other words, customers get a bigger, cleaner stone for less money. More sparkle! Natural diamonds fetch a higher resale value. But jewelry isn’t an investment, and you should only think of it as a luxury buy, since you’ll usually lose money by selling your jewelry.

Lab-grown diamonds are lowering the price of both natural and lab diamonds as more retailers enter the market and more people buy them.

Michael Gabriels, a 3rd-generation New York jeweler at 46 Howard Street in Soho specializes in lab-grown diamond jewelry with stellar craftsmanship, beautiful design, and good reviews for attentive customer service. Good craftsmanship is vital. You want to buy excellent cut diamonds. In a tennis bracelet or necklace, you want all the diamonds to have matching color and clarity. With regular promotions, you can also score a deal.

Lab-grown diamond jewelry isn’t cheap, but it’s sustainable and considered a better value because you can get more carats and better color and clarity for a lot less moola! No longer must customers spend 5-figures to buy a bigger or cleaner carat diamond ring, bracelet, or pair of earrings!

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Celebrities In Diamond Stud Earrings

Photo: here- Click to enlarge photos you want to see.

A luxury item I covet but will never buy is a relatively huge 4+ carat pair of diamond stud earrings. 4-carat diamond studs can cost anywhere from $30,000 - $50,000+ for natural diamonds. Prices are determined by cut, carat, color, and clarity. Customers might consider G-H/SI or F-G/VS, which are of decent quality.

Well, that’s a lot of moola for a single piece of jewelry, isn’t it? Obviously, I was born into the wrong class in society! But, you know what? I will still indulge my love of diamond stud earrings on this blog!

Let’s do a roundup of celebrities who are lucky enough to either work in lucrative fields, or are born into families of wealth, or can borrow their jewelry from famous designers. I’d be fine and dandy with borrowing jewelry! Wearing diamonds without having to buy them is a fabulous deal!

Not all these famous ladies are wearing the biggest diamond studs. Some may even be lab-grown diamonds or not diamonds at all. Only they know.

I wonder if Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie borrowed their diamond studs to attend an awards show? Kelly Clarkson may have treated herself for all the shows and TV spots she does.

Michelle Williams, Michelle Obama, Judge Judy, and Simone Biles likely own the diamond studs they're wearing. All have had enough success to buy them.

Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber

Diamond studs of all sizes look great on everyone of all ages in all professions. What’s more, lab-grown diamonds are making diamond stud earrings more accessible to average wage earners, and the technology is improving all the time. Still not cheap, but diamond prices, both natural and lab-grown, are falling! Since 1st on the market, lab-grown diamonds have decreased by as much as 75%! Lab-grown diamonds are physically, chemically, and optically identical to gemstones formed over billions of years in the Earth. The only difference is their origin ... they are created in a laboratory, and only a jeweler using a special loupe can tell the difference.

Diamonds over 2 carats increase exponentially in price. Lab-grown white sapphires in 925 silver are a winning substitute for diamonds if you covet bigger stones without breaking the bank.

It’s all beautiful eye candy to us glitter-lovers!

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Should You Buy Fine Jewelry Today?

Don’t get me wrong, I like quality and looking polished and coordinated, but I’m not a luxury bag, shoes, or apparel maven. Fine jewelry is my luxury temptation of choice, which is just as much of a luxury buy as a Hermès handbag. Therefore, who am I to judge? We don’t buy luxury goods because we need them, but because we want, ummm, love them, and they are not true investments like a stock portfolio.

Fortunately, I have a small capsule (not a collection) of commercial-grade (not heirloom-grade) fine jewelry and gifts I got for a special birthday or graduation, or a few pieces I saved up to buy as a wage earner over the years.

But would I advise buying fine jewelry at today’s prices? Sadly, I don’t think so. Like Chanel bags, Dior frocks, or Christian Louboutin heels, fine jewelry is significantly marked up in response to demand, and let's call it, created perceptions of greater value. Additionally, today we are being charged thousands of dollars for not a lot of gold. Skimpy chains, bands, and bracelets have gotten shockingly expensive!

IMHO, these 3 bracelets from Brilliant Earth are gorgeous ... what a classy stack! Would you like to know how much it would cost a customer to buy them? Here’s the breakdown in US dollars ...

Sol Starburst Diamond 7” Bracelet (1/8 ct. wt) in 14k yellow gold. Cost: $3,595

Diamond Flexible Tennis Bangle Bracelet (1 1/3 ct. tw.) in 18K White Gold $3,595

Sol Slim 6.5 In. Bracelet in 14K Yellow Gold. Cost:$2,350

Total cost before taxes: $9,540 

Such a tidy sum is not practical for an average wage earner, despite the lovely aesthetics. The individual bracelets are not the thickest!

In fact, the price of gold has hit record highs of over $4,700 per ounce at this time. Driven by geopolitical tensions and central bank buying, gold has experienced a sharp long-term upward trend. 

THE SAVVY SHOPPER will continue to feature fine jewelry as it’s too pretty not to, but as a value shopper, I can’t in good faith tell anyone to splurge on it. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether or not to empty your bank account. 

Oh, my goodness, 6 bangles would double the tab! If I were to spend $9,540 - $19,080+ on jewelry, I would spend it on a single piece with the biggest single diamond I could buy, rather than a stack with multiple single diamonds, because a bigger diamond would be easier to sell on the pre-loved market if the owner absolutely needed money.*

With graduations and weddings in the future, what are your thoughts on buying fine jewelry at today’s prices? Is it worth it?!?

*BTW: Bigger gemstones are rarer (so cost more) than small diamonds. Tennis bracelets are pricey because of demand + the price of gold + the color of the diamonds must match, and a ton of diamonds are sifted through to find matching colors. {Clean Origins is known to own its own diamonds and offer above-average customer service. This blog is not sponsored.} 

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Admiring 2 Harry Winston Diamond Rings

Another day, another eye candy blog. Let's browse: Here are 2 gorgeous Harry Winston diamond rings average wage earners can admire, yet likely not afford to buy. Even if consumers have the money in the bank, it would be unwise to spend it on luxury items like high-end jewelry rather than on necessities, emergencies, or retirement. But looking, ooing, and ahhing are free. So here we go!

The first ring is crafted in platinum; set with a 12.55-carat step-cut emerald, in a D-color that is internally flawless. The main diamond is flanked by 2 tapered baguette diamonds. The cost depends on the carats, color, and clarity a customer selects if buying it directly from Harry Winston. Both rings are available, with consumers choosing their center diamond.

Ring number 2 is crafted in platinum; set with a 6.01-carat pear brilliant-cut diamond, with E color and VS2 clarity; and it is also flanked by two baguette-cut diamonds. Once again, it’s available and customizable at Harry Winston’s, but Fortuna auctioned this 6.01-carat diamond ring for $187,000.

Oh, what if an average earner loves, loves, loves these beautiful diamonds as much as I do, but could never justify a Harry Winston purchase?

As I always say, "First a dreamer, then a realist!" Use the Harry Winston rings as inspiration and be willing to make some compromises to fit your budget! So what is a practical person who isn’t one of the new billionaires in our country to do?

Consder lab grown diamonds costing considerable less! Lab-grown gemstones are physically, chemically, and optically the same as gemstones that form over billions of years in the Earth's mantle. Be flexible on carat size, color, and clarity, and switch from platinum to 18k or 14k gold to lower costs. The benefit of gold over platinum is that the ring can be resized to fit a changing finger size over time. The 👆lab-grown pear-shaped diamond on the left is 2 carats in 18k gold, priced at $2,424.10, and it, too, is gorgeous!

For the emerald cut ring, this lab-grown diamond ring to the right👉 is without the side baguettes for $1,979.25. Still, if you yearn to dupe the Harry Winston design at a higher price, another option is here. Research all sellers thoroughly before making any purchases.

On a jewelry budget, perhaps rings are the best splurge, because you can admire their beauty while you wear them, unlike a necklace that requires standing in front of a mirror. You catch the sparkles of a ring as you toss your hand around!

Angara

Although much less than Harry Winston, $2,000+ for jewelry isn’t exactly cheap either, is it? If you’re simply looking for bling to wear without investing weeks of salary, there are yet more compromises you could make. You could buy lab-grown white sapphires, which are inexpensive and crafted in 925 sterling silver, which is still categorized as fine jewelry. Sterling silver is softer than gold, so you wouldn’t want a sterling silver engagement ring that you might wear daily, banging it around. Do. Not. Accept. That fiancée of yours must work a little harder! Sterling silver is a fine metal for necklaces, earrings, and rings you wear mindfully when you have few chances of banging it. Moreover, it's wise to take lower-priced jewelry that you can afford to replace on vacation.

Italo rings

Italo is one of several jewelry companies making lab-grown white sapphires in 925 sterling silver. With its ongoing deals, a buyer can score Harry Winston dupe rings at $70 - $100. Decent quality for the price.

Even so, I’m thinking if my ☆・*Fairy Godmother☆・* were to ever appear, she’d procure those 2 Harry Winston rings for me. I know she would, and I’m waiting! Are those fast twinkling lights I see, you know, the kind when a body holding a wand👤👗 materializes out of thin air?😛

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Harry Winston’s Sunflower Collection

Brrr, Manhattan is experiencing a deep freeze, forcing us to stay indoors. So today, let’s get our sunshine in an indirect way.🌞 Without leaving your home, come with me to Harry Winston to admire his Sunflower Collection. It’s for diamond lovers, although a customer could select the pieces set with several colored gemstones that feature rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or yellow diamonds!

We, ordinary wage earners, can’t afford the collection, but we can be inspired by its beautiful design when occasionally buying or being gifted more affordable jewelry.

1st up: The Sunflower Graduated Diamond Necklace is set in platinum with round brilliant-cut diamonds. The so-called small necklace has 429 round brilliant diamonds weighing 20.60 carats. That’s the small?😳 I could live with “small,” --  little puny 20 carats of diamonds in this necklace! Could you?

What’s more, the collection has matching watches, rings, earrings, and bracelets! So let’s continue our blog shopping spree, shall we?

The Harry Winston Premier Sunflower Automatic Watch is 36 mm in size with a yellow mother-of-pearl dial and a pearly yellow alligator leather strap. It comes in blue, red, and green also, but we’re focusing on sunshine yellow today. The Sunflower Diamond Two-Motif Twin Ring, set in platinum, has 36 round brilliant diamonds totaling 3.58 carats; its center stones weigh 0.70 carats.

The Sunflower Diamond Earrings on Wires in small, set in platinum, have 18 round brilliant diamonds weighing 3.73 carats. The center diamonds are approximately 0.70 carats. The platinum Harry Winston Sunflower Earrings on Wires in medium have 18 round brilliant diamonds that weigh 4.43 carats, and the center stones are 1.00 carats. Ooh, la, la, these resemble the Sisi’s Stars I covet!

Now we’ve arrived at selecting a bracelet: The Sunflower Diamond Bracelet in small has 198 round brilliant diamonds weighing 9.70 carats, and the large has 165 round brilliant diamonds weighing 16 carats. Both are set in platinum.

Visiting Harry Winston on my blog is much friendlier than going in person to the 5th Avenue flagship store. The shop is not welcoming to browsers, unlike Tiffany down the street, whose associates are fantastic to tourists!

17 round brilliant diamonds weighing a total of 1.72 carats, with a center stone of 0.70 carats conprise the small, set in platinum

Still, I will always be grateful to the jeweler, Harry Winston, for buying and donating the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in Washington DC in 1958, so it’s on public display. The story is, he sent the Hope Diamond there in the US Mail!!😲

I hope you've enjoyed your Harry Windson stop on THE SAVVY SHOPPER! Before we know it, the weather will turn into a warm sunflower-growing season again. Let's never lose our love for summer, Mother Nature, or her jewels!🌻

Meanwhile, stay warm, my lovelies, in these frigid temperatures! 

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