When diamonds are cut properly they will enhance any piece of jewelry. They are stunning to look at, and when the sun catches them, they flash like miniature suns. If you are planning to purchase a diamond then the old adage let the buyer beware has never been truer. Unless you are a trained jeweler you will not have the ability to determine if the quality of the diamond is matched to its purchase price. In fact, even a trained jeweler will not be able to tell if the stone in question is a natural stone or a man made stone without some very expensive equipment.
Diamonds have a mystique about them. Television ads portray them as the ultimate gift of love. Magazine ads want us to believe that a diamond is the only perfect gift to express love. If you plan on purchasing a diamond because you like how it looks or if gives you or your love one pleasure then by all means enjoy. If you plan on purchasing diamonds for investment purposes only you will need to do a lot of research to determine if this is a good idea.
De Beers was founded in South Africa in 1888 and today is the largest producer and seller of diamonds. Almost from the beginning the De Beers company has had a strangle hold on the diamond industry and a huge advertising budget. Diamonds are not as rare as the advertiser would have you to believe. De Beers keeps a huge stockpile of diamonds and tightly controls supply.
De Beers started the very successful advertising campaign A Diamond Is Forever in 1947. The Advertising Age magazine has voted this to be the most recognizable advertising line of the twentieth century. This advertising campaign was designed to discourage diamonds owners from putting their old diamonds back into the market.
The company has created many successful ad campaigns to keep the demand high for Natural Diamonds. The Eternity Ring, a symbol of continuing affection, The Trilogy Ring, symbolizes the past, present and future of a successful relationship, The Right Hand Ring, sold to women as a symbol of independence.
During the Depression era many people were too poor to buy diamonds. Engagement rings were made of fine crystal instead. Many of the depression era rings were quite beautiful and difficult to distinguish from the real thing. The ability to create cubic zirconium happened in the 1950 but it was not until 1979 that it became economically feasible to mass-produce and use them as a diamond substitute. Only a gemologist can tell the difference between a diamond created by nature and a cubic zirconium created in a laboratory
The man-made diamonds made today are of a better quality than the natural ones. A trained jeweler will be unable to determine a real one from a made-one unless he had some very expensive equipment. Insist on a certification before purchasing a diamond for investment purposes. It will tell you the stone's carat weight, its color and clarity, and its flaws. If the seller is unwilling to supply a certification with the diamond then he may not be telling the truth and you should find someone who will. After all when you want to sell the diamond the new owner will want a certification from you.
I recommend this article by Joshua davis on The New Diamond Age. It is an excellent article on the history of man-made diamonds. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html
