When we think of diamonds, we normally think of those clear and shiny gems that adorn our favorite jewelry. In fact, diamonds naturally come in most colors of the spectrum. This is because millions of years ago, certain impurities adhered to the carbon molecules that formed the diamond. In time, the constant pressure that forms a diamond from carbon also pressed the impurities, giving the diamond a different color.

Natural colored diamonds are extremely rare and, as such, usually cost a small fortune. Perhaps you have heard of The Hope Diamond, which, at 45.52ct, is one of the most famous diamonds in the world, and certainly the most famous blue diamond in the world.

In the early 1900’s, Sir William Crookes began experimenting with the effects of radiation on diamonds. To his surprise, his experiments created color enhanced diamonds; that is, normal diamonds changed colors when treated with different degrees of radiation. The only downside, and it was a biggie, was that, while these colored diamonds were beautiful, the levels of radiation they possessed made them unwearable.

Still, where one door closes, another one opens.

Crookes’ research led to the understanding that diamonds could, in fact, have their color altered, making colored diamonds accessible to the general public. In fact, in the past few years, a process known as High Pressure High Temperature Treatment (HPHT) has led to the creation of color enhanced diamonds that are both exquisitely beautiful and very affordable.

SuperJeweler carries color enhanced black, blue and brown diamonds, putting the beauty and character of colored diamonds in your jewelry box. In fact, these black diamond earrings are one of our absolute bestsellers! Check them out today.

In our last post, we talked about white gold, specifically answering the question: Where Does White Gold Come From? Another question worth asking before making any jewelry purchase is whether the diamonds are real or fake. (As an interesting aside, a created diamond is not necessarily a fake diamond, but that is a topic for another post.)

In short, there are a number of ways to tell if a diamond is real. Professional jewelers have a variety of options at hand, and each one requires a certain degree of technical expertise and equipment. Because diamonds and cubic zirconium (CZ) reflect light in different ways, an ultraviolet light test is one option.

To tell if a diamond is real, a professional will likely use a tool called a loupe, which is just a small 10x magnifying glass, to take a closer look at the internal characteristics of the stone. Doing this, a professional can easily tell if a diamond is real or fake.

Of course, most people aren’t professionals, nor do they have a loupe lying around the house. For the average person, you can tell if a diamond is real by subjecting it to a very simple heat test.

A diamond, because of its very molecular makeup, does not hold heat. Therefore, if you breathe on a stone and the fog from your breath stays on the surface for a moment, you can be assured that this is most likely a real diamond. Remember, however, it is very important that the stone be absolutely clean before the breath test to ensure you are applying the heat from your breath directly to the stone.

If you want to be 100% sure, though, just buy from SuperJeweler. We use real diamonds in every piece of diamond jewelry we sell. We don’t even carry any kind of CZ jewelry. So all the diamond rings, diamond stud earrings, diamond bracelets and more that you see on our site are 100% the real deal.

At SuperJeweler, we know a few things about jewelry. For instance, we know that we sell white gold jewelry items at 10 times the rate we sell yellow jewelry. And that’s pretty standard among most jewelry retailers. We also know, however, that most people really have no idea just what white gold is or where it comes from. So that’s what we are going to talk about today.

We all know that gold, in its purest form, is yellow. So what exactly is white gold? A while back, we did a post titled What Are The Types of Gold? and we are going to revisit a couple of those points here.

Pure 100% gold is 24k gold. Because pure gold is a very soft and malleable metal, jewelers mix it with alloys to strengthen it. For instance, the popular 14k gold is 58.3% pure gold and 41.7% alloys. So 14k gold is actually less valuable than 24k gold, but is much stronger and will last longer under normal jewelry-wearing conditions.

One of the most common alloys used in white gold is Nickel,which will give yellow gold a whitish tint, but that’s not all. At the end of the manufacturing process, white gold receives a coating of Rhodium, which is another rare metal that gives the white gold a bright, platinum-like appearance.

Because the Rhodium is a coating, however, it may begin to wear off in time. This is completely normal and to be expected of white gold jewelry. In this case, the piece will need to go through a simple re-Rhodium process. (As an interesting aside, Rhodium coating may also be applied to some silver pieces to help reduce tarnishing.)

While we are talking about alloys, we would be remiss if we didn’t address the commonality of Nickel allergies. It is estimated that one-in-eight people have allergic reactions to nickel. If you are among this group, you can try a few things. The most obvious would be to simply avoid white gold jewelry. Some people with Nickel allergies, however, have been able to continue wearing the white gold jewelry they love by simply coating it with clear nail polish from time to time. Still, if you are unsure as to the severity of your Nickel allergy, it is always best to check with your doctor regarding the matter.

And remember, whether your prefer white gold, yellow gold, silver, platinum or even titanium jewelry, you can find it all at SuperJeweler.

Last month, with the passing of Elizabeth Taylor, the world lost a true, larger-than-life icon. While her roles as Cleopatra and her noted philanthropy are what come to mind when many of us think of her, for those of us who follow jewelry, there is another larger-than-life element associated with Elizabeth Taylor: the Taylor-Burton diamond.

While Taylor’s fifth husband, Richard Burton, lavished her with many jewels during their marriage, one, deservedly, gets the most attention. We know it as the Taylor-Burton diamond. Specifically, however, it was the 69.42ct pear-shape diamond. The stone itself was cut from a 240.80ct rough stone with a cleaving process that lasted six months.

The legacy of the diamond doesn’t rest solely with Taylor, however. In 1969, the diamond was put up for auction by a previous owner with the understanding that the winner of the auction would be able to name the diamond. Before the auction, Taylor arranged a viewing of it, so her name was certainly mentioned at that time of the auction. At the end of the auction, however, it wasn’t Taylor or Burton who made the winning bid. Instead it was Robert Kenmore, Chairman of the Board of the Kenmore Corporation, the owners of Cartier, Inc.

The winning bid? $1,050,000. To put that in perspective, the previous record paid for a gem was $305,000–a full $745,000 less. It was promptly named the Cartier diamond.

Still, as Burton was an underbidder at the auction, he was determined to get that diamond for Taylor. So, one evening in a hotel lobby in Southern England, Burton negotiated the purchase of the diamond with Kenmore’s agent… from a payphone. He eventually acquired the diamond under the condition that Cartier could still display the diamond, but under the name “The Taylor-Burton Diamond.” The diamond drew thousands of visitors every day at the New York Cartier location.

Following her divorce from Burton, Taylor announced she sell the diamond again. This time it was purchased in 1979 by New York jeweler, Henry Lambert for the hefty sum of $5,000,000. Taylor used part of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana.

The diamond’s current owner is jewelry legend, Robert Mouawad.

You’ve heard the saying, “He’s a diamond in the rough.” And while it’s an intuitive metaphor, it stems from an actual process that takes a diamond from its raw or “rough” state to a pretty gem you love to wear. It all starts with the diamond cut.

The word “cut” has taken on two different meaning in recent years. Often, it is used to describe the shape of a diamond, such as marquise, princess, or emerald. These, however, are not actually cuts; they are shapes. The cut is the exact process of taking a diamond from its rough state to a beautiful gemstone full of fire and brilliance.

Each shape has a specific guideline so that diamond cutters can cut the diamond for maximum brilliance and fire. As an interesting aside, approximately 90% of all diamonds are cut in India, Israel, and New York. The process is broken into several steps: planning, cleaving/sawing, bruting, and faceting/polishing.

Planning. During the planning stage, each diamond is analyzed to maximize the value of the final finished diamond.

Cleaving or Sawing. The cleaving or sawing process involves sawing a rough diamond into smaller pieces to, once again, maximize the finished product. At the same time, it’s this step when parts of the rough diamond that are not gem quality are removed. Cleaving is a quick method of removing a large part of the diamond.

Bruting. This is the initial stage where the shape of the diamond is formed. To do this, diamond cutters place a diamond on a spinning axle, rotisserie style, next to another diamond. This constant contact of diamond on diamond forms the beginning of the shape, as only a diamond can cut a diamond.

Faceting or Polishing. By using a flat spinning wheel covered in diamond dust, each facet is delicately added to thdiamond.

In addition to the physical process that gets a diamond ready to wear, there are a series of transactions that take a diamond from the ground to your ear, finger, or neck. Fortunately for SuperJeweler customers, we are a jewelry manufacturer, so we are able to eliminate many of those transactions and bring beautiful diamonds to you at a far lower price than our competitors can.

If you follow the diamond industry at all – or if you are just one who enjoys being bowled over by world record numbers – put February 26, 2010 on your calendar. This is the day that Petra Diamonds sold a rough diamond for a record $35.3 million. How big was the diamond? 507 carats!

The diamond itself is one of the 20 biggest known high-quality diamonds in existence. One of the most remarkable aspects of this story is that it was actually valued at about $25 million – $10.3 million less than its eventual selling price.

The quality and size of the diamond are believed to be the key factors in the higher selling price, as this diamond has the potential to be one of the most important polished gems in history.

According to Petra, the mammoth gem was purchased in a tender by Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Co Ltd in Hong Kong.

The diamond was mined from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The Cullinan mine has long had a reputation for producing noteworthy diamonds, including “The Cullinan” – the world’s largest rough diamond at 3,106 carats. That diamond was eventually was cut into the Star of Africa stones now set in Britain’s Crown Jewels.

While we don’t have any 507ct diamonds in our inventory, we do have quite a selection of other sizes for all kinds of diamond rings and diamond solitaire pendants at SuperJeweler.com.

In today’s society, there has been much focus on the word “value” – and rightly so. In tough economic times, only the foolish don’t stop to evaluate the best way to spend their dollars. By most definitions, the term “value” means what you get relative to how much you spend. Lately, however, most advertising has equated value with simply being the cheapest. And that’s a big mistake.

Value in a Nutshell
The real factors of value are: 1) the amount you spend; 2) the fulfillment of a want or need; and, most importantly, 3) the degree of personal fulfillment over time.

We can use these factors for determining the value of just about anything. Is a $0.75 cookie a better value than a $1 apple? Well, it’s certainly cheaper. Over time, however, the nutritional properties of the apple and how it benefits your whole body likely make it the better value.

The Value of Jewelry
Jewelry is a unique commodity in that it has an inherent global monetary value. Society values precious metals like gold and platinum, as well as gems like diamonds and sapphires. These factors build in a lasting sense of monetary worth over time. That a ring lasts longer than, say, a sandwich, also brings a sustained value to jewelry.

Perhaps, the one factor that increases the value of jewelry more than any other, however, is the sentimental attachments we bring to it. Do you have your grandmother’s antique wedding ring? Would you ever sell it? Do you have your daughter’s baptism or christening pendant? Would you sell that? Of course not. We don’t sell these things because the value they have has nothing to do with their price. And that’s why using cheap as a synonym for value is more of an advertising trick than an actual representation of value.

True Story
I have a seven-year-old daughter who just loves kitty cats. When she was just five, I brought home this diamond cat pendant for her. She loves it. She takes very good care of it, keeping it in a safe place so that it won’t get lost or damaged. She doesn’t wear it every day, only for special occasions like family gatherings or school pictures – you know, the times when little girls want to look and feel special.

We sell that pendant for just $99 at SuperJeweler. We think that’s a pretty affordable price for this particular pendant. What I had not taken into consideration at the time, however, was just how attached my daughter would become to this pendant. To see such a young girl show such responsibility and affection for it is something that also brings me happiness. And you can’t put a price on that.

This is the Way We Give Jewelry
Jewelry is not like chocolate or a sweater where the price can often be the first factor. After all, you wouldn’t give her a piece of jewelry she didn’t like even if it was free, would you? Instead, the first thing we consider is what she likes. When we find the styles we are looking for, we then try to find those styles within our budget. The ultimate goal when giving jewelry is to wow her as soon as she opens the box, then have her be wowed again, over time, whenever she wears it. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a piece that she wears only on special occasions or a piece, like an engagement ring, that reminds her every minute of every day how much she is loved. The right piece of jewelry truly is priceless.

SuperJeweler: Value Jewelry
At SuperJeweler, we take all of these factors into consideration and work hard to offer you a wide array of choices so that you can find the perfect piece. We also offer jewelry at a wide range of prices because, while price might not be your primary consideration, it will still always be a consideration.

Valentine’s Day is approaching quickly. We know it’s a very popular jewelry day. So whether you are shopping for engagement rings, diamond heart pendants, or any other piece of jewelry for Valentine’s Day, SuperJeweler has the jewelry you are looking for … at a real value.

Last Tuesday in Hong Kong, a huge and very rare, 5-carat pink diamond was auctioned off for – get this – $10.8 million!

The stone itself, which is of a “vivid pink” color has been considered nearly perfect, but not completely flawless. Still, the bidding was fast and furious for it at Christie’s Autumn Sales of Asian and Chinese art in Hong Kong.

By comparison, this huge diamond ring totally smashed the previous record, which was set 15 years ago in Geneva, when a 19.66ct stone sold for a measly $7.4 million. This new pink gem sold for $2.2 million per carat, which set another record as the most ever paid for any diamond at auction. And that record is likely to stand for quite some time.

So where does this diamond stand in comparison to other diamonds sold at auction? Well, it still has a ways to go to catch the “Wittelsbach” blue diamond, a 17th-century stone that went for a whopping $24 million last year.

Still, if $10.8 million is a little out of your budget, we have some other diamond rings at SuperJeweler.com that might be a little more in your range.

Okay, you have all seen them: those hokey, cornball jewelry commercials the national chains drag out every Christmas. They are full of unreal scenarios and terrible acting. Never ones to just sit and complain, however, we at SuperJeweler decided to take matters into our own hands.

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you: The Best Christmas Jewelry Commercial Ever.

For several months, we at SuperJeweler have been planning ways to save you money on jewelry gifts for this holiday season. It all kicks off today, so we wanted to take a moment to highlight all of the money saving offers we have going on right now!

Crazy Sales
Every day from November 23rd – November 29th, we will be featuring a crazy deal on one particular item each day. When you come to the SuperJeweler Homepage, you will see a banner for the crazy deal of the day. We will also keep you updated via social media and through emails. Not to let the cat out of the bag here, but we are going to have some great stuff for less than $100 this week.

One and Done Deals
We introduced our One and Done Deals last month, and they have been a big hit! The idea is simple, each day we post an item of which we have only one remaining in stock. We mark the price way down. And when someone buys it, that’s it; it’s gone for good.

Deal of the Day
Our SuperJeweler Deal of the Day is similar to the One and Done Deal, except we have plenty to go around. Each day we pick one of our more popular items and highlight it at a great price. It’s new every day, so keep checking back.

Social Media Discounts
Each week we offer an exclusive deal to our friends at Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Starting Friday, November 27th, however, we will be offering exclusive deals EVERY DAY in all three places until December 31st. So, if you aren’t friends with us yet, you should be: SuperJeweler on Facebook, SuperJeweler on Twitter, and SuperJeweler on MySpace.

Email Sales
In addition to all of the above, we will also be running sales through our email blasts! To sign up for our email sales (3 per week), just look for the little birdie on the right side of the SuperJeweler Homepage. It’s that simple.

At SuperJeweler, our customers mean everything to us. And we work really hard to help you get really good jewelry at really low prices. This holiday season, we are working even harder.

Check us out.