DIAMONDS

DIAMONDS• The first diamonds were found in ancient

times in India.   Large diamond deposits were found in Brazil around the 1720's.  Huge diamond fields were discovered in Siberia in 1956.  In the 1860's,  diamonds were found in South Africa.  This led to a diamond rush in the Kimberly Fields.  Now, most of the world's diamonds come from South Africa. 

• In  1906, diamonds were found near Murfreesboro, Arkansas.   A boomtown called Kimberly was formed along the road to the mine.  Today the town of Kimberly is gone and the diamond mine is owned and operated by the state of Arkansas.

• Diamonds have many uses.  About 20% of diamonds found are used for jewelry.  The other 80% are used in industry.  These uses include:   cutting tools, polishing hard metal, phonograph and videodisc needles, and bearings for laboratory instruments.

FOUND OF DIAMONDS

• The Cullinan Diamond is the largest diamond ever found.  It weighed 3,106 carats.  This diamond was found in South Africa in 1905.  It was cut into nine large stones and almost 100 small ones.

• The Kohinoor Diamond also called Mountain of Light, weighed 191 carats.  It came from India, and has been known to exist since 1304.  Today it is part of the English crown jewels.

• The largest diamond ever found in North America is the Uncle Sam Diamond.  It weighs 40.23 carats, and was found near Murfreesboro, Arkansas.  It is also on display in the American Museum of Natural History. .Vuable diamonds are very rare,they are not easily found. . .!

DIAMOND SETTINGSFEW WORDS ABOUT DIAMOND;-

Diamonds are magnificent, beautiful, stunning.  The adjectives are endless.  But without a setting to thrust your diamond into the spotlight it would just be a loose diamond, valuable of course but no fun to show off.  There are many types of diamond settings.  Some are more popular for diamond wedding rings while other settings are more popular for use in diamond necklaces or pendants.  Here we have compiled a list of the different types of diamond settings, starting with the most common.

Diamonds often look good in white gold,

yellow gold or platinum. Each person has its own

preference with their jewellery. A perfect diamond setting will

enhance the beauty of the jewellery. The different types of

diamond settings are given below:

TYPES OF DIAMOND SETTING

THESE ARE MOSTLY COMMONLY USED AND THEY ARE MANY OTHER SETTINGS WHICH ARE RARELY USED

LIKE BAR SETTING,BEAD SETTING ETC. . .!

TENSIONSETTING

CHANNELSETTING

BEZELSETTING

PAVESETTING

INVISIBLESETTING

PRESSURESETTING

PRONGSETTING

Types ofsettings

• PRONG SETTING In this case the stone is held by two

or more distinct claws. Hence it adds height to the jewellery making the diamonds look bigger. It is the most popular form of diamond jewellery setting across the world.

• PRESSURE SETTING

In this setting, more than seven round brilliant cut diamonds are clubbed together, in order to give an impression of a round brilliant solitaire.

INVISIBLE SETTING The diamonds are set close together with no metal showing between them. Diamonds are grooved on the bottom and held in place with wires. This technique is used to create the illusion of larger diamonds.

• PAVE SETTING Derived from the French

word “pave” meaning to be paved. In this setting the diamonds are set on the metal with the help of grains which are pulled up from the metal and pushed against the diamond. Americans have a strong liking for this kind of setting and such settings with tiny diamonds are normally rhodium-plated to enhance the effect of the jewellery.

BEZEL SETTING In this case the stone is set encircled by a metal wall which is normally at a higher level than the plane surface of the jewellery.

CHANNEL SETTING It is a type of setting often used in mounting a row of uniform sized stones in a row. Diamonds flow in a continuous row as no metal is used to separate them.

Bead Setting The bead setting is

basically the same as the pave setting with one difference, the diamonds are set slightly apart from each other.  However, the term pave set is also used with rings that have diamonds set apart from each other.  So basically the terms have become somewhat interchangeable – bead & pave. 

One common use of this

setting is with diamond wedding

bands.  The bead setting

has a few other less common

names: bead and bright,

grain setting or threading.  The term star

set is also sometimes

used when a line of stones

are formed with the bead

setting.

INVISIBLE SETTING (Aka Illusion Setting)

Be sure that the diamond is still visible, it’s the setting that is the illusion.  The invisible or illusion setting is most often used with colored gem stones but can be used with diamonds.  It is used for square shaped stones which are put close together like bricks.  The illusion is that you cannot see any metal, creating a carpet of stones. 

• The setting is done underneath in the pavilion of the diamond.  A groove is created that clicks each diamond into a channel.  This setting is similar to pave but has less metal work showing and offers more brilliance.  This is a stunning setting but very expensive and comes with a high risk or diamonds falling out.

CLUSTER SETTING A cluster setting is when smaller diamonds are mounted closely together, in a cluster, often around a larger stone.  The cluster setting however uses most often prongs to hold the diamonds in place.  It might be more accurately called the cluster style

• BURNISH SETTING (or Flush Setting)

The diamond in this setting is set just below the surface of the metal creating a very subtle look.  Similar to the bezel setting, small holes are drilled and each diamond is sunk into the metal band until they are flush.  

Metal is then pushed around the stone, using a rubbing tool, until the surface is super smooth.  A special burnishing tool is used to give a shiny finish to the metal around the diamonds. 

• You may hear the term burnished metal, which refers to the shiny, glass like finish that the metal has around the diamond.  This type of setting is very contemporary.

TYPES OF

DIAMOND

SHAPES &

CUTS

1.Marquise diamond shape and cut

2.Round diamond shape and cut

3.Pear diamond shape and cut

4. Drop diamond shape and cut

5.Oval diamond shape and cut

6.Heart diamond shape and cut

7.Baguette diamond shape and cut

8. Emerald diamond shape and cut

9. Radiant diamond shape and cut

10. Princess diamond shape and cut