May 2013 Volume 3 Number 5

Where the world comes to find out about diamonds

Newsletter

In this Issue All about the Signet Diamond and Jewelery Group.

A Tutorial All about Pearls An Argyle Pink Diamond Chart

A list of All the Diamond and Jewelery Shows for 2013 and much much more!

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Price of Diamonds

Newsletter of the Price of Diamonds website

Price of Diamonds Newsletter May 2013 Edition

Editor in Chief Michael Moore

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The PRICE OF DIAMONDS NEWSLETTER Is the Newsletter of the Price of Diamonds website and is available by subscription only. This Newsletter is provided subject to the condition that it shall not be circulated in any form without the publisher’s cover and acknowledgement of the mate-rial contained herein and is not to be sold, hired or otherwise disposed of for any fee or consideration other than by prior arrangement. It may be distributed online and passed along only in its current form and with the above proviso. Comments and articles pub-lished in the Price of Diamonds Newsletter are not necessarily the opinions of the Publishers or Editors and are offered solely for information purposes only. This publication is designed to provide accurate and informative information only in regard to the subject matter covered. This publication does not purport to offer any professional advice of any legal, financial or psychological service and is sold with the understand-ing that the publisher, editor and contributors are not engaged in rendering any legal, financial, psychologi-cal or any other professional service and is offered for information purposes only. If any legal, financial, psychological or any other professional advice or as-sistance is required, the services of a competent pro-fessional person should be sought. The reader is sole-ly responsible for his/her own actions. Copyright © 2013 By Technical Author Services Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All copyrights and trademarks belong to their respec-tive owners

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Where the world comes to find out about diamonds

~ Editorial ~

Dear Reader, This month we feature the Signet Diamond and Jewelery group. Also an extensive tutorial about pearls. Pearls are one of natures living jewels. We continue the up and coming Diamond and jew-elery Shows and of course the ever useful glossary and much more. Do have a great month and happy reading! Michael Price of Diamonds

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~ Diamond Dealer of the Month ~

Signet Diamond & Jewelery Group

B efore you buy diamonds and jewelry from a Signet Diamond and Jewelery outlet or

online, it is a good idea to read this write up and find out all about the various Signet Dia-mond and Jewelery brand outlets beforehand so that you know who you are really dealing with. Naturally, when buying any jewelry or dia-monds, it is always a good idea to do your own due diligence before buying from any diamond dealer or jeweler online regardless of who they are. Who are Signet Signet is perhaps one of the largest jewelry retailers in the UK and USA, selling gold, sil-ver, diamond, and gemstone jewelry, watches, collectibles, and gifts. Some stores also sell china and crystal.. Signet holds about 12.1% share of the £4.5 billion total jewelery market in the UK, with about 580 stores under the H. Samuel, and Ernest Jones. The Signet Group's US subsidiary Sterling Jewelers inc, is number 1 in the US (ahead of Zale) with more than 1,300 stores, including 830 stores under the Kay Jewelers banner, the off-mall Jared format, and other stores under regional banners. The US market accounts for approximately 50% of worldwide jewelery sales and the UK for around 7%.

Signet have a policy of all brands and shops being placed in shopping malls and upper end shopping centers to capture pedestrian traffic. For the fiscal year ending January 2007, One year growth was 19.4%2007 with sales of $3,725.1M and a Net income of $264.5M. In-come growth was 12.4% The main website is Signetgroupplc.com The Chairman is Sir Malcolm Williamson, the Group Chief Executive and Director Terry Burman and the Group Finance Director is Walker Boyd Brands in the USA include Kay with 781 stores in 50 states and 41% of group sales. JB Robinson with 330 stores and 15% of group sales and Jarad with 110 stores and 17% of the upper end of the market. There are also many regional brands with just a few shops in each and they are pretty much of an ilk. In the UK Signet have H. Samuel with 386 sites and 15% of the middle market and Ernest Jones with just 207 stores and 12% of the up-per market. Many of the brands have been around for some time, many years in fact, and have simply been taken over by the Signet management group to expand their operation. The brands have their own management team and operate within their market level much as they did prior to the Signet group take over except they are now answerable to the Signet Group as a whole. Signet Brands Here is a brief rundown of the current Signet brands. In the UK we have Ernest Jones and H Samuel.

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Ernest Jones accounts for around 12% of the group sales for Signet and is one of the larger specialty retail jewelery brands in the UK with a market share of about 5.6% of the total jew-elery market. It serves the upper middle market selling a broad range of diamond and gold jewelery as well as prestige watches such as, for example, Cartier, Longines, Omega, Rolex and Tag Heuer. It also sells contemporary fashion and traditional watches such as DKNY, Armani, Accurist, Rotary, Seiko and Tissot. Ernest Jones began in 1949 and has grown from a single store in London's Oxford Street to national chain of over 190 jewelery stores The other UK brand store is H. Samuel. H. Samuel, accounting for around 14% of group sales and also one of the largest specialty retail jewelery brand in the UK with a 6.5% share of the total jewelery market. It serves the core middle market Again, it sells a broad range of gold and silver jewelery with an increasing proportion of dia-mond merchandise and a wide selection of watches, including Accurist, Citizen, DKNY, Fossil, Rotary, Seiko and Sekonda. It also sells a range of gifts and collectables such as Nao and Swarovski for example. In the USA we have Kay Jewelers, Jarad, JB Robinson and some smaller regional brands. Kay Jewelers began in 1916, and has grown from one store to over 800 covering the entire US.. Kay was the simple idea of two enterpris-ing brothers, Sol and Edmund Kaufmann from Reading, Pennsylvania. They opened the first Kay Jewelers in the corner of their father's fur-niture store. Jared is a leading off-mall destination specialty retail jewelery chain in its sector of the market with 154 listed stores in February 2008

Most notably they carry the Leo Schachter range of diamonds. Leo Schachter is one of the leading fine diamond companies. handcrafting some of the world's most beautiful and brilliant diamonds. Paris, London, Milan, New York, L.A. and Hong Kong. Regional Brands include: JB Robinson Jewelers Marks & Morgan Jewelers Belden Jewelers Osterman Jewelers Shaw's Jewelers Weisfield Jewelers LeRoy's Jewelers Rogers Jewelers Goodman Jewelers Friedlander's Jewelers All belong to Signet and are basically the same, even down to the shop fronts. Just locat-ed in different parts of the country (USA) Customer Service Customer service, as is common in the upper end of the market, tends to be focused and at-tentive. It does vary with each store depending on the type of store and which country it is lo-cated in. Here is some information on the UK brands, Ernst Jones and H. Samuel. Ernest Jones Ernest Jones has 207 stores and 12% of the upper market for jewelery and diamond mar-ket. Ernest Jones has a 30 day cooling off period and specific criteria to meet to return an item. It will depend on what the item is. For example certain items that cannot be returned unless Ernest Jones is at fault includes, understanda-bly, pierced jewelery and personalized or en-graved items. You can return a faulty item to any Ernest Store for a full refund provided it is still in its

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original box and a refund is available in the same way you paid. i.e. credit card payment will mean a credit back onto your card etc. Services available at Ernest Jones include: Jewelery cleaning Jewelery insurance Valuation service Insurance replacements Design your own jewelery Diamond service Watch service Engraving Using their site map, you can find pretty well anything you want on the site. A complete list of products including Bangles Bracelets Brooches Charms Earrings Jewelery boxes Jewelery sets Diamonds and other gemstones Watches Various gifts such as cuff links, baby prod-ucts, Hip flasks, keyrings, the list goes on. You can also purchase online and payment options include interest free credit (not availa-ble online, only at stores) MasterCard Visa Visa Debit Visa Electron Solo American Express And the Ernest Jones Credit Card and with

cash at stores also of course. All prices and payments are in Pounds Ster-ling and VAT (Value Added Tax) and deliv-ery charges will be added to the advertised price as appropriate.. H Samuel H. Samuel is a bit larger with 386 sites and 15% of the middle market. H. Samuel also has a cooling off period of 30 days. Their returns policy is much the same as Ernest Jones. They have a similar range of products includ-ing a great variety of jewellery, diamonds and watches as well as collectibles, including Cherished Teddies and small statues and orna-ments such as the Water Lily range for exam-ple. Various gifts of course, Clocks, cutlery and crockery and Hip Flasks, jewellery boxes etc. Services available at H Samuel include: Watch service Watch repairs Watch straps & batteries Cleaning your watch Jewelery repairs Jewelery cleaning Free jewelery cleaning Payment options are very much the same as Ernest Jones and all payments , again should be in Pounds Sterling. Both the UK Brand websites are very compre-hensive with lots of information and very

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clearly laid out. Using the site map is a good idea as you can easily find exactly what you want provided they have it. Sterling Jewelers Inc Sterling Jewelers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Signet Group plc (UK) and is the largest specialty retail jeweler in the USA, with 1,307 stores located in 50 states, includes the nation-ally recognized Kay Jewelers, Jared the Gal-leria of Jewelry and JB Robinson brands as well as many smaller regional brands dotted around the US landscape. Kay Jewelers 781 in 50 states 41% of group sales. This is the only brand from which you can buy online in the US. You will need to open an account with Kay Jewelers first and provide some in-formation about yourself. They take all standard credit cards and, of course, you can pay by cash also in stores. Their returns policy is 90 days (30 days for watches) either through shipping or to a Kay Store (except for customer designed jewelry) Kay provide a gemstone lifelong guarantee provided you use their service to inspect the diamond or other gemstone every 6 months. The mounting is guaranteed for 12 months. They also provide free lifetime cleaning of your gemstone. The website is well thought out and contains a large variety of products including jewelry, diamonds and gemstones and watches. Jarad The Jarad brand consists of 110 stores and 17% of the upper end of the jewelry market. There is a website but one cannot buy online. Most stores are in shopping malls, sometimes

across from Kay Jewelry or one of the region-al stores. Their product range is much the same as Kay Jewelers and the regional brands. The terms of service, such as returns, privacy etc, are much the same. 90 days return for jewelry (not customized) and 30 days for watches. The only difference really is the name of the brand. Curiously, you can open an account with Jarad online but the only facilities it provides is to be able to pay Jarad electronically if you have a line of credit with them and to be able to see the account you have opened. Regional Brands Among the regional brands is JB Robinson. JB Robinson are part of the Sterling Jewelers Inc based in Akron, Ohio of course, and have 330 stores and provide 15% of group sales for Sig-net. This is quite significant. Like all the regional brands and Jarad, you can only purchase from one of the JB Robinson stores. There is no provision, at this time, for an online purchase. The JB Return policy is 90 days and within that time you can exchange or return the prod-uct you purchased. Their range is very similar to the Kay Jewelers and Jarad with attention the middle and upper market. All the stores have the same ‘face’ and almost all are in Malls or main shopping centers. All brands, with the exception of Kay Jewelers, do not provide an online service and you can only purchase in stores. The complete range of branded regional stores

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What about other gemstones

Amethysts

Emeralds

Garnets

Jade

Opals

Pearls

Peridot

Rubies

Sapphires

Topaz

This space to Let!

Contact michael@priceofdiamonds.org

For details.

and how many stores they have at the time of writing is: JB Robinson Jewelers 330 stores Belden Jewelers store 28 stores Marks & Morgan Jewelers 44 stores Osterman Jewelers 28 stores Shaw's Jewelers 18 stores Weisfield Jewelers 19 stores LeRoy's Jewelers 17 stores Rogers Jewelers 11 stores Goodman Jewelers 12 stores Friedlander's Jewelers 4 stores More Information about the Signet Group One can buy shares in the Signet Group (SIG.L) on both the London and new York Stock Exchanges. Of the shares issued Harris Associates L.P holds just over 17 percent, The Capital Group of Companies just under 10 per-cent and Sprucegrove investment Management

ltd has slightly over 6.5 percent. 11 Directors hold, between them around 1.7 million shares. Over half the shares are owned in the US with about 36 percent in the UK and the rest in Eu-rope and the rest of the world. The share price has been on a steady downtrend since July 2007 (It is now June 2008). Howev-er the dividend paid to shareholders over the past five years has been steadily increasing. If you have bought any diamonds or jewelry from any of the Signet Group, please feel free to give us your feedback on the quality of ser-vice and products of the Signet Group com-plaints and special attention or service given by of the Signet Group companies and outlets online

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All About Pearls Tutorial

T his is a tutorial about pearls. It gives de-tailed information all about pearls and is

excellent for those wishing to buy pearls or even sell them. For any activity regarding pearls, it is essential to have some understand-ing about pearls, where they come from, what types there are and how they should be treat-ed. What is a Pearl A pearl is a calcium carbonate deposit which a mollusc or shellfish such as an oyster, creates as a reaction to an irritant contained within its shell. The mollusc cannot remove the irritant, which might be a grain of sand or some other hard substance, so it will coat it with some-thing it feels more comfortable with. The de-posit is combined with a substance called con-chiolin and this then becomes nacre. This is what is known to us as Mother of Pearl. Pearls are highly prized for their beauty and iridescence and some can be extremely valua-ble. It is quite common for pearls to pass down from one generation to the next and these pearls should be carefully looked after and cared for. Pearls are usually white but sometimes have a tint of pink, yellow, green or blue. One can

also find black pearls, referred to as the Tahiti-an Pearl and these are quite rare so more high-ly prized. Types of Pearls There are two categories of pearls, Freshwater and Saltwater. Within these categories are four types of pearls, and various categories of these. Each is unique with the own color, shape and size. The four types are: Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian. The saltwater variety . The freshwater tend to be the cultivated pearl. They are also known as Biwa Pearls, as they originally came from lake Biwa in Japan but are now mostly available produced in China. A well equipped gem testing laboratory is able to separate natural pearls from their cultured pearls, non-nucleated cultured pearls and imi-tation 'pearls' counterparts. The separation be-tween a natural pearl or cultured pearl is al-most impossible without a bona-fide gemolog-ical X-ray certificate. Also pearls in cultivated areas have a different structure to natural pearls. Akoya Pearls The Akoya pearls tend to be the most popular as they are very uniform and are usually the same round shape and size so are ideal for necklaces. They are cultured from saltwater mollusc's from Japan and China. Akoya pearls are popular for their luster and beauty. They tend to be the most expensive also. However, most cultured pearls do not have a certificate especially when set in jewelry so one needs to have some understanding and familiarity with pearls to ensure that the quality is acceptable. An Akoya pearl is a pearl from the saltwater oyster, Akoya-gai or Pinctada martensii Also known as the Japanese Pearl. They are a spe-ciality of the Japanese pearl Farms so of course are a cultivated pearl. Akoya pearls

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were first produced by Kokichi Mikimoto to set out to perfect a technique of growing round pearls. He received a patent for this in 1916 but since then the technique has been improved upon so that it is used for fresh water as well as black Tahitian pearls. They are, however a high quality pearl and contain few blemishes and have a deep beauti-ful luster. They are also very much in demand as can be set with 18karat gold jewelery and in strings due to the little difference between each pearl. They look similar to the fresh water pearl but on comparison it is easy to see that the Akoya are larger, more rounder and smoother and lustrous than the freshwater pearls. They are also more expensive. South Sea Pearls South Sea pearls are a larger pearl that come in a range of light colors. South Sea pearls are somewhat harder to cultivate and therefore tend to be more expensive. Golden South Sea pearls are well known for their exceptional quality and beauty with their golden color. They are notably larger than the "average" pearls, and are stunningly smooth and round. They are likely the rarest and most extraordinary pearls to be found in jewelry. Golden South Sea pearls come from the oyster pinctada maxima, which is a white-lipped type of mollusc. The oyster is larger than the oysters that produce Freshwater and Akoya pearls, and accounts for the larger size of South Sea pearls. Actually, two varieties of the Pinctada maxima produce the South Sea pearls: the silver-lipped and the gold-lipped. The colour of the outer edge of their interior distinguishes the one from the other. Their shell, also called mother-of-pearl is responsible for the tint of the cul-tured pearls produced. Due to the rarity and sensitivity of the pinctada maxima, the farming of South Sea pearls requires a lot of exact work

and the pearls tend to be more expensive than other types of pearls. When it comes to South Sea pearls, the larger they are, the more valuable they are. Golden South Sea Pearl cultivators hope for frequent harvests of very large pearls in perfectly round shapes. However, the formation of South Sea pearls, just like other kinds of pearls, is unpre-dictable, and the slightest environmental change can produce changes in shape, or blem-ishes, or even no pearl at all. . Hence the perfectly round or spherical golden South Sea pearl is considered the most valua-ble. The three most common South Sea pearl shapes are round, semi-round, and button. Round. These pearls are perfectly round, and when they're measured with a caliper, the vari-ation in the circumference is less than 2 per-cent. Semi-Round. A pearl that appears to be round to the eye, but when measured with a caliper, the variation in the circumference is 2 percent or more. Button. This type of pearl has a variation in circumference of about 20%. Within this style, there are also "tall buttons" which are button pearls that appear round. South Sea pearls are only grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions called the South Seas, usually in the areas around the coast of Aus-tralia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are cultured, saltwater pearls available in shades of white, silver and gold. Tahitian Pearls The Tahitian pearl is a black pearl and is creat-ed in a special black-lipped oyster found in the

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French Polynesian waters. It is known as the "Pinctada Margaritifera", or black-lip mother-of-pearl. This mollusc secretes a black pigment and it is this pigment which gives the pearl it's characteristic black look. Sometimes the pig-ment is not so black and so you get lighter tint-ed pearls as well. Tahitian black pearls, also called South Sea Pearls get their unique luster from the grayish black nacre of the oyster shell. Tahitian pearls are cultured in pearl farms in the lagoons of the Tuamotu-Gambier Archipel-ago, a group of islands in French Polynesia. It is a very long process to grow pearls so it must be carefully and skillfully done. An oys-ter which has been poorly seeded can result in a poor quality or even no pearl after 2 or 3 years work so it is vitally important that the seeding is done correctly first time. Top quality pearl seeders therefore are among some of the highest paid people in the world. Many com-manding over a million dollars a year. Each pearl is created by the seeder placing within the oyster a very tiny amount of crushed freshwater clam with a mantle of oys-ter flesh from another oyster. The oyster ob-jects to that and then proceeds to coat the irri-tation with multiple layers of nacre and this is what creates the pearl. The black is obtained from a substance secreted by the oyster during the coating. The Tahitian pearl is naturally cultured and not a total product of nature. Strictly speaking, nat-ural pearls are those created without any hu-man intervention, as officially defined by the International Confederation of Jewelry, Silver-ware, Diamonds, Pearls and Stones (CIBJO). Tahitian pearls are not tinted. They are always all 100 percent natural. The pearl can be jet black, various shades of grey as well as bronze, greenish and even purplish.

How much should you pay for a Tahitian Pearl? You can pay as little as $100 for a small pearl of average quality or up to $10,000 for a round pearl of perfect quality with a diameter of 18mm or so. In the right setting a Tahitian pearl will look wonderful and have a deep shine hard to dupli-cate artificially. Cultivated Pearls Once pearls, being natural only, were the pre-rogative of the very wealthy. Now, with the advent of the cultured variety, most people can enjoy having pearls. Cultured pearls are made by artificially insert-ing a small bead or other foreign substance into an oyster who promptly start to cover it with nacre. It is this continuous covering for 3 to 5 years which produces the pearl. It is based upon the oysters natural resistance to any foreign substance entering its living space which is to cover the foreign matter with a protective substance to the pearl. The cultivation of pearls in this matter was in-troduced and patented by Kokichi Mikimoto in 1916. (see section on Mikimoto Pearls below) It is ironic now that the quality of cultivated pearls rivals, if not surpasses that of the natural oyster and the Chinese are now the past maters of the art of pearl cultivation. The Japanese were the leaders in pearl cultiva-tion for many years but the Chinese were the first to introduce it to fresh water mussels as distinct from the salt water oyster. Natural freshwater pearls occur in mussels for the same reason that saltwater pearls occur in oysters. A foreign material, usually a sharp ob-ject or parasite, enters a mussel and cannot be expelled. To reduce the irritation caused by the

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sharp object, the mollusc coats the intruder with the same secretion it uses for shell-building, nacre. To culture freshwater mussels, workers slight-ly open their shells, cut small slits into the mantle tissue inside both shells, and insert small pieces of live mantle tissue from another mussel into those slits. In freshwater mussels that insertion alone is sufficient to start nacre production. Most cultured freshwater pearls are composed entirely of nacre, just like their natural freshwater and natural saltwater coun-terparts. As well as the Chinese and Japanese cultured pearls there are also the South Pacific black pearls and other colors now available to suit the many tastes and preferences. Many qualities are also available from simple small pearls to very expensive black or rose pearls of high quality and luster. Cultivating cultured pearls have placed pearls within reach of most people now. Mikimoto Pearls Mikimoto pearls are often referred to as 'Hanadama' or Flower pearls. This indicates the finest quality of pearls which Mikimoto is considered to be. The important factors that denote beauty in a pearl are color, shape, smoothness and also luster. As is nacre thick-ness or the thickness of the layers of nacre which the oyster puts around the irritant that then makes the pearl. Kokichi Mikimoto, considered the father of the cultured pearl once said, "I would like to adorn the necks of all the women of the world with pearls". And with the perfectly round cul-tured pearl this dream has come a little closer to reality with the name Mikimoto becoming famous around the world. Mikimoto pearls

are, rightly, among the most expensive and are now available in Mikimoto and other outlets around the world. It takes about 4 years to create a cultured pearl and many of the oysters die after the irritant is inserted, so do not produce an adequate pearl. Of the rest most of the pearls are of poor quali-ty but the five percent that are the Hanadama pearls make up for all the labor, loss and time with their beautiful exquisite quality and lus-ter. Pearl farms, such as at Mikimoto island, in Japan, is where the breeding and raising of oysters occurs. The preparation and culturing process is maintained. The temperature has to be just right and the oysters are moved around each year to ensure that the temperature is right for the harvesting. Mikimoto pearls are considered the best in the world and if you manage to get some or even just one, enjoy it for the beauty it will give you. Pearl Characteristics Here are some physical characteristics of pearls:

The hardness: 2.5 - 4.5 S.G.: 2.70 (fresh-water up to 2.74) Size: from microscopic to many centimeter diameter (rare) Luster - typical pearly luster is termed "orient" A variety of colors, depending upon the type of mollusc and the water composition (polluted water produces unusual colors!) body color: underlying color: white-yellow (cream), black overtone: "float" (resembles a filmy lacquer): pink / green / blue composition:

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o ~ 86 % calcium carbonate (CaCO3) o 2 - 4 % water o ~ 10 % conchiolin (an organic binding agent)

Together, the conchiolin and CaCO3 are re-ferred to as nacre. Nacre consists of a series of alternating lay-ers of conchiolin and crystals of CaCO3. The CaCO3 is in the crystal form known as arag-onite. The typical iridescence of the pearl is due to the series of nacre layers. This is re-ferred to as 'orient' (iridescent effect due to overlapping nacreous plates) Buying Pearls When buying pearls there are a number of important things to keep in mind. These are:

Luster Surface Condition Shape Size Color Matching Rarity

Luster Luster is that glow of the pearl which ema-nates and which gives it's brilliance to the eye. The longer the pearl is in the oyster the bigger it may grow of course but also the deeper and the higher the luster. Placing an inferior and a superior pearl side by side it is very easy to tell the difference by the luster. Luster is the glow of the pearl and its bril-liance to the human eye. The longer the pearl is left in the oyster to grow its nacre casing, the higher the luster. This is the sheen, the shine, the brilliance and the reflection of light on the surface of the pearl. The deeper and more nacre the pearl contains the deeper the surface luster and the more reflective quali-

ties the pearl has. There is no mistaking a quality pearl with a high luster. Surface Condition The surface condition is also important. the more markings and spots on the surface of the pearl the lower the quality and value. A good quality pearl should have little or no imperfections at all on the surface. Round Shape Pearls The best pearls are those that are perfectly round and perfectly round cultured pearls are the most rare. Although most cultured pearls are nearly round, only about 1% are perfectly spherical. You can tell if a pearl is perfectly round. By the way it rolls. If it veers to one side it is not perfectly round. The shape will be found by how much it veers to one side. If you get a row of pearls in a necklace say, roll the necklace on a flat smooth surface and see how it rolls. Any pearls not round will be im-mediately obvious. Other Shapes Other shapes include, semi round, off round and drop pearls. There are also ringed, but-ton, Stick, elongated (from fresh water oys-ters), angel-winged and some others. Color Pearls are available in different natural col-ors, Color consistency also effects value and price of the pearls, as do current fashion trends and color demand conditions. It is im-portant when assembling pearls for a neck-lace or piece of jewellery to pay special at-tention to assure that the color consistency of all the pearls on any given piece is the same. Size Pearl diameter is measured in millimeters. Generally, the larger the pearl, the rarer and the more valuable it is. Pearls can range from 6mm to over 20 mm and more.

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Matching For pearl necklaces the overall look is very important, regardless of the quality of the indi-vidual pearls. The more uniform and aestheti-cally pleasing two or more pearls look together the more time was spent matching the pearls. This time to match pearls is reflected in the cost. Rarity Because pearls are not cut or polished when removed from the oyster or mussel, certain siz-es, qualities and colors may from time to time be in scarce supply. Overall health of pearl growing oysters and mussels effect pearl size, quality and availability. Selling Pearls Where to sell pearl necklaces is a question commonly asked and there are various places one can do so. However, knowing the value of your pearls and what one should get for them is important. Perhaps even having a valuation or appraisal done would be a good move before you start advertising it is for sale. There are five main places to sell pearl jewelry.

Privately - to friends and relations Through a newspaper such as the classifieds To a dealer or jeweler By auction - both online or not Pawn shop

Privately is usually the best way. Probably the first place to sell is to friends and relations. They often are aware of your pearl necklace and may even have had an eye on it. If any are interested you would likely get a better price than if you sold to a dealer or through an auc-tion. The buyer is usually someone you know and can trust and also who is interested in hav-ing the jewelry. Perhaps they have admired it

from afar and would be delighted to have it. They will tend to pay the best price. A dealer is safer but you are unlikely to get the best price. The dealer has to on sell the piece and he has to make his slice of the cake as does the wholesaler or other dealer he on sells it too. Rarely do they resell themselves. If you get more than a third of the value for the piece you would be very lucky. An online auction is somewhat hit an miss. You might get a great price for it but, unless you put a reserve price on it and possibly not sell it at all, you may sell it for much less than it is worth. As with any auction of this type ensure you know or can establish who the buy-er is. The brilliant feedback system employed by eBay is excellent and gives you some way of establishing the authenticity of the buyer. For a good piece however a physical auction, such as Sotheby's for example, is a good start as they will advise you of the value and possi-ble price it may fetch. You can also put it in with other jewelry and be assured of prospects being there that are looking for such items. Less of a hit and miss affair. Although you would expect to get the best price, with the classifieds the main difficulty there is that you do not know with whom you are dealing so, in fact, a poor place to try and sell any jewelery is through the newspaper. It costs money to advertise and you would need to establish the authenticity of the buying. Something not always easy to do. The only way to sell through the classifieds is with cash on the nail. No checks or other instruments. If you are aware of the value of a piece then an exchange is possible. The worse place of all is the pawn shop. If your lucky you will get perhaps ten percent of the value of the piece so this is only a place to go if one is in dire desperation.

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Selling privately is the best option usually. The either a dealer or a physical auction as a second alternative. Before one sells any pearl jewelry however, it is a good idea to find out the value and even get a certificate of appraisal from an inde-pendent gemological laboratory if the piece is very valuable. Pearl Jewelry The value of any pearl is determined by a number of factors. These are color, luster, size, the lack of surface flaws and of course symmetry. Luster is considered the most im-portant of these and a good luster can add to the value of the pearl. Of course the larger the pearl the better and these obviously cost more as they have taken longer to make by the oyster and are much rarer than the standard pearl. The shape of the pearl can determine how it is used. Pear shaped pearls tend to be used for pendants and earrings and the round smooth for neck-laces where possible although these are the most rare of pearls. When buying a pearl or pearl jewelery find out if the pearl is a cultivated one. In general, cultivated pearls are less valuable than natural pearls, and imitation pearls are the least ex-pensive. One way that jewelers can determine whether a pearl is cultivated or natural is by x-raying the pearl. If the grit in the centre of the pearl is a perfect sphere, then the jeweller knows it is cultivat-ed. This is because when the cultivators insert the grit, (usually a polished piece of mussel shell), it is always perfectly round, so as to produce a more expensive, perfectly round pearl. If the centre is not perfectly round, the jeweller recognizes that it is genuine, and gives it a higher value. Imitation pearls are

much easier to identify by jewelers. Some im-itation pearls are simply made of mother-of-pearl, coral or conch, while others are made from glass and are coated with a solution con-taining fish scales called essence d'Orient. Although imitation pearls look the part, they do not have the same weight or smoothness as real pearls, and their luster will also dim greatly. Always get a certificate with the pearl to state its value. This is important not just for insur-ance purposes or if you decide to sell at some-time in the future but also for any possibility that the description is found to be incorrect and you can then demand a refund. There is also a unique way of naming pearl necklaces. While most other necklaces are simply referred to by their physical measure-ment, strings of pearls have their own set of names that characterize the pearls based on where they hang when worn around the neck. A collar will sit directly against the throat and not hang down the neck at all, they are often made up of multiple strands of pearls. Pearl chokers nestle just at the base of the neck. The size called a princess comes down to or just below the collarbone. A matinee of pearls falls just above the breasts. An opera will be long enough to reach the breastbone or ster-num of the wearer, and longer still, a pearl rope is any length that falls down farther than an opera. Necklaces can also be classified as uniform, where all the pearls are the same size, gradu-ated, where the pearls are arranged in size from large in the centre to smaller at the ends, or tin cup, where pearls are generally the same size, but separated by lengths of chain. Looking After Pearls Taking care of your pearls is very important. Pearls are produced by living organisms and

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Price of Diamonds

are sensitive to chemicals and body fluids. Pearls contain proteins and water and should not be allowed to dry out. Some pearls are sensitive to a ladies skin and the moisture from the skin. The skin produces an acid which, over time can wear away the nacre and cause the pearl to go barrel shaped. This means they should be cleared each time they are removed and you have finished wear-ing them. Here are some things not to do when cleaning your pearls. Never use acids or chemi-cals when cleaning your pearls. Not even deter-gents which can contain abrasives. Do not use any commercial jewelery cleaners, They may be fine for gemstones but they are not for pearls which are much softer. Some of these cleaners contain ammonia and this will cause deteriora-tion of your pearl. Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner. It may cause damage to the pearl. Also keep away from steam cleaning. It generates too much heat and that can damage pearls too. You can clean your pearls with a wipe from a damp soft cloth to clean them and keep them moist is all that is required. You can immerse them in salt water for a short period also as that helps to keep the pearls natural looking and moist. They should be wiped each time you remove them as that will prevent dirt from accumulating on them. To dry them simply lay them on a soft dry cloth until they dry natural-ly. You should take your pearls to a professional jeweler check the pearl settings or strings to

ensure they are secure and have not deteriorat-ed. Pearls should not be stored in with other jew-elery, particularly gemstones and sharp jewel-ery items. Pearls are easily scratched and that not only destroys the value but mars the aes-thetic appearance also. Provided you take care of your pearls and look after them there is no reason why you should not have pearls that last you a life time.

Here are some do's and don'ts for taking care of black pearls. Tahitian black pearls are among the most expensive and so should be well looked after. Washing in warm soapy water and not using any strong detergent or bleach

is important. Rinsing well to get any residue out of the crevasses of the setting and then gently drying with a hair drier is the best op-tion. Always store pearls separate from other jewel-ry such as gems and diamonds. These can scratch the pearls and ruin the surface luster. Provided one's Tahitian black pearls are well looked after they will last for many years and give a great deal of pleasure. Preservation Pearls are made by a living thing. So they should be worn. The more you wear them the more it enhances their beauty. However you cannot wear them all the time of course so pre-serving them during the times you are not wearing them becomes important.

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Pearls contain calcareous crystals which have a sensitivity to skin and various acids and chem-icals. They also contain water and proteins and can dry out and crack of not preserved sensi-bly. It is recommended that pearls are moistened from time to time in lightly salted water. To be avoided is such liquids as dishwashing liquid and acidic products such as lemon or other fruit substances. They should not be wrapped in cotton wool or other substance than gener-ates heat as these will add to the risk of drying out and eventual cracking. Pearl Sensitivity Some ladies skin is more acid than other. Pearls tend, when worn, to be on close contact with the skin for long periods of time. Usually at the neckline or shoulder line. The pearls can absorb acid from the skin and this acid can eat away into the pearl over time and it can lose it's luster and even become barrel shaped. Cleaning Your Pearls So when you put away your pearls for the night, make a habit of rinsing the pearls in wa-ter and dabbing them dry afterwards. One can even polish them with a very soft cloth con-taining a drop of olive oil. Cleaning "Don'ts" It is very important to keep in mind that the softness of pearls and their susceptibility to acids and chemicals means that extra care needs to be taken. Do not use commercial jewelry cleaners on pearls unless the product label states they are safe for pearls. Many such products contain ammonia, which will cause deterioration. Never clean pearls in an ultrasonic cleaner. That can damage the pearls.

Never steam-clean pearls. Heat can harm them. Never use detergents, bleaches, powdered cleansers, baking soda or ammonia-based cleaners on pearls. Do not wear pearls when their string is wet. Wet strings stretch and attract dirt, which is hard to remove. Likewise, do not hang pearls to dry. Do not use toothbrushes, scouring pads or abrasive materials to clean pearls. They can scratch the pearl's surface. If there is a lump of dirt that can't be rubbed off with a soft cloth, trying using a fingernail, which has a hardness of only 2.5 or less. Cleaning "Do's" Cleaning pearls is actually quite easy. As soon as you take the pearls off just give them a wipe with a soft cloth or chamois, preferably just damp. This prevents perspiration and dirt from clinging to the pearls and acid from eating away at them. When taking off a pearl ring, grasp the shank, or metal part, rather than the pearl. This will prevent the pearl from being loosened, also coming into contact with skin oil on your hand. If pearls have not been kept clean and are very dirty, then they may be cleaned by your jewel-er or alternatively, they can be washed in water and with a very a mild soap, such as Ivory or Lux Liquid. In this case make sure you thor-oughly rinse the pearls afterwards and cleaned with a soft cloth. Do not use detergents or washing up liquids such as Dawn. These can damage pearls irreparably. Always pay attention to the areas around the drill holes as this where dirt will tend to col-lect.

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Price of Diamonds

After washing your pearls, lay them flat in a moist kitchen towel to dry. When the towel is dry, your pearls should be dry. About every six months have a jewelry profes-sional verify that the pearls on your jewelry are securely mounted or that the string is still good. Many jewelers will do this free of charge, and they'll be happy to answer your questions about the care of your jewelry. The above will ensure your pearls last a long time. Conclusion I hope this short tutorial has helped you to un-derstand pearls a bit more. Quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. The actual value of a natural pearl is the same as other "precious" gems, and depends on size, shape and quality. The value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are appropri-ate for the type of pearl under consideration. Among those attributes, luster is the most im-portant differentiator of pearl quality according to jewelers. All factors being equal, however, the larger the pearl the more valuable it is. Large, perfectly round pearls are rare and high-ly valued. Teardrop-shaped pearls are often used in pendants. Irregular shaped pearls are often used in necklaces. So now you have some information all about pearls. How to buy pearls, how to sell them and, importantly, how to look after your pearls.

~oo00oo~

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Price of Diamonds

Argyle Pink Diamond Chart

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Price of Diamonds

Up and Coming Diamond & Jewelery

Shows in 2013

MAY Website: elite.com.my/mijf_spring/index.php Baselworld - Watch & Jewelry Show IDI par-ticipation Dates: 25/04/2013 - 02/05/2013 8 Days, Thursday To Thursday Location: Exhibition Center Basel, Basel, Switzerland CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +41-58-200-2020 Fax: +41-58-206-2190 Email: visitor@baselworld.com Website: www.baselworld.com International Jewelry & Watch Vietnam - Spring Fair Dates: 09/05/2013 - 12/05/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: Tan Binh Exhibition & Convention Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +852 - 8114 - 0868 Fax: +852 - 3020 - 6786 Email: bk@wtf.com.hk Website: www.vietnamjewelryshow.com Jeweller Expo Ukraine May Dates: 16/05/2013 - 19/05/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: Kyiv Expo Plaza CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +00-38-04-44-90-6337 Fax: +00-38-04-44-90-6337 Email: Lesya@kmkya.kiev.ua Website: http://www.jewellerexpo.kiev.ua/ IJK International Jewellery Kobe Dates: 22/05/2013 - 24/05/2013

3 Days, Wednesday To Friday Location: Kobe International Exhibition Hall, Kobe, Japan CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +81-3-3349-8503 Fax: +81-3-3345-7929 Email: nishimurak@reedexpo.co.jp Website: www.ijk-fair.jp/en/Home/ Annual Las Vegas Gem & Jewelry Show Dates: 27/05/2013 - 30/05/2013 4 Days, Monday To Thursday Location: Mirage Casino Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-301-294-1640 Fax: +1-301-294-0034 Email: info@glda.com Website: www.glda.com LUXURY at JCK Dates: 28/05/2013 - 03/06/2013 7 Days, Tuesday To Monday Location: Mandalay Bay ,Las Vegas, NV, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-800-257-3626 Fax: +1-203-840-5830 Email: inquiry@jack.reedexpo.com Website: www.luxuryatjck.com/en/home/ Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show Dates: 30/05/2013 - 02/06/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-239-732-6642 Fax: +1-239-732-6652 Email: andreacana-

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dy@dmgworldmedia.com Website: www.lasvegasantiquejewelryandwatchshow.com/ Couture Dates: 30/05/2013 - 03/06/2013 5 Days, Thursday To Monday Location: Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-646-654-4960 Fax: + 1-646-654-4919 Email: Liz.hitchcoc@nielsen.com Website: www.couturejeweler.com JCK Las Vegas IDI participation Dates: 31/05/2013 - 03/06/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-800-257-3626 Fax: +1-230-840-5684 Email: inquiry@jck.reedexpo.com Website: www.jcklasvegasshow.com/ JUNE Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl & Gem Fair Dates: 07/06/2013 - 09/06/2013 3 Days, Friday To Sunday Location: HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyder-abad, India CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +91 (022) 6612-2600 Fax: +91 (022) 6612-2626/27 Email: lavanya.praveen@ubm.com Website: www.jewelleryfair.in/hyderabad/home.asp Cambodia Gems & Jewellery Fair Dates: 13/06/2013 - 16/06/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Center, Cambodia CONTACT DETAILS:

Telephone: +852 2365-8119 Fax: +852 6838-6168 Email: sales@wtf.com.hk Website: www.cambodiatradefair.org June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair 2013 IDI participation Dates: 20/06/2013 - 23/06/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: Hong Kong Convention & Exhibi-tion Center CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: (852) 2516 1677 / 2585 6179 Fax: (852) 3749 7319 Email: salesjgf-hk@ubm.com JULY Website: exhibi-tions.jewellerynetasia.com/6JG Jovella International Jewelry Exhibition Dates: 02/07/2013 - 03/07/2013 2 Days, Tuesday To Wednesday Location: Israeli Trade Fairs & Convention Center, Tel Aviv, Israel CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +972-3-562-6090 Fax: +972-3-561-5463 Email: expo@stier-group.com Website: www.stier-group.com/fair_jovella.htm MIJF- Malaysia International Jewellery Fair Dates: 12/07/2013 - 15/07/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +603-9058-8772 Fax: +603-9058-8773 Email: exhibition@elite.com.my Website: www.elite.com.my InterJeweller Dates: 18/07/2013 - 24/07/2013 7 Days, Thursday To Wednesday

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Price of Diamonds

Location: Sochi, Russia CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +33-1-4267-9912 Email: alf@soud.ru Website: www.soud.ru/exhib/info.htm?id=303&yn=11 Beijing International Jewellery Fair Dates: 19/07/2013 - 22/07/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: China World Trade Center, Bei-jing, China CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +852-2561-5566 Fax: +852-2811-9156 Email: info@newayfairs.com Website: www.newayfairs.com/EN/EventCalender.asp Jewellers Association Show, Jaipur Dates: 19/07/2013 - 22/07/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Birla Auditorium, Jaipur CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +91-141-2563829 Fax: +91-141-2560125 Email: info@jasjaipur.com Website: www.jasjaipur.com New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show Dates: 26/07/2013 - 29/07/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, NY, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-239-732-6642 Fax: +1-239-732-6652 Email: andreacana-dy@dmgworldmedia.com Website: www.newyorkantiquejewelryandwatchshow.com/ JA New York Summer Show Dates: 28/07/2013 - 30/07/2013

3 Days, Sunday To Tuesday Location: Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-646-654-4983 Fax: +1-646-654-4919 Email: drew.lawsky@nielsen.com Website: www.nationaljeweler.com/jany/jany-summer/ AUGUST Atlanta Jewelry Show Dates: 03/08/2013 - 05/08/2013 3 Days, Saturday To Monday Location: Cobb Galleria Center, Atlanta, GA, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-800-241-0399 Fax: +1-404-634-4663 Email: info@atlantajewelryshow.com Website: www.atlantajewelryshow.com Feninjer-Brazilian Gems and Jewellery Show Dates: 03/08/2013 - 06/08/2013 4 Days, Saturday To Tuesday Location: Transamerica Expo Center Sao Paulo, Brazil CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +55-61-3326-3926 Fax: +55-61-3328-6721 Email: clarissa@ibgm.com.br Website: WWW.ibgm.com.br IIJS- India International Jewellery Show IDI participation Dates: 08/08/2013 - 12/08/2013 5 Days, Thursday To Monday Location: NSE Complex, Goregan, Mumbai, India CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +91-22-2652-4791 Fax: +91-22-2652-4764 Email: iijs@gjepcindia.com Website: www.iijs.org

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Price of Diamonds

Expo Prestige Dates: 25/08/2013 - 27/08/2013 3 Days, Sunday To Tuesday Location: Palais Des Congre's (Montreal Convention Center), Montreal, Quebec, Cana-da CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-514-485-3333 Fax: +1-450-649-8984 Email: info@cbq.qc.ca Website: www.cbq.qc.ca apan Jewellery Fair Dates: 27/08/2013 - 29/08/2013 3 Days, Tuesday To Thursday Location: Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Cen-ter, Tokyo, Japan CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +81-3-5296-1020 Fax: +81-3-5296-1018 Email: jjf@cmpjapan.com Website: www.japanjewelleryfair.com/en/index.php SEPTEMBER International Jewellery London Dates: 01/09/2013 - 04/09/2013 4 Days, Sunday To Wednesday Location: Earls Court 2, London, UK CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +44 (0) 208-910-7198 Fax: +44 (0) 208-910-7930 Email: ijlteam@reedexpo.co.uk Website: www.jewellerylondon.com JAA Australian Jewellery Fair Dates: 01/09/2013 - 03/09/2013 3 Days, Sunday To Tuesday Location: Sydney Exhibition Center, Sydney, NSW, Australia CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +61-2-9452-7575 Fax: +61-2-9975-3707 Email: info@expertiseevents.com.au Website:

www.internationaljewelleryfair.com.au/ Facets Sri Lanka International Gem & Jewel-lery Show Dates: 05/09/2013 - 08/09/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: BMICH Exhibition Center, Colom-bo, Sri Lanka CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +941-1259-7226 Fax: +941-1259-7250 Email: facets@facetssrilanka.com Website: www.facetssrilanka.com VicenzaOro Fall Dates: 07/09/2013 - 11/09/2013 5 Days, Saturday To Wednesday Location: Vicenza Fairgrounds, Vicenza, Ita-ly CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +39-0444-969-111 Fax: +39-0444-969-000 Email: info@vicenzafiera.it Website: www.choicevent.it/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1207&lang=en September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair 2013 IDI participation Dates: 11/09/2013 - 15/09/2013 5 Days, Wednesday To Sunday Location: Hong Kong Convention Centre, Wanchai, & AWE airport, CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +852-2516-1677 Fax: +852-3749-7319 Email: salesjwf@cmpasia.com Website: exhibi-tions.jewellerynetasia.com/9JG/ Shenzhen International Jewellery Fair Dates: 13/09/2013 - 17/09/2013 5 Days, Friday To Tuesday Location: Shenzhen Convention & Exhibi-tion Center, Shenzhen, China CONTACT DETAILS:

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Price of Diamonds

Telephone: +852-2561-5566 Fax: +852-2811-9156 Email: info@newayfairs.com Website: www.newayfairs.com Junwex Moscow International Jewelry Forum Dates: 14/09/2013 - 18/09/2013 5 Days, Saturday To Wednesday Location: All -Russian Exhibition Center,(VCC), Moscow, Russia CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +7-812 303 98 76 Fax: +7-812-320 80 90 Email: secur@restec.ru Jewellery & Watches Exhibition 'PRETIOSA DIAMONDS' Dates: 20/09/2013 - 22/09/2013 3 Days, Friday To Sunday Location: Brandboxx Salzburg/Bergheim CONTACT DETAILS: Peter Lindpointner Telephone: +43-662-4687-101 Fax: +43-662-4687-125 Email: peter.lindpointner@brandboxx.eu Website: www.cmw.at/index.php?id=29&sprache=en OCTOBER Mideast Watch & Jewellery Show Dates: 01/10/2013 - 05/10/2013 5 Days, Tuesday To Saturday Location: Expo Center Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +971-6-577-0000 Fax: +971-6-577-0111 Email: info@expo-center.ae Website: www.mideastjewellery.com JIS - Jewelers International Showcase Dates: 04/10/2013 - 07/10/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA CONTACT DETAILS:

Telephone: +1-561-998-0205 Fax: +1-561-998-0209 Email: jisshow@aol.com Website: www.jisshow.com Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair Dates: 12/10/2013 - 15/10/2013 4 Days, Saturday To Tuesday Location: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +65 6592 0896 Fax: +65 6438 6090 Email: WeiHong.Ong@ubm.com Website: www.jewellerynetasia.com/en/fairs/singaporejewelleryfair.html Miami Beach Antique Jewelry & Watch Show Dates: 25/10/2013 - 27/10/2013 3 Days, Friday To Sunday Location: Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, FL, USA CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +1-239-732-6642 Fax: +1-239-732-6652 Email: andreacana-dy@dmgworldmedia.com Website: www.miamibeachantiquejewelryandwatchshow.com/ NOVEMBER Vietnam International Jewelry Fair Dates: 07/11/2013 - 11/11/2013 5 Days, Thursday To Monday Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam CONTACT DETAILS: +848-39144056 Telephone: +848-39144057 Email: thanh.tran@sjc.com.vn Website: www.vietnamjewelryfair.com/en/ China International Gold, Jewellery & Gem Fair- Shanghai Dates: 08/11/2013 - 11/11/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Shanghai World Expo Exhibition

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Price of Diamonds

and Convention Center, Shanghai, China CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +852-2516-1677 Fax: +852-3749-7542 Email: salescjgf-hk@ubm.com Website: www.jewelrynetasia.com Jeweller Expo Ukraine November Dates: 14/11/2013 - 16/11/2013 3 Days, Thursday To Saturday Location: Kyiv Expo Plaza Kyiv ,Ukraine CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +00-38-04-44-90-6337 Fax: +00-38-04-44-90-6337 Email: lesya@kmkya.kiev.ua Website: www.jewellerexpo.kiev.ua/ JUNWEX Ekaterinburg Dates: 21/11/2013 - 24/11/2013 4 Days, Thursday To Sunday Location: Atrium Palace Hotel Ekaterinburg CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +7-495-5443831 Fax: +7-495-5443838 Email: secur@restec.ru Website: http://eng.rjexpert.ru/content/view/214/195/ DECEMBER Dubai International Jewellery Week Dates: 04/12/2013 - 07/12/2013 4 Days, Wednesday To Saturday Location: Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, Dubai CONTACT DETAILS: Nadeera Jayaratne Telephone: +971-4308-6477 Email: Nadeera.Jayaratne@dwtc.com

Website: www.jewelleryshow.com/ KGJS Kerala Gem & Jewellery show Dates: 06/12/2013 - 08/12/2013 3 Days, Friday To Sunday Location: Le-Meridien Convention Centre, Cochin CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +32-3-2335313 Fax: +32-3-2336503 Email: kgjs@artofjewellery.com Website: www.kgjs.in Best Adornments of Russia Dates: 11/12/2013 - 15/12/2013 5 Days, Wednesday To Sunday Location: All-Russian Exhibition Centre, Moscow CONTACT DETAILS: Mr. Alexey Poltavsky Telephone: +7-812-303-9876 Fax: +7-812-320-8090 Email: watch@junwex.com Website: eng.rjexpert.ru/content/view/214/195/ Jaipur Jewellery Show Dates: 20/12/2013 - 23/12/2013 4 Days, Friday To Monday Location: Chamber Bhawan, Jaipur, Raja-sthan, India CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: +91-141-510 4776/7 Fax: +91-141-510 4666 Email: info@jaipurjewelleryshow.org Website: www.jaipurjewelleryshow.org

~oo00oo~

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Price of Diamonds

Diamond Glossary

H ere are some common words used in the Diamond Industry and in this newsletter.

4Cs Diamonds are graded and priced according to what is universally referred to as the "4C's". They are Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. Below an explanation of each of the 4Cs: Appraisal A valuation of property by the estimate of an authorized person. With diamonds the apprais-al is a written estimate of the approximate re-tail replacement value of diamond jewelry, which may be used for insurance coverage or other purposes. It is not the same as a grading report, which evaluates a diamond's character-istics (such as cut, clarity, carat, symmetry, etc.) only. Blemish A scratch or abrasion on the surface of a dia-mond. Provided they do not interfere with the symmetry of the stone and do not interfere with light in the stone they are not considered important. Brilliance brilliance is the white light that is reflected through the top of a diamond. This can be in-crease by the diamond being cut to the correct proportions to take advantage of the reflection of light from the facets to the brilliance. Brilliant Cut A Brilliant Cut, sometimes called the Ameri-can Brilliant, is a 58-facet round diamond,

This shape and faceting arrangement is de-signed for maximum brilliance, sparkle and beauty and is perhaps the most popular shape. Carat Perhaps everyone know the term carat. The basic unit of weight for a diamond. A carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or one-fifth of a gram. It is said that the word is derived from the word carob. In early India the carob bean was used for measuring the weight of gems as eve-ry carob seed weighs exactly the same. Clarity Clarity is the term given to indicate the purity of a diamond. Most diamonds have minute im-perfections and the clarity is the way of grad-ing the purity depending on the number of im-perfections the diamond has or does not have. Cloud A cluster of very small inclusions inside a dia-mond that give a cloud effect. Tiny clouds will not interfere with the flow of light, but large or numerous clouds can affect brilliance. Color Diamonds are traditionally thought of as white or clear. But diamonds in fact do have color and this can be graded. Crown The crown is the top section of a diamond, above its widest point, or girdle, that compris-es the table, and the star-, bezel- and upper-girdle facets. Culet A facet on the very bottom of a diamond. It is best to have a small or medium culet. A large culet will make it look like there is a hole in the bottom of the stone due to leakage of light. Absence of a culet makes the point of the dia-mond more easily damaged or chipped.

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Price of Diamonds

Cut This describes the shape of the diamond. There are basically eight cuts of diamond.

Round Brilliant Emerald Cut Princess Cut Heart Cut Oval Cut Marquise Cut Pear Cut Round Brilliant

Some of the most popular diamond cuts in-clude Heart, Emerald, Marquise (Oval with pointed ends), Oval, Pear, and Princess with the Round Brilliant (R/B) probably being the most popular. Depth % (percentage) The height of a diamond (measured from the culet to the table) divided by the width of the diamond. The depth % is critical to creating brilliance and fire in a diamond. A depth % that is too low or too high will cause light to leak out of the stone, causing the diamond to lose sparkle. Depth The height of a diamond (measured from the culet at the very bottom to the large table facet on the top). Diamond The simplest of all the gemstones consisting of pure crystallized carbon. A diamond crystalliz-es under enormous pressure deep beneath the earth's surface Diamonds can be from 1 to 3 billion years old--more than two-thirds the age of the Earth itself. Diamond is also the hardest substance known to man. In fact, it can only be cut and polished by another diamond. Despite its hardness, however, it is not indestructible. If a diamond is struck at the right angle, it can chip or break.

Eye-clean A diamond that has no inclusions visible to the naked eye -- flawless to the naked eye. This is normally true of all diamonds with a grade of about SI-1 or higher on the clarity scale. Facet The polished flat surfaces on a diamond. For example, a round brilliant diamond has 58 fac-ets including the culet. Fair Cut Diamonds cut to less than perfect proportions. They have been cut to maximize the weight of the stone instead of enhancing the brilliance and sacrifice fire and brilliance. The less ex-pensive stones may have good and very good cuts but will not have the same brilliance and fire that people would expect from a diamond. Fire Fire is the colored light that is reflected from inside the diamond. Colored light reflected from within a diamond. As in a prism light en-tering a diamond is divided up into the spec-trum. The better quality diamond with better proportions the better the 'fire' of the diamond. This is called "refraction" or "dispersion" in the diamond trade. Fluorescence A glow, usually of a bluish color, which ema-nates from certain diamonds when exposed to ultraviolet light. Two thirds of all diamonds fluoresce to some degree but how they do so depends very much on the type of ultra violet light they are under. Girdle this is the narrow band around the outer cir-cumference of a diamond. This is where a jew-elry setting holds the diamond in a ring. Good Cut Diamonds cut with acceptable, but not perfect,

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Price of Diamonds

proportions. They generally have very good brilliance and fire and make excellent jewelry. Ice A colloquial word for diamonds, much favored by Hollywood in movies about gangsters. Ideal Cut Ideal Cut diamonds are usually more expen-sive than all other cut grades. This is due to three major factors: 1) extra time and skill are required to cut to such precision; 2) they are in great demand, and perhaps most importantly, 3) more of the original rough diamond must be sacrificed to achieve ideal proportions. Ideal Cut diamonds are also round diamonds that are perfectly proportioned (having depth percent-ages and table percentages that some people feel produce a "perfect" balance of fire and brilliance). They almost always have the high-est grades on polish and symmetry as well, in-dicating the great care taken in the overall fashioning of the stone. These diamonds have had the finest craftsmanship to maximize the beauty of the diamond. Inclusion An impurity within a diamond, such as a spot or irregularity in the crystal structure of the stone. These can include a cloud, a fracture, another diamond inside the bigger one, liquid, etc. Inclusions can either be visible with the naked eye (usually SI-3 clarity and below) or visible only under magnification. Fewer inclu-sions means a finer clarity grade, increased rarity, and increased value. Kimberlite Kimberlite is a mica peridotite and a source of rich deposits of diamonds. The deposits occur-ring at Kimberley, South Africa were the first recognized and the source of the name. The Kimberly diamonds were originally found in decomposed kimberlite which was colored yel-low by limonite, and so was called "yellow ground." Deeper workings encountered less

altered rock, undecomposed kimberlite, which miners call "blue ground. Loupe A loupe is a small magnifying glass used to view gemstones. Usually 10x, or ten-power, magnification. The FTC requires all diamond grading be done under 10-power magnifica-tion; any flaws not detected under this magni-fication are considered to be non-existent by some dealers. Make Make describes the quality of the finish and proportions of a diamond. A good make will have proportions that maximize brilliance and fire. A poor make will decrease sparkle and fire due to the loss of light as it travels through the stone. The cutter is responsible for the make of a diamond as he is the one that cuts it to achieve the maximum brilliance and fire. Mohs Scale The Mohs scale is a table of relative hardness that ranks a mineral's strength and durability on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being talc and 10 being diamond. Developed over 100 years ago by Frederic Mohs. Moissanite Moissanite is silicon carbide and is manufac-tured in a laboratory. It is virtually indistin-guishable from diamonds and it takes a real expert with special equipment to be able to tell the difference. Pavilion This is the bottom half of a diamond, from the lower girdle to the culet tip at the bottom. The pavilion should be neither too deep or too shal-low otherwise light will leak out and the dia-mond will lose fire and brilliance. Peridotite Any of a group of igneous rocks having a granite like texture.

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Price of Diamonds

Point A measure of diamond weight. One point equals 1/100th of a carat. A diamond that weighs 0.50 carat is said to weigh 50 points. Polish A grade given to the external finish of a stone. The polish grades are from poor to excellent. Good polish is crucial for maximum brilliance of a diamond, but it takes a trained eye to dis-tinguish between polish grades. Poor Cut Poorly cut diamonds with proportions and fin-ish that make them look relatively lifeless to the eye. Such stones are ok for industry but not for jewelry. Sparkle The 'sparkle' of a diamond is the combination of fire and brilliance. The light that reflects out of a diamond as it moves. Sometimes called "scintillation" by older dealers. Stones A word for diamonds and other precious gems. Symmetry A diamond should by symmetrical. Symmetry is the grade used to describe the uniformity of the cut of the diamond. This can range from excellent down to poor. The un-symmetrical a diamond is the poorer will be the quality of light through the stone. Table The top or large flat face of the diamond is

called the table. It should be in proportion to the rest of the diamond to gain the best fire and brilliance. Tourngat Diamonds cut to fit very strict requirements for depth percentage and table percentage. These outstanding proportions maximize fire and brilliance in the diamond. Also a region of northern Quebec. Weight the weight of a diamond is measured in car-ats.A carat is .2 grams. A gram of diamond would be a massive 5 carats. Very large in dia-mond terms although the actual diamond is physically small. Wholesale Wholesale prices are listed PER CARAT to show this price difference. For instance, a 1/2-carat round brilliant diamond of G/VS2 quality may sell for $3,600 per carat ($1,800 for the stone), whereas a 1-carat stone of the same quality would likely cost $6,300 per carat ($6,300 for the stone) because it is twice the size and more rare. Zirconia Also known as Cubic Zirconia, this is a sub-stance often used as a substitute to genuine dia-monds. It is a carborundum substance and easi-ly told from diamonds due to being heavier than diamonds.

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