by: Robert Joseph
High quality man made diamonds are a bargain at about $80 per carat, and they do not increase in price exponentially as carat weight increases.
For example, a one-carat synthetic diamond costs about $80; a three-carat man made diamond would then sell for $240.
A one-carat mined diamond that sells for $3000 would go for $45,000 in a three-carat size, all things being equal, which with mined diamonds is never the case.
Perplexing comparative evaluations, exponential price growth, consumer confusion, and the reality of diamond industry antics is why the mined diamond business is awash in dirty tricks.
Here are descriptions of the most sneaky and pervasive mined diamond scams:
THE BLUE-WHITE SCAM:
A jeweler tells you, "This is a blue-white diamond."
This is a very old term.
The dealer will probably tell you that it is a better diamond, but actually it is just the opposite. Blue-white refers to the fluorescence that results in natural light, which contains ultraviolet wavelengths. This blue fluorescence actually makes a colorless diamond look a little oily or milky in sunlight and decreases its value.
THE LIGHT MAKES WHITE SCAM:
Bright lights make every mined diamond look better.
Of course, every jeweler wants to show his or her diamonds in the best light, but there are some lighting tricks you should avoid. Some bulbs have a strong blue component, which makes yellow stones look whiter. Special bulbs are often used with strong ultraviolet wavelengths, which make most diamonds fluoresce blue. This also has a whitening effect for stones in the lower color ranges.
THE GRADE BUMPING SCAM: A jeweler exaggerates the grade.
The FTC says that a jeweler must be accurate within one grade of color and one grade of clarity on a diamond. So many jewelers bump the color and clarity just one grade. Unfortunately, this can mean a great deal of money if you are talking about a fine-quality, 1-carat diamond. For instance, you might find a stone that the jeweler quotes as a 1.00 carat F color / VS1 clarity for $6,500. However, if you sent it to a reputable gem lab like GIA, it would come back as a G color / VS2 clarity, which is only worth about $5,500. This means you lose (and they profit) about $1,000.
THE FRACTION SCAM: The tag says 3/4 carat, and the FTC allows jewelers to round off diamond weights. So a diamond labeled as 3/4 carat in weight might actually weigh anywhere between .69 and .81 carat. This could mean a significant amount of money, since diamond prices leap at certain popular sizes. In this example, you might be buying a .69 carat round G/VS2 worth about $2,100... but paying for what you thought was a 0.75 carat worth $3,000. You lose $900.
THE LASER DRILLING SCAM:
Dealers drill holes to burn out black carbon spots.
About 1 in 3 diamonds in the United States is laser drilled.
Dealers use lasers to drill a tiny hole into the depths of a diamond to burn and evaporate large black inclusions to make them disappear. The trouble with this little trick is that laser drilling can make the diamond a little more fragile to breaking with a good knock. Most dealers trade laser-drilled stones for much less.
THE HIDING THE FLAWS SCAM:
Every jeweler hides flaws under the prongs if he can.
In many cases, this can make an I1 clarity appear like a VS2 if you look at it in a ring setting. Structural flaws like feathers and cleavages can be damaged by the high pressure exerted by the prong on the diamond to hold it snug in the ring.
THE FRACTURE FILLING SCAM: New treatments to make flaws invisible.
There is a new process patented a few years ago that melts a kind of crystal into surface-breaking fractures in a diamond. This technique will slide by consumers unnoticed.
The treatment is considered slightly fragile because it can be damaging under the extreme heat of a torch when the diamond is set into a ring. Fracture-filled diamonds should trade for much less than diamonds without this treatment, but in reality they often sell for as much or more because they look like a higher, more expensive clarity grade.
THE CHEMICAL COLOR COATINGS SCAM:
A little paint goes a long way.
This very deceptive practice involves a little point of blue or purple paint on the lowest tip of the diamond, called the culet. This is small enough that you might not detect it, but the location spreads the color throughout the stone. This counters the yellow tint in lower color grades, making a diamond look like a more expensive, colorless grade.
Man made diamonds or synthetic diamonds are manufactured in a laboratory under controlled conditions.
If anything about synthetic diamonds is called into question it is that they are too perfect.
And since all mined diamonds have inclusions, flaws, and birthmarks, under magnification a trained jeweler can tell the difference.
Considering that man made diamonds cannot be distinguished with the naked eye, lab-created diamonds have aesthetic beauty matching?often besting?mined diamonds, and huge savings are realized, jewelry lovers must regard synthetic diamonds as an intelligent option.
Plus, there is no insurance to buy after purchasing man made diamond jewelry and the thousands of dollars in savings can be banked!
About The Author
Robert Joseph is an expert jeweler and founding partner of http://www.diamondnexuslabs.com a renowned online jewelry store that specializes in pristine affordable diamond simulants set in Solid 14K Gold. Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is reproduced in its entirety, without editing, including the bio information. Please include a hyperlink to http://www.diamondnexuslabs.com. To receive a FREE comparison chart on how Diamond Nexus Labs lab-created diamonds stack up against mined diamonds and register for a FREE no-obligation $50 Gift Certificate giveaway send freechart@diamondnexuslabs.com and just type Free Chart followed by your first name in the subject line.
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How To Lower Your Advertising Budget And Increase Results At The Same Time At Your Self-Storage Site
How To Lower Your Advertising Budget And Increase Results At The Same Time At Your Self-Storage Site
by: Derek Naylor
So, you?ve acquired a customer, they?re paying you a monthly rental fee, referred a friend, purchased packing supplies and a lock from you and just insured their grandmother?s heirlooms and son?s baseball card collection they have stored with you?
What else could we possibly ask for?
A lot.
What if it cost less to acquire this fine customer?
What if we were able to lower your cost of acquisition by just 10%? 20%? 50%?
Don?t laugh, it?s possible.
Most facilities have advertising dollars spread out all over the place.
Some of it is working, some is not, but in most cases the facilities have no clue whether it?s working or not, and if they do, they?re not quite sure how each medium is performing.
How about knowing your cost per call and cost per acquisition for each medium? ...
How To Lower Your Advertising Budget And Increase Results At The Same Time At Your Self-Storage Site
Gold ring > How To Lower Your Advertising Budget And Increase Results At The Same Time At Your Self-Storage Site
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by: John Sheridan
As a large proportion of people worldwide are increasingly favouring the Internet as a means of communicating with others, it should come as no great surprise to see it being adapted to encompass that other
technological marvel of our age, the telephone.
Once again, the Internet has taken another step forward in its evolution, this time with the arrival of voIP (voice over Internet Protocol). By using the Internet as a signal carrier, this system allows users to make and receive free or cheap telephone calls anywhere in the world. Whilst voIP is still in its fairly early stages, it is however showing all the signs of being a huge success.
Apart from a computer, there is only a minimal amount of equipment required to access this service. Users would have to route calls through a voIP provider, then what is needed is a fast connection such as broadband together with a telephone...
Will VoIP Make The Telephone Ring?
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by: Sam Serio
Jewelry can be beautiful to look at, fun to buy, and can make bold and revealing statements about you. Hear are some tips for greater enjoyment of your favorite gold and silver jewelry.
1. Never swim in a chlorinated pool while wearing gold and silver jewelry.
2. Always apply make-up, perfumes, oils or colognes before you put on your gold and silver jewelry
3. Keep both your skin and your gold and silver jewelry clean and free of oil.
4. Using an absorbent, abrasive-free body powder on areas that your gold and silver jewelry touches your skin can help with skin discoloration.
5. If you do have any skin discoloration you may need to move to a higher gold content. Say, from 14K gold jewelry to 18K jewelry.
6. Are your gold and silver chains all tied-up in knots? If so, here?s a nifty little trick for straightening them out. Dust your chain...
Twelve Tips for Greater Enjoyment of your Gold and Silver Jewelry
Gold ring > Twelve Tips for Greater Enjoyment of your Gold and Silver Jewelry
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by: Rachel Lower
Out of 500 million web pages, is yours among the very few that visitors will remember?
Businesses are catching on as far as hiring professionals to design their websites.
A professional looking website does give visitors an immediate, positive impression.
However, no matter how well designed, a basic website does not leave a lasting impression.
Visitors won't forever recall your spiffy "Location" page or "About Us" section.
They won't even remember how polished your fiery red logo looks.
There is one important key to leaving an impression on website visitors and potential customers.
One way to go from "good website" to "awesome website, dude!" It will inspire a visitor to bookmark your site, link to you, or refer friends to your URL.
The key is to provide a rich and useful website.
The basic website is like a skeleton.
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The Gift Idea Of Bling
The Gift Idea Of Bling
by: Iouri Kroukov
Jewelry is a favorite gift idea to give or receive. Whether the jewelry is costume or the finest gold and diamonds, everyone loves a little bling-bling. This is a gift that almost any woman and many, many men can enjoy.
Gifts of jewelry can range in price from a few dollars into the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even more. Those who are fortunate enough to be able to purchase anything they desire can spend millions of dollars on jewelry. For most people, however, a gift budget constrains exactly what jewelry can be given.
The exact jewelry selected depends largely on the recipient and their relationship to the giver. The jewelry a man gives to his wife is much different than the jewelry a teen age girl gives to another young lady who is also in high school. Not only will the prices probably differ drastically, but how personal a gift is appropriate will also differ.
A man should have...
The Gift Idea Of Bling
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About Diabetes and Exercise
by: Arnel Ricafranca
There are two main types of diabetes, type I and type II. Type I diabetes is characterized by the pancreas making too little or no insulin. An individual with diabetes type I will have to inject insulin throughout the day in order to control glucose levels. Type II diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes, is characterized by the pancreas not producing enough insulin to control glucose levels or the cells not...
exercise Man Made Diamonds ? Save Big Money And Avoid Mined Diamond Scams
Gold ring > About Diabetes and Exercise
A Guide to VoIP
A Guide to VoIP
by: James Rogers
What is VoIP? Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the ability to transmit voice over the Internet to either a receiving computer, telephone or even a mobile phone. VoIP phone is becoming the popular worldwide telephone service for both consumer and the business communities. VoIP works by using a network technology known as Packet Switching Network whereas landline telephones use the Circuit Switching Network. This is referred...
A Guide to VoIP voip Man Made Diamonds ? Save Big Money And Avoid Mined Diamond Scams Gold ring
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power generator Man Made Diamonds ? Save Big Money And Avoid Mined Diamond Scams Gold ring
Defining Common Banking Terms
Defining Common Banking Terms
by: John Mussi
Banking is one of the most important industries in the world today? the economy of every country in the world flows through the various banks and financial institutions that exist in the world.
There are times, though, that some of the terminology that's used in banks and the banking industry might seem a bit confusing to those who aren't exactly sure how they work.
Below you'll find a list of common banking...
Defining Common Banking Terms Man Made Diamonds ? Save Big Money And Avoid Mined Diamond Scams Gold ring
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Man Made Diamonds ? Save Big Money And Avoid Mined Diamond Scams
Harnessing the Sun for Your Home ? Key Components
Harnessing the Sun for Your Home ? Key Components
by: Rick Chapo
Using the power of the sun is becoming increasingly attractive from an economic and environmental aspect. If you?re going solar, you need to know the components.
Solar Components
While generally considered electric platforms, solar systems definitely have unique components. Here?s some of the jargon you are going to need to be familiar with before buying.
1. Photovoltaic Cell...
power generator Man Made Diamonds ? Save Big Money And Avoid Mined Diamond Scams Harnessing the Sun for Your Home ? Key Components Gold ring
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