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Men grow cold As girls grow old, And we all lose our charms in the end. But square-cut or pear-shaped, These rocks don't loose their shape. Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Tiffany's! Cartier! Black Starr! Frost Gorham! Talk to me Harry Winston. Tell me all about it! --Marilyn Monroe, "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"
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WatchMyDiamondGrow
(01/15/08) In case you missed my first column, the hunt for a big sparkler is on. I've always wanted a humungous diamond, but as the years go by it seems less and less likely someone will gift me with one. No matter. The best jewels are ones we ladies buy for ourselves, right? Right!
I've bought my first diamond ring! I had $100 in Christmas money to spend and I went a leetle bit over budget, but by dint of raiding one of my bags of hoarded Sacajawea dollar coins I got it together.
 I started bidding on eBay a week ago, and was outbid (drat!) on my first six ring selections. Then this beauty came along. The center stone is 1/5 of a carat, which is a modest beginning but my how it shines. The diamond's color seems very white. Carat total weight for the five stones is about .33 carat. I ended up paying around $150. Here's what I learned buying my first diamond ring: Most people on eBay wait until the last minute to bid. I thought for sure I was going to get this ring or that one for about $100, then the winning bid turned out to be two or three times that. I went to look at a diamond jewelry web site and was initially excited by its low prices -- that is, until I read more carefully and found that the price was for the setting only, no stone! Be careful out there when doing price comparisons! Until next time, glittery wishes and gemstone delights. Yours truly, WMDG WatchMyDiamondGrow is the pseudonym of a gem-lovin' lady who craves rocks. Really big rocks.
Introducing a new column: WatchMyDiamondGrow
A new voice for our front page, WatchMyDiamondGrow is the pseudonym of a lady we know who yearns for rocks. Big rocks. --Charleen/"Clarence"
I had a great Christmas. Hope you did, too. My mother-in-law gave me a purse with $100 cash in it. I saw that and thought, "Let's have some fun with this."
You see, I have large hands and I've always wanted a big diamond. Sure, I've got a diamond wedding ring set, but those stones were sensibly sized (not to mention sensibly priced). I want to do something crazy this year. I want to wangle me an impressively eye-popping diamond ring.
 One of the big nationwide mall jewelers -- it might have been Zales -- used to advertise that you could bring your diamond engagement ring in anytime and trade up to a larger stone. Gosh, that would be fun to do on my own. I have a feeling I'll be learning alot about diamonds on the way.
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Did you buy diamond jewelry between 1997 and 2006?
If so, you may be eligible for a payout in a settlement of class auction suits against De Beers, the diamond mining giant (and some say monopolist).
De Beers is the largest supplier of rough diamonds in the world. Beginning in 2001, Plaintiffs in several states filed lawsuits against De Beers in state and federal courts alleging that De Beers unlawfully monopolized the supply of diamonds, conspired to fix, raise, and control diamond prices, and issued false and misleading advertising. De Beers denies it violated the law or did anything wrong. If you purchased diamond jewelry within the specified timeframe, click here to begin the claims process.
Warehouse stores: Bargain meccas for jewelry?
Here's an interesting study done in a recent edition of Jewelry Insurance Issues, a trade publication for insurers.
The columnist found on Costco.com a one-of-a-kind platinum ring set with an 11.37 carat center diamond and two small heart-shaped diamonds. The price? $500,000! Obviously that's the kind of gem most of us can only dream about. But is it a good buy?
The appraisal from the International Gemological Institute (a respected organization) gives an insurance valuation of $677,695.00. This is the ring's estimated retail replacement value.
However, when several jeweler-gemologists who customarily deal in high-end jewelry were asked to evaluate this purchase, one said that Costco's cost was probably $408,000, in that a 10-15% markup would be reasonable. (NB: Retail jewelry markups are customarily much, much higher in mall stores. -C.) This jeweler would offer the ring in his store at $450,000. The second jeweler stated it would offer it for between $450,000 and $480,000.
Based on this, Jewelry Insurance Issues concluded that this ring was no bargain and noted that the appraisal may give the illusion of a good buy.
It's always a good idea to keep in mind that insurance appraisals have little to do with the actual retail price of a piece.
WatchMyDiamondGrow Redux
(07/16/11) It's been a few years since I started this project. I'm sorry to say that I ran into financial difficulties and sold most of my jewelry, including my diamond rings. :-( You remember what 2008-2009 was like, right? Not a good time for many of us.
So the project was aborted but never forgotten. And I want to take another swing at it. I have been reading up on diamonds and I want to share some of my newly-acquired knowledge with you. Stay tuned. Until next time, glittery wishes and gemstone delights. Yours truly, WMDG
WatchMyDiamondGrow is the pseudonym of a gem-lovin' lady who craves rocks. Really big rocks.
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WatchMyDiamondGrow: Carbon Spots
(07/18/11) Here's something surprising I learned recently. You've heard people refer to black dots inside a diamond as "carbon spots." Well, they're not. The term makes people think there are coal deposits inside the diamond material but it is now known that coal doesn't naturally appear that way. More often than not, areas that look black are actually transparent and some sort of crystal material.
Diamonds can have many kinds of inclusions, even other gemstones. I've seen a picture of a diamond that had a garnet inside. Kind of cool, really. Until next time, glittery wishes and gemstone delights. Yours truly, WMDG WatchMyDiamondGrow is the pseudonym of a gem-lovin' lady who craves rocks. Really big rocks.
Journey
With Every Step, Love Grows or so say the De Beers ads for Journey jewelry, first premiered in 2006.
You've probably seen it by now. It typically features a graduated pattern with a small stone at the top and a large stone at the bottom, which is intended to symbolize how love grows in a relationship.
Yes, it's that De Beers: the company that invented the diamond engagement ring. Two years later, there is a wide variety of diamond Journey jewelry available. The classic sinuous wave pendant is still popular, but designers have taken the concept in other directions as well.
The original Journey concept featured at least five stones, but fewer stones can make just as much of an impact and mean just as much. Choose your favorite metal: yellow gold, white gold or platinum, and there's bound to be a Journey piece you'll love.
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