There are many reasons to buy a diamond: to celebrate... to commemorate... to romance. Whatever the occasion - a diamond is the gift for all seasons. Ancients believed that diamonds were symbol of love, wealth, power, and also believed in their healing powers.

Fashions change rapidly but the diamond is always in the top of the crown finding its way into every jewelry collection. Though every diamond is unique and exceptionally beautiful, at bogett.com our very experienced diamond professionals pour over thousand stones to select only the most extraordinary stones for our jewelry.

To help you in your quest for the perfect diamond we've provided some diamond fundamentals.

• The 4 C's
• Color
• Diamond Color Grades
• Clarity
• Terms Used to Describe Clarity
• Diamond Clarity Grades
• Cut
• Carat
• Care & Cleaning
• Household Chemicals

The four characteristics most commonly used to measure a diamond's quality and value are Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight. Understanding these four diamond essentials as well as their interaction with each other, can help you select an ideal diamond that fits with your tastes.

Many people believe that diamonds are completely colorless. In reality, truly colorless diamonds are quite rare. Most diamonds used in jewelry are nearly colorless with faint yellow or brown tints. These diamonds fall in the normal color range.

Diamonds in the normal color range are graded by their relative lack of color, and are grouped into categories, also known as GIA Color Grades, where less color, means a higher value.

Diamonds outside of the normal color range are called fancy-colored and come in about any color you can imagine. The Color Grades do not apply to the fancy-colored diamonds.

Fluorescence is a characteristic that makes some diamonds appear to change color when they are exposed to ultraviolet light. Since UV radiation is a component of daylight and is also present in fluorescent lit rooms, the stone could change color under those conditions.

• Stones that produce a blue reaction will probably appear whiter, or more colorless, under UV light.
• Stones that fluoresce yellow will appear even more yellow under some lighting conditions.

The setting of your ring can have an effect on the color of the stone. A loose stone that appears lightly yellow to the naked eye will usually appear more colorless when mounted in a white-gold setting. Setting the same diamond in yellow-gold metal will most probably bring out the diamond's yellowish tone.

Clarity is a term that is used to describe a relative freedom from flaws and blemishes on the inside and on the surface of a diamond or a gemstone. A perfect stone with perfect clarity (clearness) is rare, and most flaws that exist in jewelry grade diamonds cannot be seen without looking at stones through a jeweler's magnifying loupe.

You shouldn't get too upset about the word flaws or other terms used to describe the tiny imperfections in diamonds. Very few things in nature are absolutely perfect, which is also true of diamonds.

Inclusions

• Imperfections, or flaws, inside a diamond.
• Tiny spots of white, black, or other colors.
• Cracks. Some cause no problems at all. Other could cause the stone to split.
• Colored and uncolored crystals.

Blemishes

• Flaws on a diamond's exterior surface.
• Many exterior flaws are the result of the cutting and polishing process.

Diamond clarity is characterized into grades, and grading is done under a 10X magnification. The diamonds ranked nearer to the top of the scale are rare and are more expensive.

As you can see from the descriptions of the grades most flaws cannot even be observed without considerable magnification, even by an experienced jeweler. The majority of these flaws are tiny imperfections that will not affect the intensity and brilliance of a diamond. The appearance of the flaws might differ, depending on its position within the jewel, but in most cases the beauty and radiance of the stone won't be affected by these imperfections, until you reach the bottom level of I.

The cut is the only characteristic of a diamond that does not depend on the benevolence of nature, but rather on the skill of the craftsman. Cut is different from shape, and refers to the proportions and finish of the final results, characteristics which determine the sparkle and brilliance of the diamond. It is entirely possible to take the same uncut diamond, and depending on the method and skills of the cutter to create either the most beautiful stone it can be, even with heavy lose of weight or a stone of maximum weight, but not achieve the same brilliance and sparkle.

Depending on the cut, the weight can be distributed in different parts of the stone. The objective of the cutter is to have light enter the resulting diamond, scatter the light as it bounces within the diamond, producing the different colorful sparkling effect, and then exiting the stone back up to reflect as much of that light to the eye as possible.

It is possible for the cutter to achieve similar dimensions, while extracting the maximum weight out of the uncut diamond. Usually the result of such method is a stone that is too shallow, or flat, and the light instead of reflecting back to the eye might escape to the side or leak out of the bottom of the stone. Though this method makes the stone appear larger, don't be mislead by this, in comparison with a well cut stone you will easily see that it looses it's the sparkle and brilliance. The same issue befalls stones that are cat too deep, or tall. Unfortunately, sometimes rough diamonds are of such shape, that it is impractical to cut a stone in any different manner.

Though there are studies that are in progress or have been recently completed that attempt to classify different cuts, but currently there is no chart that could be used to grade them.

Carat is the standard unit of weight used for diamonds and most other gemstones. One carat equals .200 grams (or 200 milligrams). The larger the total amount of carat, the rarer and consequently more valuable is the stone.

Do not mistake the carat weight of the diamond with its dimensions. Because the dimensions of a stone might be deceptive Carats refer to weight of the diamond only. The diamond could be deep, or shallow, and most importantly it might appear larger in dimensions due to its cut.

Thought the size of a diamond is important, bigger is not necessarily always better. All of the other characteristics that represent the quality of the stone should be equally considered.

We recommend that all of your jewelry is stored individually is soft cloth pouches or in the individual boxes lines with soft cloth since it may get scratched against other jewelry. Though diamonds are a very hard substance, with enough effort they could chip or their setting could become loose. That is one of reasons that we recommend that you remove your jewelry when doing heavy work and bring your jewelry at least ones a year to check the setting.

Everyday dirt, creams and lotions may leave a film on your diamond that keeps it from sparkling. If you don't clean your stones regularly they could accumulate into a thick layer on the back of the stone and affect its brilliance and shine. For regular cleaning you may use a soft diamond polishing cloth.

It is very important to take care when cleaning your diamonds. Though diamonds are a very hard substance the coatings and other materials used to enhance them can sometimes be removed by energetic scrubbing and harsh cleansers.

When working with the ring it is important to hold it by the ring and not to put much pressure on the diamond.

Event if you don't know whether you diamonds were treated before being placed onto your ring here is a gentle and effective cleaning process for all diamonds:

Soak your diamond ring in a warm solution of mild liquid detergent and water (Ivory dishwashing liquid is a good choice, but any other mild detergent is fine) or in a solution of one part ammonia and six parts water. Use a very soft brush, only if it is necessary to remove dirt. Brush with stiff bristles could scratch the ring's metal setting. Swish the ring around in the solution and rinse it thoroughly in warm water.

REMEMBER! Close the drain or put the ring in a strainer to keep from losing it! Dry the ring with a lint-free cloth.

If your Jewelry contains other gemstones you should pick the cleaning method that is suitable for the lease durable stone in the piece.

Harsh detergents and other chemicals used in the household activities and gardening could have an adverse affect on your jewelry. It is very important to avoid bringing your jewelry into contact with chlorine, bleaches and dyes. To protect your jewelry from such damage remove it or wear gloves for protection.